Ocarina of Time, the Three Spiritual Stones
by HylianBlade
Summary: This story takes place during the "Ocarina of Time," covering Link's journey to gather the Three Spiritual Stones. Along the way, he meets new friends, makes powerful enemies, and does his best while traveling all of Hyrule to accomplish his goal. The point of view changes with each chapter.
1. Chapter 1, The Boy of the Forest

****You have been warned: These chapters are long. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**The Boy of the Forest**

Link sprinted across the boundless plains as lightning shredded the murky black sky. He didn't know how long he'd been running, and he didn't care. Every instinct in his body told him to keep going, to keep moving, to keep running. His chest was struggling for air, his legs fought to keep his body moving, but he knew he couldn't stop, not now.

A torrent of icy air struck him head on, forcing the grass at his feet to bow while bringing him to a slow but eventual stop. He raised his arms to shield his face as the wind doubled in ferocity, whipping at his body with claws of air. When his surroundings finally calmed down, Link cautiously lowered his arm; what he saw before him caused him to stagger.

An endless wall of stone had mysteriously appeared before him. Link looked to his left, right, and straight up, but no matter where he turned, he could not find an end to this colossal monument. Then, a series of metallic _clanks_ diverted his attention forward to a foreign section of the wall. In the center, directly in front of him, a massive slab of wood was starting to lean forward, pivoting at the base. The drawbridge was being lowered by a set of chains thicker than his torso, crossing a churning moat at the base of the stonewall and slamming to a ground-rumbling halt at his feet.

Link stared into the new opening, mystified as to what was going on. He could see foggy shapes and figures lumbering beyond the stonewall, but everything past the threshold of the drawbridge was shrouded in a veil of mist his eyes couldn't pierce.

Then a jolt ran down the length of his spine, a signal screaming a single word: _Danger!_ He hurled himself to the side, narrowly avoiding a four-legged beast that burst out of the mist's boundaries and nearly trampled him. He broke his tumble with a roll the moment he hit the grass, using the momentum to push him to his feet a mere second later so he could spin around and get a better look at the beast before it disappeared beyond the distance.

It was an animal unlike any other, with four long but sturdy legs that allowed the rest of its body to gallop away at an incredible speed. He noticed two cloaked figures mounted on the creature's back. One was around his stature and height, while the second towered over the first, clutching its smaller frame in its larger arms while repeatedly whipping the creature they rode on, urging it to go faster. They were fleeing, but from who or what, he couldn't tell.

Link opened his mouth, wanting to call out and demand to know what was going on, but before he could, another shock of peril coursed through his body. He twisted around to face the drawbridge and froze. Another beast, similar to the one before, towered before him, only this creature was pure black and armored in layers of sinisterly designed metal. On its back was a figure, a lone man whose very existence screamed of evil.

This man of evil wasn't cloaked; he was open for all to see. His shortly cut red hair was like fire, not warm and comforting, but fierce and consuming. His skin was the color of venom, his eyes like droplets of blood, and when he pulled his lips back into a sneer, his bared teeth portrayed nothing but merciless vice. He wore an orange pendent that hung on the center of his forehead. His body was draped in interlocking sets of black metal armor and leather chest plating which tightly fit his muscular form.

Link knew he had to run, he knew this man, this figure of pure evil, would kill him without a moment of hesitation. But he didn't move; he couldn't. His feet stayed rooted to the ground he stood upon, and his body remained defiant. It wasn't fear that held him, but responsibility. His gut told him the pair from before were fleeing from his man. Link stood his ground because he knew he had to buy them as much time as possible to get away, whatever the cost. He didn't know why he was protecting them, but he knew it was the right thing to do.

It was also the last thing he did. The man of evil's beast suddenly reared on its hind legs, lashing out with its front set before smashing its hooves directly into Link's face.

* * *

_Creak!_

Link nearly tumbled headlong out of his bed, almost falling over the side and onto the cold morning floor. Still panting heavily, he brushed a few strands of his golden hair from his blue eyes. His dream was still echoing at the back of his mind, the vivid images flashing before him inside his darkened, circular home.

_Still, it was just a dream_, Link reassured himself, taking a deep breath of fresh morning air. He shivered as the breeze caught onto his sweat drenched tunic. Giving himself a few seconds to collect his thoughts, he kicked aside his leaf-blanket, swung his legs over the side of his bed, and slipped his bare feet into his brown leather boots resting on the floor. Then, he lifted his left hand and pointed it at the shadows in the center of his coned ceiling. He closed his eyes and let the image of a ball of light dance in his mind. Within seconds, a soft glow of light shone from the Light Flowers, a set of white roses growing from the ceiling, illuminating his home with an easy glow.

He looked out the window, a square cut in the wall to his left in his single room home, to see that the rest of the village was sleeping away the early morning. With a weary yawn, he got to his feet and pulled his tunic off from over his head. He tossed his soaked tunic onto his table, a sizeable wooden stump growing out of the floor in the center of his home. The moment the fabric touched the table, a vine reached out from the walls, plucked the clothes and hanging it beside another line of laundry dangling from the ceiling. All Link had to do now was wait a few hours, and it'd be as clean as sunshine.

As soon as that was done, Link wandered over to his closet, which was to the left of his dining table. His closet was another accessory which had been grown out of the circular walls of his home and was fully stocked with several sets of clean clothes. He pulled open his wardrobe and took out the first green tunic his fingers touched. He pulled it over his head and onto his body, pleased to find it still fit him snuggly. He yanked a brown leather belt from the hanger and fastened it around his waist, then swung the closet shut and grabbed his green hood from the hanger attached to the side of the closest. He placed his hood on his head and brushed his hair so it would stay out of his eyes. Fully dressed, he started for the doorway, a large rectangular opening covered by a doodled white tarp opposite from his bed.

Before he left, Link paused at the entrance to complete his most hated daily routine. He pressed his back against the wall, straightened his spine, and marked his height, scratching his progress onto the wall with his thumbnail. He stepped away, turned around to look at the markings, and groaned; he'd grown another centimeter. He lightly thudded his head into the wall, where numerous thumb scratches marked his growth over the course of the year.

"It'll stop someday," he told himself, trying to push down his growing concerns. "It has to … it has to."

Determined not to let this small event ruin the rest of his day, Link tossed aside the tarp with one hand and greeted the morning of the Kokiri Village.

It was beautiful. Link lived in this village all twelve years of his life, and no matter how many times he saw this sight, "beautiful" was the only word he used to describe it. Standing on the fenced porch of his tree house, with the ground over ten feet away, he had an excellent view of his village. Widely decorated and numerous little homes dotted the village, each of them magically grown from the ground up. The grass was neatly kept as always, with smooth sanded pathways linking every home to one another. The Little Riv, a freshwater river which smoothly lapped across the village and pooled into a large pond at the corner, was as clean as ever. The Kokiri playground, a section of the village filled with sand and jungle gyms, was already occupied by the Triplets, three identical sisters.

There was never any danger here, for the village was surrounded by towering close growing trees, forming a protective barrier around the village (everyone called these trees the Wall). Their branches even reached outward to block out the sky over the village, and after Link's first impression of the sky in his dreams, he was glad they did. The village's light came from the thousands of Light Flowers growing from the Nest (the branches cloaking the sky). The Light Flowers would brighten during the day and dim at night. As Link watched, the light from the flowers was growing stronger, transforming the dim morning glow into a brighter shine. Occasionally, some of the Light Flower pedals would fall from the Nest and drifted towards the village in a cascade of diamond dust, bursting into a soft shower of light whenever they touched the ground.

This was truly a magical place.

Link reached for an apple sprouting from one of the branches sprouting from his tree house. As soon as he plucked the fruit from its stem, another immediately grew back to take its place. He dug his teeth into the morning dew coated skin, enjoying the crisp flavor dancing in his mouth.

"Link!"

He looked down from his porch, letting his eyes trace out the source of the voice. He grinned as he recognized his best friend.

"Saria!" He called back, waving at her with his free hand. He chewed away at the rest of his meal and tossed the core onto the grass below, where the green blades wrapped around the remainder of the fruit and sucked it into the ground. A moment later, an apple tree sapling began to grow from the very same spot.

A Kokiri girl an inch shorter than Link was jogging down the pathway leading to his tree house. Her shortly cut leaf-green hair was bobbing with each step she took; if it hadn't been held back by the jade headband on her head, Link was sure her hair would be everywhere. She wore her favorite long-sleeved shirt that matched her lime short pants and deep green boots. When she reached the wooden ladder connecting Link's porch to the ground, she took a moment to catch her breath before climbing up. Her fairy partner, on the other hand, flew right up to Link and greeted him with jingling salutations.

"Hi, Link!" Tatl giggled, hovering in front of his nose.

"Hey there, Tatl," Link replied, tickling the fairy's glowing round, green body with his finger. Her translucent pixie wings twitched as she enjoyed the tease.

"Hey, guess what?"

"What?"

"Saria had a sweet, sweet dream about you!"

"Tatl!" Saria's voice came up from somewhere down the ladder. She sounded mortified.

"Want to know what it was about?" Tatl snickered, playfully flying in circles around him.

"Are you sure you should tell me?" Link asked, trying to put on a straight face.

Tatl started giving off the ringing sound of bells, a sure sign she was enjoying herself. "Positive! It was about the night you two snuck out of the village to explore the Sacred Grove! Only it was _way_ more roman—!"

"Tatl!" Saria's fingers snapped closed around her fairy partner. Her peachy skin was now a flustered red, and Link couldn't tell if her hard breathing was due to exhaustion or embarrassment.

"You dream about me?" He asked, picking off with Tatl's teasing.

"Only … every now and then," Saria mumbled. She leaned close to Tatl, still trapped in her fingers, and muttered furiously. Still, with Link's keen sense of hearing, he heard everything she said. "Tatl! You're not supposed to tell him about my dream! I told you about it because you're my partner! You're supposed to help me keep these kinds of secrets!"

"Aw, but it'd be way more fun if Link knew about what happened in your silly little head too!" Tatl giggled back. "Besides! You want to be closer to him, don't you?"

"Not by telling him every embarrassing fact about myself!"

"But that's the only way the two of you can be true friends! By knowing everything about one another!"

That gave Saria a pause. "R-Really?"

"Really! Oh, Saria! You should totally tell him about the gift you've spent years—!"

Saria started shaking her cupped hands violently, and the only words Tatl could squeeze out after that were, "Oof!" "Augh!" "Help me!" "Hanging by a Wolfos' tail!"

Link watched the two of them in envy, feeling a dull but familiar ache beat in his chest. Saria and Tatl had something Link always yearned for, something every child in the Kokiri Village was grown with: A bond between Kokiri and fairy.

In the Kokiri Village, all the children were grown by the Great Deku Tree, the protector and father of the village, and given life by his magic. After they were born, the Great Deku Tree would give them a companion that would be their lifelong partner, a fairy partner. This was what Link wanted: Another friend, someone who would be beside him no matter what, no matter where. A few years back, he repeatedly approached the Great Deku Tree and asked to know why he was never given a fairy partner. However, the Great One would only reply with the same answer, each and every time: "It is not thy time, young one." Each time he asked for a fairy partner, the Great Deku Tree shot him down with the exact same response. Just last year, he asked yet again for a fairy partner, and when the Great One refused, he let his childish angst build up into one loud outburst he deeply regretted to this day.

He hadn't spoken to their father ever since. It was then, however, that a deep root suspicion of Link's came to light, an idea he fought against with every fiber of his mind, yet could never fully reject. Perhaps, after all this time, he wasn't—

"Link!"

Saria's voice cut through his mind and snapped him back to reality. She liberated Tatl from her fingers, and the two of them were staring at him with concern.

"Link, are you okay?" Saria asked.

Link hastily reprimanded himself for worrying his friends and put on a grin. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I was … thinking about a few things."

"Like?"

"It's nothing."

"_Like?_" Saria pressed, leaning forward a little.

Link leaned back a little. "Do you have to know?"

"We're friends! If there's anything worrying you, you can tell me!" Saria said, spreading her arms as if she were about to embrace him. "We've got to tell each other everything, so we can help each other with anything!"

Link smiled. "So you're going to tell me about your dream?"

"T-That's a different matter all together!" Saria protested, waving her hands wildly as her blush returned. Link chuckled lightly at her flustered response, but she had a point; she was his friend, and he didn't want to hide anything from her.

"I was thinking about the Great Deku Tree, about what I said to him last year," Link replied. He stared to his right, towards the pond created by the Little Riv. There was a small peninsula of land at the far end of the pond, leading into the only opening in the Wall. This pathway led to the Great Deku Tree's meadow, where their father resided.

"You're worried about the things you said to him that day."

"It was stupid of me," Link chided himself, feeling the regret boil in his stomach. "I shouldn't have said any of that! I know everything the Great Deku Tree does, he does for a reason. I … I just couldn't help but feel like he was purposely denying me a fairy partner."

"It's only been a year," Saria offered, standing beside him and gazing towards the Great Deku Tree's meadow. "Give it a few more, and I'm sure you'll get over it."

"A few more?" Link laughed.

"Why not? It's only been _just_ a year."

It was only natural for time to flow differently for the Kokiri children. After all, they were all immune to the ebb and flow of time. In a sense, they were immortal, never growing older, taller, or changing in any discernable way. Though they had the appearance of children, some of the Kokiri were over hundreds of years old. That was why they considered one year to be inconsequential. But to Link, a year felt a lot longer.

He bowed his head with a sigh. "You're right, maybe I'll wait a bit."

"Everything will work out, you'll see!" Saria said cheerfully, wrapping her arms around his and resting her cheek on his shoulder. He felt at peace with her, and was grateful for Saria's company and friendship. He would've been satisfied if Tatl hadn't been hovering behind them chanting, "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" It took Saria a bit longer than him to realize what her fairy partner was reciting in their ears, and when she did, she jumped away from Link like he was a starving Wolfos, grabbing Tatl, and hurled her across the village.

"Won't she be hurt?" Link asked, watching Tatl fly over several homes, laughing all the way.

"She'll be fine!" Saria puffed, wiping her hands on her sleeves. "So, what do you have planned for today?"

"My plans? Don't you have any?"

"Sneaking off to the Sacred Grove was my idea, and we did that last night! It's your turn now!"

Link took a second to ponder for an idea. "Why don't we get something to eat first? It's a new day, and we can do anything we want afterwards."

"Sounds good to me! I saw a new honey pear tree growing next to Branda and Appi's house! Let's try that!" Saria eagerly suggested.

"Race you there?"

"No! You run too fast!"

That incited a chuckle from Link. "Then let's be on our way." Rather than climb the ladder down, he placed his feet near the edge of his porch and back flipped towards the ground. The fall was short enough for him to easily bounce on his feet, stand, and look up at Saria grinning.

"Show off," she said, not bothering to hide her smile.

Link bowed. "I do my best."

Saria cautiously climbed down the ladder one step at a time. Her slow pace gave Link ample time to glance over the small doodles he made of him fighting evil monsters on his tree house's roots when he was a lot younger. When Saria reached the bottom, they walked side by side down the set pathways and took a left to head towards the undeclared center of the village. Tatl managed to catch up to them as they did.

The Light Flowers were now shining at full capacity, bringing the rest of the Kokiri children out of their slumber. Link heard them stir within each house they traveled past. Some managed to roll or crawled out their front doors and wave to them. It didn't take them long to reach Branda and Appi's place, a tree of wide circumference and low height decorated with a door and set of windows. Unlike many other homes that randomly cropped up across the village, Branda and Appi's house was part of a set of homes that created a loose circle. These homes were close to the village playground, which was why so many considered it to be the unofficial center of the village.

Like Saria said, a honey pear tree was growing alongside Branda and Appi's home. Its tall frame leaned against the side of their house, but its thin branches dangled close to the ground, weighed down by the honey-yellow pears growing from their tips. He plucked two honey pairs from the branches, tossing Saria one while keeping the other for himself. Like his apple tree, another set of pears immediately grew back from the freshly plucked stems.

Link took his first bite, flinching from the overabundance of sweetness that flooded his mouth. The taste of honey and fruit equally balanced each other out, creating a harmonious flavor which was a little too sweet for his tastes. He knew, on the other hand, that Saria loved sweet things. She was already nibbling away at the honey pear's core, spitting out seeds and watching them grow. Tatl shared Saria's sweet tooth, and was frantically making gnawing sounds as she assaulted the honey pear tree's fruit.

As a prank, Link mischievously caught a droplet of honey oozing from one of the hanging pears with his finger and flicked at Saria, holding back his laughter when it landed right between her eyes. Saria wiped away the droplet of honey, put on an equally playful smile, and tossed a small piece of her fruit at him. It managed to latch itself to the tip of his nose, and Saria doubled over laughing.

The window to Branda and Appi's house suddenly swung open, and an irritated voice shouted, "I'm trying to sleep in here!" Branda stuck her head out of the window, her yellow eyes hidden by her drooping eyelids and her long brown hair disheveled by a night of sleep. Her yellow fairy Appi was snoring peacefully inside her wicked nest of hair.

"Sorry about that, Branda," Link apologized. "We were just having a little fun."

Branda's eyes shot open. "L-Link! W-What're you doing here? Oh!" Branda grabbed her window and slammed it shut in his face. Four seconds later, it reopened with Branda's face freshly washed and her brown hair neatly combed backwards so that it draped over her shoulders. Appi was nowhere to be seen, but Link could hear the fairy's muffled voice somewhere in the house. "Hello there, Link."

"Duh-Duh-Duh-DUN!" Tatl chortled. "A rival appears!"

"Good morning, Branda. That was … fast." Link noted her rapid change in appearance.

"Morning, Branda," Saria interjected. The two Kokiri girls made eye contact, and Link was afraid a fire might spontaneously combust between the two of them. For one reason or another, the two of them greatly disliked one another, yet he could never figure out why.

"Great, it's you," Branda hissed, her eyebrows lowered into a sneer. When she turned to Link, she was all flowers, sunshine, and smiles. "What brings you here, Link? Did you come to play?"

"Actually, just having breakfast," he replied, showing her his unfinished honey pear.

"Well, I see you missed a spot," Branda whispered, reaching out and motioning for the speck of on the tip of his nose. Saria swiftly jumped between the two of them, swiping the honey pear from Link's nose and tossing it into her mouth.

"That was mine," Saria informed Branda, daring her to try anything else.

"What a messy eater, tossing your crumbs all over Link like that," Branda scoffed, giving Saria a little "tut, tut, tut" with her finger. Then she did another 180 and flashed a smile at him, "Do you want to come in? I've got a lot of honey pears growing inside if you want!"

"We're full, but thanks for the offer!" Saria said politely, taking Link by the arm, slapping his half-eaten meal from his hand, and tugging him away from Branda. "Let's go, Link."

"Wait, since when were we full?" Link demanded as Branda stuck her tongue out at Saria and banged her windows shut. "Tell me something, why are you and Branda always fighting?"

"A difference in opinion," Saria replied shortly, tugging harder on his arm.

"About what?"

Saria's lips press tightly together.

"Don't bother," Tatl said, landing on his shoulder so she was beside his ear. "Just laugh when things get funny and nod when you don't get what's going on."

"That's really not helpful."

"No, but it's hilarious to watch!"

"Link!" a voice shouted behind them.

Saria spun around and called, "Not interested, Branda!"

But she had the wrong Kokiri. It was Dentri and Hapi, Branda and Appi's next door neighbors. Dentri was a limb-lanky Kokiri with long russet hair covering his eyes and nose, revealing only his mouth. His sleeveless olive outfit was bloated thanks to his large belly and was stained with countless fruits and vegetables. Along with his green pants, he wore brown slippers caked in mud and loose grass. He also had his favorite hat that said "Kiss the Cook." Right now, he was trying to drag a large wooden table out the front door of his house. His brown colored fairy partner, Hapi, was trying to help by pushing from the other side, but neither was having much luck.

"A little help?" Dentri asked as he tugged unsuccessfully at the table's legs.

"Sure!" Link called. He, Saria, and Tatl hurried over to assist. Link and Saria stood by Dentri to drag the table while Tatl flew inside the house to the other end to help Hapi push. It took a bit of effort, but the five of them managed to drag the table out the door and set it up in front of Dentri and Hapi's house. Once it was fully outside, Link saw why the two of them had so much trouble in the first place; the table was huge, large enough to hold twenty Kokiri children if they all laid down on the surface.

"Thanks, much obliged," Dentri panted, leaning forward with his hands on his knees.

"We couldn't have done it without you all," Hapi added, landing his small body on the corner of the table to catch his breath.

Saria asked the question that was on Link's mind: "What're you two doing?"

"Ah! Glad you asked!" Dentri beamed (in a manner of speaking). "Hapi and I have just perfected our latest masterpiece! It was so spectacular we knew we had to let the whole village experience this joy! So we brought out the biggest table we could find to set our food outside!"

Saria staggered away from Dentri. "Latest ... masterpiece?" Even the normally humorous Tatl glowed white in shock.

Their concern was understandable. Dentri and Hapi were the owners of the strangest taste buds in the entire village. They loved experimenting with whatever food they could find, creating new and exotic tastes. Sometimes they really did manage to concoct amazing meals the whole village loved, but most of the time they gave birth to monstrosities which made the Kokiri scream for the Great Deku Tree's aide. Their previous "masterpiece" was one such atrocity. They called it So-Flow Leftovers, a type of gray pudding slathered in enough sweets, sugar, and fruit extract to make it smell divine. However, once consumed, the eater would find themselves stuck to their toilets for the entirety of the following week.

Link stepped in, not excited to see the village suffer through another plague. "Dentri, Hapi. The two of you remember what your So-Flow Leftovers did, right?" He saw Saria and Tatl nod furiously in agreement.

"Well, it was experimental," Dentri shrugged.

"We didn't think it was _that_ bad," Hapi said, fluttering his wings and hovering by his partner's side.

"Did you two even try it?" Saria demanded; she and her partner were hiding behind him, nervously peaking over his shoulder.

"Um … no?" Dentri blushed.

"The ingredients were … questionable," Hapi added.

Link suppressed the urge to pinch the pair of them, real hard. "And you still thought it was okay to feed the whole village your So-Flow?"

"It wasn't the whole village," Dentri protested.

Hapi bobbled in agreement. "He's right! _You_ didn't try anything!"

"Because I was wary to begin with."

Saria tugged at his shoulder. "Link, how did you know the So-Flow Leftovers would be such a disaster?"

"What's So-Flow spelled backwards?"

Saria turned as white as Tatl. "Oh."

"I hope the two of you didn't use anything '_questionable_' in your new masterpiece," Link asked, looking to the experimental cooks.

"Absolutely not! Our last experiment taught us otherwise! This time, we've only used all natural ingredients!" Dentri assured them.

"But one could argue that Wolfos leftovers are also all natu—"

"—Hapi!" Dentri cut off his fairy partner. "Don't! You'll scare away our customers."

"Wha—? Ah! Sorry! Don't worry! All natural! Fruits! Wheat! Sugar! That kind of stuff! Nothing to worry about!" Hapi quickly corrected himself. "So! Who wants to be the first to try our latest and greatest?"

Link sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he considered the proposal. From the way Saria was tugging at his sleeves, he was pretty sure she wanted them to high tail out of there. For a moment, he considered politely declining the offer and walking away, but when he looked around he saw they were already surrounded by a growing ring of wary Kokiri children. Almost all the Kokiri and fairies of the village had awaken, and from the way they were giving Dentri and Hapi's house a wide berth, all of them remember the after effects of their So-Flower Leftovers; no one was willing to risk suffering that curse again.

Link was at a crossroad. Honestly, he didn't place much stock in Dentri and Hapi's cooking, and he certainly didn't want Saria and Tatl, or any of his other Kokiri and fairy friends, to go through another So-Flow incident. On the other hand, if Dentri and Hapi really did create something worth eating, it was definitely a joy the whole village should experience.

It took him a moment longer to make his choice. "Give me a sample."

Saria and Tatl looked as though Link had just forfeited his life.

"It'll be fine," Link said before either of them could protest. "I'll take a bite and see if it's good or not. If it's good, then everyone can have some."

"And if it's not?" Tatl asked.

"I'm trying not to think about it."

Saria's grip tightened ever so slightly. "Why do you always have to be so brave?"

"Eating strange food is being brave?" Link chuckled.

"You know what I mean."

"Someone has to be, so why not me?" He gave Saria's hand a small pat, and she reluctantly let go and backed away slowly. "So what've you two got for me?"

Dentri's grin spread so wide Link started to doubt his decision. "You won't regret this, Link! Hapi!"

"On it!" Hapi zipped into their home, reemerging a second later with a wooden platter balanced atop of his body. "Prepare to be amazed! We give to you … the PANCAKE!" The fairy hovered to a stop before Link and presented their meal. It was a round bun of bread with a warm chocolate glow and covered in honey. He took a careful whiff, inhaling a collective aroma of apples, sugar, bananas, and more. In terms of appearance and smell, there was nothing wrong with it. Still, prior experience with Dentri and Hapi's meals kept Link on alert.

"Well, moment of truth." Link pinched off a small piece of the honey slathered pancake, rolled it between his fingers, and popped it into his mouth.

It was amazing.

The flavors danced upon his tongue like nothing he'd ever tasted before. Small chunks of apples were hidden away within the bread, popping in delight each time they were crunched between his teeth. All this was enhanced thanks to the sugar and honey, bringing about a wonderful taste he couldn't help but smile to.

"This is good," Link muttered between chews, picking off another piece of the pancake and chewing it thoroughly. "This is really good. You two really did an amazing job with this one!"

Until Link spoke, Dentri looked like he was suffering from a serious case of constipation, and Hapi turned a sickly yellow from worry. The moment they heard his praise, the two of them dropped a hundred pounds of fret from their shoulders.

"YES!" Dentri roared, punching at the air. "The pancake is Link approved! Hapi, keep them coming!"

"On it!"

Murmurs immediately started to ripple throughout the gathered Kokiri children, and Link heard them all.

"Link approved?"

"Link said it was good?"

"The Rude Food duo made something good?"

"It has to be! It's Link approved!"

"Link said it was good!"

"It's Link approved!"

"It's something good!"

Like a breaking dam, the Kokiri children stampeded towards the table while the fairies swarmed the sky. Dentri and Hapi hurriedly piled fresh batches of pancakes onto the table, but they were about to be overrun. Knowing he was currently standing in a very precarious spot, Link made a dash for the table before he could get trampled. He grabbed two more plates and ran straight for Dentri and Hapi's house. He didn't head for the door; instead, he stacked the pancakes into a pile on his right hand so his left was free and sprinted towards the wall. A mere moment away from a head-on collision, he brought his foot up and ran up the bark wall. Four steps up, he lashed out with his free hand and managed to grab onto the edge of the roof, where he yanked the rest of his body onto the top of Dentri and Hapi's house. He looked down in time to see Dentri, Hapi, and the pancake table get buried beneath a sea of hungry and eager Kokiri children and fairies.

"Hope they leave seconds," Link laughed, skirting around the rim of the rooftop and jumping down to an open space free of clustered bodies. He found Saria and Tatl a short distance away, watching the ravenous pack of Kokiri from the clearing in the center of the village.

"Really? You had to climb Dentri and Hapi's house to escape?" Saria asked with a playful grin.

"Don't mind her, it was an awesome looking escape," Tatl cheered, buzzing merrily towards the stack of pancakes in Link's hand.

"I do my best to impress," He replied, taking a seat on the ground. Saria sat beside him and Tatl perched herself on her partner's knee. Seated and comfortable, Link passed out the pancakes he managed to secure.

Saria persisted with her wary look, balancing her plate in her hands as if she wanted to hold it at arm's length. "You're absolutely sure about this?"

Link glanced at the riot of Kokiri children and fairies mobbing Dentri and Hapi for pancakes. "Yeah, I think I am. Are you still fretting? These pancakes are actually really good. Trust me."  
"I do trust you! It's just—"

"—you don't trust Dentri and Hapi, right?"

Saria slowly nodded. "Are you sure you're okay Link? No violent headaches, chest pains, sudden muscle cramps, extreme stomach pain, or maybe even—?"

Link plucked off a piece of his own pancake and accurately tossed it into Saria's mouth as she spoke. At first, her expression was one of extreme shock, possibly fear. Then her mouth began to move as she slowly chewed the tiny morsel he'd given her. Gradually, her face lightened with a smile and she eagerly dug into her own pancake.

"See? Nothing to worry about."

"This stuff is awesome!" Tatl whooped, rolling her body across her own plate; pieces of the pancake randomly disappeared into the fairy's body as she devoured her meal.

"I'm … _gasp_ … glad you … _wheeze … _think so!"

Dentri and Hapi collapse face flat between Link and Saria, who choked on the pancake in her mouth at the duo's sudden appearance.

"Dentri, Hapi. What happened to you two?" Link asked, running his eyes over the two chefs. Dentri's tunic was ripped and torn like it'd been the rope of a tug of war game, while his "Kiss the Cook" hat was stuffed up his left nostril. Hapi was gasping for air on his partner's back, with one of his lucent pixie wings bent at a strange angle. "The two of you look like you ran into a swarm of angry Deku Scrubs."

"We'd forgotten … how dangerous … _pant_ … satisfied customers were!" Hapi gagged.

"I don't know … _huff _… if we want this much popularity anymore," Dentri groaned, refusing to move his body as he pivoted his head to get a look at Link. When he noticed Saria was staring down at him with concern, Dentri did his best to smile. "Hey there, Saria. You like our pancakes?"

"They're amazing," Saria nodded, licking honey from her fingers. "But the two of you don't look so good."

"We tried to keep up with the demand," Hapi supplied as Dentri continued to smile at Saria. "In the end, the customers always win. We told everyone there were more pancakes inside, so that's where they went."

Link took a glance over his shoulder; the giant table he, Saria, and Tatl had helped Dentri and Hapi move outside was now broken into several pieces. The Kokiri children and fairies who'd managed to grab themselves a plate of pancakes were mimicking Link, Saria, and Tatl by sitting on the ground and enjoying themselves. Those who hadn't gotten their meal were storming Dentri and Hapi's house; Link highly doubted the cooking duo would recognize their own home after breakfast was over.

A thought clicked in Link's head. "Dentri, can I ask you something? Dentri?" He turned back to the Kokiri chef to see he was still grinning at Saria, who was beginning to look uncomfortable beneath Dentri's unintended scrutiny. Link slapped the back of Dentri's head. "Dentri!"

"Whoa! Easy there, little hero!" Dentri moaned, pushing himself off the ground and into a seated position between Link and Saria. "I wouldn't dream of stealing Saria from you."

Link cocked an eyebrow. "Steal Saria from me?"

"Yeah, what chance would I have?" Dentri sighed dramatically. Hapi produced melodramatic tunes from his body. "The greatest son of the Great Deku Tree and the emerald rose of the village. I wouldn't stand a chance."

"Wait, wait. What?" Link demanded, seriously confused. Since when was he the greatest son? He was the only one in the Kokiri Village without a fairy. If anything, he was the awkward son. "One thing at a time! Since when am I the greatest son? When has Saria been called the emerald rose? What did you mean when you said you didn't have any chance?" He tried looking to Saria for answers, but her reddening expression told him she wouldn't be doing much talking. Tatl, on the other hand, doubtlessly would be babbling away if she wasn't having a seizure of laughter.

Only Dentri and Hapi looked as confused as him. "Wait, you seriously don't know? You're totally the Great Deku Tree's favorite! Almost every time someone goes to the Great Deku Tree for advice, he smiles and says you would have the answer! If we ever ask him for help, he says you can help us! Remember that time the Triplets came to you because they couldn't find their matching earrings? Remember the time Fresta asked you to help her weave together a new dress? Or that time Cupin ran up to you asking for help on a problem he couldn't solve? They all came to you because the Great Deku Tree said you could help them, and you did! The Great Deku Tree totally adores!"

"But he always refuses to give me a fairy partner! How is that a sign of affection?" Link protested. Although, this explained why Kokiri always seemed to come to him for help and advice, but it also made him suffer a greater deal of guilt for what he said to the Great Deku Tree a year ago. He'd been so blinded by his lack of a fairy partner he ignored the rest of the Great Deku Tree's kindness. He was the favorite child? Well, not anymore, not after what he said.

"Well, okay, fine! Maybe I used to be the Great Deku Tree's favorite. But since when has Saria been called the emerald rose of the village?" Link turned to Saria; her back was turned to him, but he could tell from her burning red ears he could probably confuse her face with an apple.

Dentri and Hapi's astonishment only grew more profound.

"It's true, what they say," Hapi mumbled. "You never see what you've got right in front of you."

"I can see Saria perfectly!" Link objected. "I know plenty about her! She was grown by the Great Deku Tree seven years ago, and we became friends almost immediately!"

"Then you know Saria is considered the prettiest in the village?" Dentri added. That gave Link a pause; he'd always considered Saria pretty, but prettiest in the village? "C'mon, Link! Half the village wants to be friends with her, and the other half wants to be friends with you!"

Link couldn't resist the urge the stare back at the crowd of pancake eating Kokiri behind him. He spotted Branda and Appi again when she started waving at him so hard he was afraid her hand might fall off. Link returned a small wave back, and Branda started squealing in joy. "This … is strange."

Dentri laughed aloud. "You're telling me. You mean to say you've never known you're the most popular boy in the village?"

"No," Link shrugged. Personally, he didn't really care. "But what did you mean when you said you didn't have a chance?"

"Aw, c'mon! You're not that thick, are you?" Dentri asked. Link could only stare at him blankly, perplexed to the core. "You're kidding me! The most popular boy in the village and the most popular girl! And the two of you are best friends! You don't see where this is headed?"

"Headed where?" Link demanded, irritated by how everyone else seemed to know something he didn't.

"Obviously, the two of you will be sitting on the—!"

Saria's hands flew out of nowhere, clasping over Dentri's mouth while her face portrayed desperate haste. "A-A-A-Anyways! L-L-Link! Didn't you want to ask Dentri something else?"

"But Dentri was about to tell me something important! Can't you let him?" He asked, pretty sure Dentri was starting in suffocate in Saria's hands.

"NO! Ask him something else!"

Now this was a side of Saria he'd never seen before. "Um … okay? Dentri, if it's okay with you, could you give me the recipe to your pancakes?"

Obviously, neither Saria nor Dentri was expecting such a question. Both their expressions slackened as Saria slowly pried her hands from Dentri's mouth, and the chef said, "Well, I guess so. I mean, usually Hapi and I don't hand out our recipes, especially our good ones."

"But," Hapi added, "Since you're pretty much the reason why our pancake is so loved by everyone, we can part with a little secret or two."

"Thanks, I'd love to try and make some myself," Link said gratefully as he finished the last of his own pancake. "Of course, I don't want to trouble you by asking this."

Dentri stood up straight and stuck his nose in the air. "The one and only Link is asking for _our_ recipe? I'm sure I can bear sharing its deep secrets!" He threw back his head and laughed, and Link couldn't help it; he laughed along. Their laughter was infectious, because soon enough, Saria, Tatl, and Hapi were mirthfully giggling along with them. Link loved moments like this; small moments where he could spend time, get along, and enjoy himself with his friends. It was moments like this that made life in the village so much more magical.

Link quelled his fit of laughter and licked the rest of his plate clean. "I'm glad you're sharing it with me, Dentri, because I bet I can name one Kokiri who would love to bury your pancakes."

"Really?" Hapi asked. "From what we can tell, everyone seems to love our pancakes. Who would do such a thing?"

"WHAT'S ALL THIS FUSS ABOUT?"

The village, which was filled with mirth and cheers, went silent.

Link let out an internal sigh. "Great Deku Tree's bark, here he comes."

A Kokiri child and his fairy came strutting out from one of the center village homes. His narrow head and wide freckled cheeks were held high, as if they were supposed to be seen and praised by all. His swung his gangly arms and stomped his big-toed shoes with a vigor that didn't go well with his loose sleeveless green tunic and pants. A hood, similar to Link's but smaller in size, swung precariously on his dirty-blond hair as he jutted his head from side to side. His murky-blue fairy partner stayed close by.

"Mido and Varl," Dentri groaned. "I totally forgot about them."

"Mido looks to be in an especially bad mood today," Tatl noted, flying beside Saria.

"I said, WHAT'S GOING ON?" Mido roared in his unsuited high pitch voice. Several voices shouted back at once.

"We're eating!"

"Yeah, what's wrong with that?"

"Get a better life!"

"Don't be rude!"

"But _what_ are you eating?" He demanded, stomping over to the Kokiri and fairy pair closest to him (Cupin and Balo) and glaring down at the plate of pancakes in Cupin's lap. "_What _is that?"

Cupin was an incredibly shy and withdrawn Kokiri, and Link could see him trembling beneath Mido's glare. "It's … it's a pancake. D-Dentri and Hapi m-made it."

Mido looked like a Deku Baba bit his rear. "_Who _did _what_?"

"_I _made a _pancake_!" Dentri shouted, treading heavily towards Mido with Hapi. "You got a problem with that, Mido?" When Mido noticed Dentri walking forward to confront him, he did the same. The two of them didn't stop until the bridges of their noses were brushing against one another. The two hissed at one another in low voices. Some of the Kokiri tiptoed towards them to try and hear what they were saying, but Link could easily tell what was passing between them from where his was, several yards away.

"Get rid of this garbage, now!" Mido growled, craning his head back to keep staring Dentri in the eyes (Mido was a good two inches shorter than the village chef).

"Don't wanna," Dentri snarled back, bumping his rounded stomach into Mido's. "Look for yourself! The whole village loves my pancakes!"

"I'm the leader of this village! You'll do as I say!"

"You're the self-proclaimed leader! The Great Deku Tree has never called _you_ a leader before!"

"I still do whatever I need to do to keep this village safe, and the trash you make isn't safe!"

"Link approved of my pancakes! The whole village knows it's good!"

"Who?" Then Mido immediately locked onto a new target: Link. "Him!" He pushed Dentri in the face and arrogantly made his way towards Link with his chest puffed out.

"Here we go again," Link sighed, getting to his feet. He didn't walk towards Mido, but instead remained where he stood to make the self-proclaimed leader come to him. He knew Mido absolutely abhorred him, and after his enlightening chat with Dentri and Hapi, he was beginning to understand why. Mido had a crush on Saria; the entire village knew this (even Link) when he tried professing his feelings to her by standing in front of her house and reciting badly written poetry in the middle of the night a few years back. Only problem was that Saria and a few other friends were having a sleepover at Link's place the same night, so Mido became a laughing stock for that particular incident. Then there was the fact that Mido was always trying to win the Great Deku Tree's favor, which was the reason why he claimed to be the leader of the village. However, if Link really was their father's favorite son, then that position was taken. Though he better understood the negative feelings Mido harbored towards him, he doubted he'd ever become friends with him, because Mido always used the most painful subject possible to mock Link.

"Mr. No-Fairy!" Mido jeered when he was a few feet away.

"Hello to you to, Mido," Link replied, watching the self-proclaimed leader stop when he was an arm's length away, his hands on his waist and his head held high.

"You're the one who approved of this junk?" Mido cocked his head at Tatl's half-eaten pancake on the ground.

"It's not junk, it's good cooking."

Mido spat at the ground. "Junk is junk! The Great Deku Tree has already provided us with all the food we'll ever need! We shouldn't be changing what he created for our sakes!"

"The Great Deku Tree loves it when we improvise! It shows we mature! Develop!" Link countered, though he knew none of his words would ever reach Mido's ears. "He loves it when we start thinking for ourselves by coming up with new and exciting things!"

"Oh, of course!" Mido said with mocking false agreement. "After all, Mr. No-Fairy is the Great Deku Tree's favorite! We should always listen to what he has to say!"

"Stop it, Mido!" Saria cut in, scrambling to her feet and coming to Link's defense. "The Great Deku Tree knows what's best for us, and Link always tries his best! Why do you always have to pick on him?"

Mido did a little jump when he saw Saria, and his flabby cheeks started to blush. "O-Oh! S-Saria! N-N-Nice to see you here! Gee, t-the morning is great, isn't it?"

"Mido, please answer the question," Saria asked. Link felt her hands slowly wrap around his left arm.

Mido must've noticed this too, because his embarrassment reverted back into spite. "You know why! Mr. No-Fairy isn't a Kokiri! All of us have fairy partners! All of us are Kokiri! He doesn't have a fairy, so he's not a Kokiri!"

Link knew he shouldn't pay any heed to Mido's words, but everything arrogant Kokiri said only fed his own festering suspicions. His accusations were the very thing Link feared: What if he wasn't a Kokiri? Link wanted to deny these accusations, but Mido's verbal abuse cut him deeper than he wanted to admit. All he could do was avert his gaze, clench his hands and bite his tongue.

"Enough!" Dentri shouted. Link glanced back up, surprised to see Dentri and Hapi standing behind him, with the chef's hand on his shoulder. "What kind of leader says something like that, Mido? Link is a Kokiri! He's our family! He's done more for us in a month than you've ever done in your lifetime! Stop being such a bully!"

"Yeah!" another Kokiri shouted out, "Stop picking on Link!"

"What've you done for us, anyways?"

"Dumb Mido!"

"Stupid Mido!"

"Link's our friend!"

"Stop being a bully!"

"Little Kiddo Mido!"

"AUGH! SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU!" Mido screamed, beating his feet into the ground.

"Whoa, Mido! Calm down!" Varl, Mido's fairy partner, said. "You're the leader! You don't lose your cool!"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Mido bawled. Link noticed a small tear forming at the corner of the self-proclaimed leader's clenched eyes and immediately felt bad. Mido was a bully, but he was still a Kokiri child of their village, so he was still family. He stepped forward to apologize, but Mido had something else in mind; he dove for Tatl's unfinished pancake, grabbed the plate, and threw it at Link's face.

Link's instincts were faster. The moment Mido took one step towards Tatl's pancake, he knew what was going to happen. He ducked beneath the honey-slathered projectile, and immediately wished he hadn't. When the pancake made a slurpy _splat_ behind him, he turned to see who the unlucky victim was.

Dentri.

The pancake smacked Dentri full in the face, even managing to drench Hapi, who was perched on his partner's shoulder, with a large glob of honey.

"Oh no," Link groaned.

The pancake slowly slipped off the front of Dentri's face and splat wastefully against the ground. The two chefs gaped at the pancake in horror as their masterpiece became inedible. Dentri and Hapi were cooks, so when they made a meal the village actually enjoyed for a change, they never let a single crumb go to waste. Now one of their pancakes was soaking up gravel and dirt, and their dumbstruck faces erupted into outrage.

"MIDO!" Dentri and Hapi ran to the nearest orange tree. He grabbed the biggest one he could reach, and threw. One after another, Dentri threw. Some would strike Mido, and others would arch far above the intended target and hit a spectator. These victims would grabbed their own edible missiles and lobbed them back in revenge, only to strike yet another innocent bystander, who immediately retaliated and became a participant in the inevitable battle.

"Food fight!

"Food fight!"  
"FOOD FIGHT!"

"Saria! RUN!" Saria's hands were still wrapped around Link's arm; this time, he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her along as battle exploded all around them. Kokiri children were bunkering down in whatever shelter they could find, grabbing fruits and vegetables by the dozen and chucking them at whatever moving target crossed their path. Link sprinted beneath the downpour of lemons, heads of lettuce, and pomegranates, racing down the route leading back to his home with Saria and Tatl in tow.

"Where are we going?" Saria yelped as a banana narrowly missed her.

"My place!" Link shouted back, tilting his head to the side as a tomato flew past his ear. "Hopefully we can get there—!" He skid to a stop as he saw his fear come true, "—before anyone decides to use it for themselves."

Too late. Several Kokiri were already scurrying about in his tree house, raiding the fruits and lobbing their ammo into the fray using the higher positioning to their advantage. Link recognized one of the Kokiri children as his friend Tref, along with his partner Dann, inside his tree house.

Tref spotted Link as well, brushing his long brown ponytail from his shoulder as he waved at him. "Hey Link! Wanna come in?"  
"No … thanks, we're good," He called back, pulling Saria and leading Tatl away.

"Wait," Saria said after they put a few more steps between them and Link's home. "Why aren't we going in? Isn't it a good place to hide?"

"Too good," Link replied, lifting his right foot as a cantaloupe fell from the sky and nearly crushed it. "Since there are actually Kokiri using it to their advantage in this food fight, other Kokiri will start attacking my home to get rid of them. We want to avoid this food fight, not be a part of it. We need a place to hide where no one will bother us."

"Then what about there?" Tatl suggested, drawing an arrow in the air with her glowing body. Saria's partner was indicating a small hut grown in a secluded corner of the village, pressed against the Wall. As far as Link could tell, the battle hadn't reached that lonely edge of the community.

"Good idea, let's go!" Link led the way, jumping off the designated pathway to take a more direct route. Together, the three of them navigated around fruit trees, passed a few self-made swing sets, and came upon the Little Riv cutting across the village. The perfectly clear river was still rather deep, so Link and Saria used a column of stone protruding from the water's surface to jump across. From there, it was a short jog to the isolated residence.

Link pulled the door open for Saria and Tatl. Once they scurried in, he stepped in as well, swinging the door closed and locking it shut.

"Greetings! Are you here to buy something?"

Link turned away from the door, immediately recognizing where they were. It was a one room house with a cone-shaped ceiling. Against the far wall, opposite from the door, was a counter stacked with various goods such as ropes, wooden shoves, cups, buckets, and more. The walls behind the desk were shelved with more fight-oriented objects, like deku sticks, deku nuts, and deku seeds.

This was the Kokiri Store, owned by Larro and Lepp. Larro was standing behind the counter with his fairy partner, greeting them with a very business-like smile on his massive face. His head was a cone, wide on the bottom yet narrow on his top, making his smile all the more eerie.

"We hope you're here to buy something," Lepp, the brown fairy partner, said.

"What're you two doing here?" Tatl demanded.

"We live here, duh!"

"I know that!" Tatl snapped. "But why are you here right now? Why didn't you go out for pancakes?"

"Tatl, we tried the So-Flow before," Larro replied. "And from the way Saria is acting right now, I'd say it's a good thing we didn't touch their lasted experiment."

"Saria?" Link looked towards his friend; his heart nearly clawed its way out of his throat when he saw her sitting on the floor, back pressed against the wall with her head in her hands. "Saria! Are you alright?"

"I … I'm fine," Saria whispered, smiling slightly when he knelt next to her in concern. "A little dizzy. It's probably from running so fast after eating so much, you know?"

Link breathed in relief. "And here I thought you were suffering another So-Flow attack."

Saria groaned to that. "Don't remind me."

"Oi!" Larro snapped his fingers to get their attention. "Are you two here to buy something or not?"

"I do hope you noticed there's a food fight going on out there," Link said, pointing at the open window. The volume of the battle was increasing, and from what he could tell, that meant the food fight had reached every corner of the village.

Larro and Lepp were far too excited. "A food fight? Really? YES!"

"Hey! This is a bad thing!"

Lepp laughed, his body's glow lighting up with his mirth. "Bad for you? Maybe, but great for business! They'll be swarming in here, begging to buy our stock to give them an edge in battle!"

There was no point in trying to argue with the two of them. Larro and Lepp sold their goods in exchange for favors and promises, meaning they had a lot to cash in when the food fight eventually ended. But that was the problem: _Eventually_. A normal food fight between children was bad enough, but a food fight with _unlimited_ ammo? It was a nightmare. The last food fight that occurred within the Kokiri Village took place three months ago, and it lasted for two full weeks. Link knew this food fight had to stop before anyone got hurt.

"It's so strange, isn't it?" Saria murmured.

"Food fights?" Link shrugged, looking out the window and watching his buddy Tref nail a different Kokiri in the face with an apple. "Not really. They've been happening way too often."

"That's what's strange! Before, the Great Deku Tree would stop something like this in an instant!" Saria pointed out. "He's always teaching us how we have to respect our food and home! Now he doesn't do anything."

"You're right, that is strange," Link muttered, scratching the side of his head. "When was the last time the Great Deku Tree intervened in a food fight?"

"Um … about a year ago, I think," Tatl replied. "Why?"

"A year ago?" Link groaned. "What if this is my fault?"

"It's not!" Saria assured, jumping right back to her feet; at least she was feeling better. "It's Mido's fault for picking on you like he always does!"

"No, that's not what I meant. What if it's my fault the Great Deku Tree has become so lax with keeping the rules? What if what I said hurt him so badly, he doesn't want anything to do with us anymore?" The more he thought about it, the worse he felt.

Tatl scoffed loudly at the idea. "Please, get a grip. The Great Deku Tree has been around for thousands upon thousands of years. I doubt the words of a twelve year old Kokiri would shake him up. I bet the old tree is just trying to get your attention."

"You think so?"

"The Great Deku Tree is wiser and more powerful than you could possibly image. He's also witty and cunning to boot. I bet he wants you to go see him."

"He wants me to visit him?"

Tatl spun in several small circles: Doubt. "Heck, who knows? One thing is for sure, we're going to need his help to put an early stop to this food fight. Meeting him is the only way."  
Link frowned; what Tatl said made sense. Talking to the Great Deku Tree and informing him about the village's current predicament was the best way to end the food fight. On the other hand, it also meant he'd have to meet with his father and apologize for all the things he said a year ago. "Well, better late than never, right?"

Saria's eyes went wide. "Link, you're going out there?"

"How else am I going to meet the Great Deku Tree?"

"Have you seen how badly this food fight has gotten?" Saria asked, pointing to the Kokiri Store window. He took another peek outside; what he saw was not encouraging. As he suspected, the battle had spread throughout the village. He could see a few Kokiri children hiding in their homes, hoping to avoid the fight, but those who were participating already stretched the warfare throughout the village, and each and every one of them was consumed by the rhythm of battle.

"Well, it's not like I have to stop the food fight to get to the Great Deku Tree," Link pointed out, keeping his attention on the battle long enough to see one Kokiri dunk another Kokiri's head into a watermelon. He peered to his left, spotting the small gap in the Wall which led to the Great Deku Tree's meadow. The only things standing in his way were Branda and Appi dueling bananas with their nemesis Twiggs and Oran in front of the Kokiri Store's door. After he got past them, he needed to avoid a random downpour of food and cross pond isolating the entrance to the Great Deku Tree's meadow from the rest of the village. Thankfully, there was another pathway of stone column steps in the pond Link could use. "Yeah, I can make it."

"Well, if you decide to go through with your plan, be careful with Mido," Larro called out.

"Believe me, I intend to stay as far away from Mido as possible."

"Eh … it might not be that easy," Lepp said.

Link narrowed his eyes at the pair of them. "Why?"

"Well, you see, Mido made us a promise that was pretty hard to refuse, and in exchange for that, we gave him a piece of merchandise." Larro explained.

"Which piece of merchandise?"

"Um … our Fairy Slingshot?"

Link whipped his head back towards the window and frantically searched for Mido and Varl. He promptly spotted the two of them standing atop of their house on the other side of the village, armed with a sturdily built slingshot and firing cherries into the fray.

"You're not serious!"

Larro grinned guiltily. "I'm pretty sure the moment Mido sees you, you'll be target number one. He's pretty good with that thing, too."

Link rest his head against the wall and closed his eyes. Regardless of what Mido was armed with, he knew he still had to get to the Great Deku Tree's meadow to stop the food fight, even if that meant being Mido's personal target practice.

"Don't you have anything Link can use to defend himself?" Saria protested.

Link glanced at the store owners. "Do you?"

"Hey, we're all business!" Larro declared firmly. "You want something of ours? Then you've got to give us something in return!"  
"I won't tell Fresta you've got a huge crush on her!" Saria suggested.

The effect was immediate.

"Coming right up, our greatest invention!" Larro and Lepp disappeared behind their store counter, followed by the shuffling and rummaging sound of a desperate search.

Link couldn't resist a smile. "How'd you know Larro has a crush on Fresta?"

"You should see the way he looks at her."

"Yeah!" Tatl added. "It's the same way Saria looks at—!" Saria snatched her partner out of the air and trapped her fairy in her fingers.

"Here it is!" Larro and Lepp reemerged, plopping a wooden object onto a clean spot on their counter. Link stepped up to their front desk to get a better look. Whatever it was, it certainly didn't look like a great invention. Instead, it looked like Larro and Lepp ripped off a large piece of bark (about as big as Link's chest) from a tree, smoothed the edges until it was somewhat round, and painted a red symbol of the Kokiri on the front.

"What is this?" Link asked, tapping the surface of the item with his knuckle. He was hardly impressed. Saria was a little disappointed. Tatl flew in a small circle around the piece of bark and smirked.

"We call it the Deku Shield!" Larro declared, as if the shield were a deity in need of reverence.

"It's a piece of bark."

Larro gasped. "You dare insult our craftschildship? This Deku Shield was made from the shell of a Big Deku Baba! It was sanded down with the fang of a Big Skulltula and hardened with powder made from grinded Stalfos bones!"

"Larro, none of those monsters live in the Kokiri Village, and none of us are allowed to leave the village," Link pointed out. Though he and Saria regularly snuck out of the village at night, this was a fact they kept between themselves. Still, he knew this slab of bark was a better deal than nothing. He hefted the Deku Shield and found leather straps that fastened to his arm on the underside. He equipped the shield to his right arm and experimentally swung it around. Its lack of weight was both surprising and disturbing; Link felt as though the shield would shatter after receiving a single hard blow. "This thing feels like it'll break if I swing it around too fast. You really don't have anything better?"

"Hey, we spent a great deal of time and sweat creating that!" Larro shouted. "And the Great Deku Tree enchanted it with his magic so it'll never break!"

Now that got Link's attention. "He did what?"

"After we finished crafting the Deku Shield from old bar—I mean—our superb ingredients, we showed it to the Great Deku Tree! He was so impressed with our work he blessed it with his magic so that it'll never break!"

A shield imbued with the Great Deku Tree's magic? Now Link could live with that. "Alright, that makes me feel better. Thanks for lending it to me, Larro, Lepp."

"No problem, just don't tell … you know …" Larro turned to Saria with a look of desperation. She smiled back, drawing her fingers across her lips as if she were zipping it closed. Larro sighed in heavy relief.

"Then I'll be going, the sooner the better," Link said, walking to the door and reaching for the lock.

Saria touched his shoulder. "Be careful."

"C'mon, it's only a food fight. I won't die from a stray lemon," Link joked. When he saw that Saria's mood refused to lighten, he grew worried. "Saria, what's wrong?"

"I … I don't know. I'm getting a bad feeling, that's all."

"It'll be fine. I'll make my way to the Great Deku Tree, ask him to stop this food fight, and … and hopefully get a chance to apologize for what I said to him."

Saria tried at a smile. "Good luck."

Link grinned. He unlocked the door, pushed it open, stepped outside, and slammed it shut behind him. The roaring food fight assaulted his ears from every direction, but when he heard the door lock from the other side, he charged forward.

Branda and Twiggs were so absorbed in their epic banana battle with one another they didn't see him rushing headlong towards them. Even their fairy partners, Appi and Oran, were too busy butting heads. Link could easily give them some space and run around them, but he didn't want the two of them to hurt each other. So instead, he slid forward feet first, stretching out his arms and sweeping the squabbling children off their feet and onto their faces.

"Sorry!" He called as they lay dazed on the ground. From there, it was a twenty feet sprint to the pond, a short jump from one stone step to another atop of the water's surface, and he'd be at the Great Deku Tree's meadow. Three steps forward, he saw the shadow of an apple flying towards him; his swung out with his Deku Shield and battered it aside without turning his head or pausing to stop. The shield held strong, which came to as a great relief.

Four feet away from the edge of the pond, a tingling sensation jumped down Link's neck. Without thinking, he slid to a stop and ducked. A cheery traveling at blurring speeds brushed into his green hood and knocked it off his head; if he hadn't ducked when he did, he would've taken that cherry right to the back of the head.

"MR. NO-FAIRY!"

"Of course it comes to this." Link grabbed his fallen hood before it hit the grass, placed it back on his head, and spun around with his Deku Shield raised. Mido had spotted him and unleashed four additional cherries from his slingshot. Link blocked each red missile with his shield.

Mido screamed, but his voice was lost beneath the tide of noise already stemming from the food fight. He jumped down from the roof of his house, staggering when he landed hard on his feet. Link considered his chances of making a break for the Great Deku Tree's meadow while Mido recovered, absentmindedly knocking aside a carrot that was flung in his direction. No, it wouldn't work. There were eight stone steps traversing the pond's surface, each a foot and a half apart in distance. He had to cross those first in order to get to the entrance of the Great Deku Tree's meadow, and Mido could freely shoot him in the back while he was jumping rocks.

It was time to make a stand.

Mido took several more seconds to get back onto his feet, but when he did, he started rushing towards Link in reckless abandon, firing cherries from his slingshot all the while. Link calmly knocked aside each and every shot, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike while slowly skidding his feet backwards towards the edge of the pond.

When Mido was less than four yards away, he reached into the underside of his belt (the place where he'd been storing his cherry ammo) to discover he'd run out. In a careless fit of anger, Mido threw the Fairy Slingshot at Link instead, who snatched it out of the air with his left hand and tucked it under his belt. He scooted back a few more steps, making it look like he was trying to retreat, until he felt his right boot heel splash at the edge of the water.

"MR. NO-FAIRY!" Mido bawled, aimlessly swinging his balled up fists in sloppy circles. He was six feet away … five … four … three … two …

The moment Mido was a foot away, Link knelt onto one knee and jabbed his Deku Shield against Mido's legs. Using his own momentum against him, Link lifted Mido's feet off the ground and sent him soaring above his head, forcing him to fly head first into the pond. Mido landed in the shallow areas of the water and hastily resurfaced; Link had been counting on that. As the self-proclaimed leader's head broke the surface of the water, Link jumped, using Mido's head as a foothold and leaping towards the stone steps crossing the remainder of the pond. He reached the steps with an easy bound, landing lightly on his feet. The entrance to the Great Deku Tree's meadow was right in front of him, but before he could take off, he turned back to Mido, who was coughing and sputtering out pond water.

"I need to ask you something."

Mido crawled onto dry grass, refusing to stand up or look at him. "I don't care, Mr. No-Fairy! I hate you! I don't want to talk to you!"

"Please, talk to me! Why do you hate me so much? I know you like Saria, and I know you want the Great Deku Tree to recognize you, but those can't be the only reasons for why you hate me! What've I done to you?"

"Everything! You've taken everything from me!"

"That's not true! I haven't done anything to hurt you!"

"Shut up, Mr. No-Fairy!" Mido screamed. It took Link a moment to realize that it wasn't water dripping onto the grass, but tears. "Stop talking like you're so kind and innocent! You're Saria's best friend! You're so much closer to the girl I like than I'll ever be! I've tried so hard to let her know my feelings, yet you've done nothing! You're even the Great Deku Tree's favorite! I do everything I can to prove that I can take care of this village like he can, but he never acknowledges me! He always praises you, always says we should follow your example! Even after you said those terrible things to him, he still loves you more than me! You have everything I could ever want without even trying!" Mido's head jerked around to face him, and for the first time, Link saw past the bully that was always tormenting him, and saw the grief Mido had been hiding away all this time. "I'll never acknowledge you! Never! I wish you would leave! I wish you would disappear from this village and never come back!"

* * *

EDIT: Well, I took a bit of free time to reread the first chapter of my story. Looking back makes me blush, and I ask myself, "I wrote this...dang, all those spelling and grammar errors." Eck, instead of improving my writing skills, I should probably improve my proof-reading skills. I almost laughed at myself when I reread this chapter and saw all those mistakes and frequently used words. I've fixed most of the errors and rewrote a few (small) parts. There may still be some errors, but I will find them eventually. As always, thanks for reading.

EDIT: Sorry I haven't been updating at all these days, but I've had a few things on my plate, including the revision of the Three Spiritual Stones. This is a new version of Chapter 1, thank you for reading! (7/4/12)


	2. Chapter 2, Troubled Feelings

**Chapter 2**

**Troubled Feelings**

Saria sat by Link's side, keeping her hands folded on her lap as she rested her cheek on his shoulder. The mood was so perfect it was almost dream-like. The two of them sat upon a flat tree stump within the Sacred Grove, located beyond the Kokiri Village, far outside the Wall. The Sacred Grove was found on a large mound of elevated land. It was a wide clearing blossoming with wild roses and lilies, all of which glowed in the dark thanks to the magical properties infused within their stems. The grove was surrounded by the familiar colossal trees whose branches reached out and blocked the sky from view. The only difference between these trees and those of the Wall was that these hummed with vibrant life, causing their unblemished bark to shine like polished stone and their Light Flower petals to descend at frequent and timely intervals, showering Saria and Link in a tender mist of gems. Tatl was away (thank the Goddesses) intermingling with the stray fairies of the grove, fairies who had no Kokiri partners but were as lively and sweet as any other.

Here they were, in the Sacred Grove, at the dead of night, enveloped in the soft radiance of the most gorgeous place Saria had ever seen. Link's presence, with his arm wrapped around her shoulder, only made their stay so much more enjoyable. She closed her eyes and wished that this moment, this blossoming flower in time, would never end.

_… Saria …_

She flinched, opening her eyes as her name suddenly echoed off the flowers and trees. "Link, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"I …" Saria looked around, but noticed no changes to the Sacred Grove. "Nothing, I guess. I thought I heard someone say my name."

"Well, it's just the two of us here," Link said, showing Saria her favorite smile; gentle yet confident. "So unless Tatl came back to tease you, you've got nothing to worry about."

"Right, you're right," Saria breathed, wondering what had gotten into her. She reached out and held Link's free hand, knowing this warmth, this presence, would always be with her.

_… Saria …_

She stumbled to her feet and out of Link's hands, shivering as a tingle of unease brushed her.

"What's wrong?" Link asked, standing up beside her.

"You can't hear that? You can't hear someone calling my name?"

Link's brows furrowed into concern. "Saria, I don't hear anything, and you know me, I can hear everything."

_… Saria … !_

"Stop! Please stop!" She begged, falling to her knees and covering her ears with her hands. She didn't want this wonderful moment to be ruined, she didn't want it to end. It was futile, for the perpetrating voice only chanted louder and louder. "Please! Leave us alone!"

**AWAKEN!**

Saria gasped as a new voice stabbed at her mind, rattling her head so badly she felt like it was splitting open.

"Who are you? Who's there?" She yelled, barely hearing her own voice over the continuous recite of the first and the booming echo of the second. Saria squeezed her head with her hands as she tried to find Link. He was still next to her, alarm spread all over his face while he held her shoulders with both his hands; his voice ebbed and faded within the gale tearing her mind apart.

**YOU MUST AWAKEN**!

"Leave me alone!"

**THE CURSE OF DEMISE COMES TO LIGHT ONCE MORE! YOU MUST AWAKEN! THE FATE OF HYRULE RESTS IN THE HANDS OF THE SEVEN!**

"Stop it! Please stop!"

_… Saria …!_

**AWAKEN!**

She screamed, arching her back and tossing her head as images flooded into her mind without restraint. She saw friends she never had. She fought enemies she never knew. She traveled to places she'd never been. She lost loved ones she didn't recognize. All these memories were shredding her mind apart; the more she resisted, the greater the pain which followed.

_… Saria …!_

"L-Link!" Saria cried, trying to look past the pictures and memories branding themselves into her eyes. When she saw him, the surge of foreign images halted, blocked out by her overwhelming fear. Link was being taken away; vines and tree branches reached down and wrapped themselves around his body, binding his arms, legs, neck, and mouth. The forest was taking him from her. A blinding pillar of light pierced the branches blotting out the sky, and the forest lifted Link towards the opening, forcing him out.

Saria shouted his name over and over again, unable to hear her own voice with her deafened ears. She stretched out her hand, trying to reach him as he shouted and reached for her.

**ENOUGH!**

The ground split apart. Crevasses tore open the forest's flesh, and trees cracked and splintered as they fell from their mighty roots and collided into the ground. The flowers at Saria's feet rot and fell into the pitiless valleys ripping across the forest. The Light Flowers above withered and died, raining down dust and mold.

**LOOK! THIS IS THE DESTRUCTION THE DARKNESS HERALDS! THIS WILL BE THE FATE OF HYRULE ONCE MORE! **

"Link!" Saria shouted, unable to do anything but cry as she watched him slowly disappear into the light. "Give him back! Give him back to me!"

**HE HAS HIS OWN DESTINY, AND YOU HAVE YOURS! PROTECT HYRULE! REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE! AWAKEN!**

"No!"

**AWAKEN!**

"No!"

**AWAKEN!**

"NEVER!"

* * *

"Saria!"

She jolted, flashing open her eyes to find herself curled into a ball on the floor of the village store, shivering uncontrollably. Tatl was flying erratically over her in extreme distress while Larro and Lepp worriedly stared at her from behind the counter.

"What … happened?" She moaned, trying to stand upright only to end up leaning against the wall as the world spun around her.

"You tell me!" Tatl demanded, fluttering so close to her face that all Saria could see was her partner's green body. "The moment you locked the door behind Link you collapsed! Then you start twitching and sweating so badly I thought you were having another So-Flow attack!"

"I knew those pancakes were trouble," Larro scowled.

"Good thing we stayed in," Lepp agreed.

"You're _not_ helping!" Tatl hissed at the store owners. "The least you two scrubs can do is get Saria some water!"

"Water?"

"Right, water!" Larro and Lepp disappeared behind their counter, ransacking their hidden stock while causing a loud racket. "Wait, do we even have water?"

"I don't know! Keep looking!"

If Tatl had eyes, Saria was pretty sure she'd be rolling them

She almost managed a smile until a bloating pain ignited in her stomach. It was similar to the feeling she got when she ate too much too fast, but only ten times worse. In addition to that, a dark sensation was gnawing at her body, like something was rotting inside of her. She gasped as the pain doubled, and both her hands squeezed at her chest.

Tatl was distraught. "Saria! What's wrong? Please tell me you're okay!"

"Tatl … how long was I …?" Saria wrung the words out of her mouth.

"Only a few seconds! The moment you locked the door behind Link, you collapsed! You started shivering all over and my healing magic couldn't do anything!"

Now that was definitely strange. All fairies have the natural ability to exude a type of healing dust from their bodies. This restorative powder could cure nearly any ailment along with light physical injuries. It was thanks to Tatl's healing powers that Saria survived her So-Flow Leftovers experience. If her partner's abilities couldn't help her, she didn't know what else could.

Then a separate, more urgent, thought jabbed at Saria's mind. "Link! Where's Link?"

"Link? He's outside of course, trying to get to the Great Deku Tree," Tatl replied, looking more worried by the moment. "Saria, you do remember, don't you?"

"I have to see him!" Saria limped towards the door and unbolted the lock.

"Whoa! Time out!" Her partner flew between her and the door. "There's a very serious food fight going on outside, and you're definitely not feeling well! I can't let you go outside! Let Link get to the Great Deku Tree! I'm sure once the Great One is done putting everyone back in their place, he'll heal you!"

"I need to see him! Please!" Saria begged. She didn't want to argue with Tatl, not now, not at a time like this. Her dream, nightmare, vision, whatever it was, still haunted her waking thoughts. If she didn't see Link right now, she had a terrible feeling she never would again.

"Saria, please don't—!"

She ignored Tatl, pulling the door open and staggering outside; her partner groaned loudly but darted after her anyways. Saria did her best to stand straight, but the boiling in her stomach only grew worse when she tried. The food fight had definitely escalated; she couldn't find a square foot of clear grass not splattered by broken fruits or chunks of vegetables.

Her relief couldn't be described when she saw Link, perfectly alive and well. The only thing attacking him was Mido … wait, Mido?

"Mido!" She sighed, watching the village leader charged at Link. Thankfully, the Deku Shield Larro and Lepp had given him served him well; Mido couldn't get a single decent shot in. Finally, the village leader fell back onto his bad habit of losing his cool and tossed his Fairy Slingshot at Link, who simply grabbed the slingshot and tucked it under his belt. Mido continued to charge, fists raised and swinging wildly. If the Great Deku Tree knew how violent Mido was acting, he would've been grounded for a decade.

Still, Link was clearly too much for Mido to handle. Saria watched him duck down and flip Mido over his head, tossing the village leader into the pond. Saria breathed in relief, grateful neither of them had a chance to seriously hurt one another. She stepped around Branda and Twiggs, both of whom were sleeping on the grass besides each other, and ducked beneath Appi and Oran (the two fairies were relentlessly battering one another in the air). Saria was still trying to make her way to Link without being brained by flying carrots when she heard Mido's screams. Link was already halfway across the pond, standing on the stone steps poking out of the water, while Mido was on all fours at the water's shore, crying heavily.

"Shut up, Mr. No-Fairy!" Saria heard Mido bellow past his tears. "Stop talking like you're so kind and innocent! You're Saria's best friend! You're so much closer to the girl I like than I'll ever be! I've tried so hard to let her know my feelings, yet you've done nothing! You're even the Great Deku Tree's favorite! I do everything I can to prove that I can take care of this village like he can, but he never acknowledges me! He always praises you! Always says we should follow your example! Even after you said those terrible things to him, he still loves you more than me! You have everything I could ever want without even trying! I'll never acknowledge you! Never! I wish you would leave! I wish you would disappear from this village and never come back!"

Saria's heart nearly gave out as she saw the effects Mido's words had on Link. His expression dropped into a state of dejection she'd never seen as the strength left his arms. His lips moved; she couldn't hear him, but knew what he said regardless: _"Sorry."_

Link turned around and leapt across the remainder of the stone steps leading to the Great Deku Tree's meadow. Mido resumed his crying, shouting about how he didn't want apologies while wading into the pond and kicking water at Link's direction.

Saria ran, ignoring the festering pain spreading inside her stomach. She didn't bother walking around the edge of the pond to reach the start of the stone steps to cross; instead, she jumped straight into the water, trudging through the shallow areas until her toes no longer touched the bottom of her pond. She kicked with her feet and paddled with one arm, keeping the other wrapped tightly around the pain thrumming in her stomach. She was desperate; she didn't know why, but she knew if Link went to the Great Deku Tree, he would set something into motion, something Saria wouldn't be able to accept.

With great difficulty, she managed to pull herself onto the small shore of the entrance leading to the Great Deku Tree's meadow. The woven fibers of her drenched clothes automatically began to expand and contract, wringing out the pond water and drying them in moments. Her hair was still drenched, and her headband was lopsided, but such inconsequential matters could wait. She thought she heard Mido call her name, but she paid him no mind. She forged onwards, blocking out Tatl's protests to take it easy.

The towering trees of the Wall fashioned a narrow pathway straight ahead before turning to the right, which would lead straight to the Great Deku Tree's meadow. Saria could still make out the faint imprints of Link's boots in the grass, so she knew she was getting closer. Each step she took intensified the pain in her gut, but her feelings outweighed the discomfort by a large margin. With every step, her stride grew longer. As soon as she reached the right turn, she stepped around the corner, her plead for Link to come back on the tip of her tongue.

Saria bit down, hard. Tatl almost rang out in alarm, but wisely stayed silent. She could see the Great Deku Tree and his meadow down the pathway in the far-off distance, but Link wasn't there yet; instead, he was only a few steps in front of her, his unaware back turned towards her while his attention was fully focused on the beasts before him, monster which couldn't possibly exist within the borders of the village.

Deku Babas. Eight ferial, drooling, and mouth-snapping Deku Babas stood between Link and the Great Deku Tree. These were one of the many beasts occupying the forests outside the village. They were plant-based monsters that were all mouth and neck. Their round blue heads were at least three times larger than Saria's own, consisting of a single snapping jaw lined with thorns for teeth and a serrated red tongue. Their bodies were nothing more than six feet long green vines about a thick as her arm. One end of their body was attached to the base of their head/mouth while the other stayed rooted to the ground. This meant the Deku Baba remained stationary, unable to strike at anything outside of its bite range. However, the jaw strength of the Deku Baba was notoriously powerful; they might be harmless to anyone outside their reach, but they could crunch children like Saria and Link in half with one bite.

Saria had plenty of questions buzzing in her already muddled mind: What were Deku Babas doing here? How could they possibly grow inside the Wall? Could their infestation spread to the rest of the village? Was everyone in the village in danger? But the question burning the hardest in Saria mind was this: Why wasn't Link running away?

He was staring down the mouth of the closest Deku Baba, his Deku Shield raised and his free left hand shaking out the tension in his fingers. What was he thinking? There was no way he could possibly take on eight Deku Babas with nothing but an enchanted piece of wood! If he didn't run now, he'd die!

To her growing horror, she noticed Link was actually sliding his feet _towards_ the nearest Deku Baba, steadily easing himself into the monster's biting range. The Deku Baba he faced slowly snaked its head back, as if daring Link to get any closer.

_Please run! Please, just run!_ Saria begged. She didn't dare say anything aloud in fear of breaking Link's concentration or spurring the Deku Baba to attack.

Then the forest monster suddenly jerked its head to the left, and Link flinched. It lunged for him, mouth open and drool flying.

Saria couldn't bear to watch; her face buried itself into her hands as a terrible scream echoed off the trees. That was it. Link was dead. Was this what Saria had been afraid of? Was this the unavoidable destiny that had awaited him? All she could do was choke back a sob as the high-pitched scream grated at the air.

_Wait._

The scream's pitch was too high, something no child was capable of. Saria lifted her head, dropped her hands, and immediately wondered what happened.

Link was still standing, and the Deku Baba's head had been severed from the rest of its body. Its mouth flapped opened and closed, screeching its death throes for another second before ceasing to move. Its beheaded body straightened and stiffened into a deku stick, snapping off the ground and tumbling harmlessly along the grass.

Link rushed to the next Deku Baba, bashing its mouth aside when it lunged for him, used his left hand to grasp the base of its body and yanked it out of the ground. The creature screamed, flailing wildly as it died. The next Deku Baba pounced for Link, its mouth wide open. He raised his Deku Shield and smashed the monster's head into the ground. While it twitched in a daze, he raised his right foot and brought it down on the middle of the Deku Baba's body, severing it in half. The next two forest monsters attacked together, snapping at Link from his left and right. Saria watched him run forward, slide beneath the two open jaws, and then press the edge of his shield against the ground before swinging it in a low arch, snipping the two attacking Deku Baba's from the ground like flower buds. The sixth Deku Baba tried to swallow him up while he was still kneeling on the ground; he retaliated with a sharp back-fist from his left hand, punching the beast and sending its open mouth into the body of the Deku Baba behind it, beheading the monster with a sharp snip. Link hastily got to his feet, raised his shield, and slammed the wooden rim into the vine-like body of the Deku Baba he punched, dislodging it from the earth and killing it. Without sparing another second, he jumped forward and grabbed the stem of detached Deku Baba and swung it like a weapon at the last surviving forest monster. Their two heads collided, smashing them both into a bloody blue pulp.

Saria's jaw nearly dropped. Her astonishment at Link's performance made her momentarily forget about the pain bubbling in her body. Even the usually chatty Tatl remained dumbfounded in silence. Saria had known Link for all her life, yet she'd never seen, or even known, he could fight like that.

"What's going on here?" Saria heard him pant; his back was still ignorantly facing her. "Why are there Deku Babas in the Kokiri Village? The Great Deku Tree's protective magic should prevent them from appearing in inside the Wall!"

This was true. The Wall wasn't the only thing protecting the village, but also the numerous spells their father placed all across the village to prevent forest monsters from popping out of the ground. If these spells were weakening, then the village was in grave danger.

"In any case," Link continued, "I've got to get to the Great Deku Tree. I'm sure he can explain everything."

That was Saria's cue. She opened her mouth to call his name, but something else stole her chance. The moment Link stepped forward, the ground in front of him exploded. For a moment, she suffered a flashback about Link being carried away by the forest, never to be seen again. However, this wasn't the case. Instead, another batch of Deku Baba's burst from the ground before him, forcing him to leap back to avoiding losing a leg to one of the many Deku Babas snarling at him. There were far too many to count. This wasn't a minor outbreak; it was almost a full infestation. It was almost humorous how the village was ignorant of this major issue thanks to a food fight.

Now the pathway to the Great Deku Tree's meadow was blocked off by a swarming wall of Deku Baba's spawning from the ground. Saria deeply hoped Link wasn't rash enough to take on this many monsters at once.

"What is going on here?" He demanded, taking two more steps away from the salivating forest beasts.

"Let me explain."

Saria's head snapped up at the new voice. She thought she could recognize everyone, child and fairy, in the village by their voice, but this was the very first time she'd heard this one.

Hovering a few feet above Link, and gradually floating down to his eye level, was a blue fairy. Its delicate transparent wings hummed easily as it flew up and down in front of him.

Link gave the fairy an awkward wave. "Hi? I'm sorry, I don't recognize you. Where's your Kokiri partner, and what're you doing here?"

"Hi, it's … it's really good to see you. It's only obvious you don't recognize me, I'm … new here," the fairy replied. "I'm here because the Great Deku Tree sent me. As for whom my partner is, I'm looking at him."

"Say that again?"

"I said I'm looking at my partner: You. I'm your fairy partner. Call me Navi. Nice to meet you, Link."

"You … you're my fairy partner?"

"You're a little thick, aren't you?"

Saria couldn't blame him. Twelve years, that was how long Link had been without a fairy partner, and now one arrived right out of the blue. Today truly was a strange day. Regardless, she could barely contain her own happiness for Link's sake. Finally, he was a true Kokiri. Now there was nothing separating him from the rest of the village. Now there was nothing Mido could say to hurt him anymore.

"You okay?" Navi the fairy asked. She flew closer to Link's face, then back away. "Whoa, I don't think I've seen such a disturbingly happy face in my lifetime, and hopefully I never will again."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Link asked.

"Your face. That smile. It's really, really creeping me out."

"Oh, sorry about that.

Saria's eyes locked onto the back of Link's head. He was making a creepy and disturbingly happy face? That was something she absolutely _had_ to see. Why did his back have to be facing her at such a crucial time?

"Saria! Wait for me!" Mido's called, his voice echoing from the entrance of the trail. Saria almost tripped over herself in surprise when she saw Mido barreling towards her.

"Saria?" Her head whipped back towards Link, who'd finally turned around (without the disturbingly happy face on, dang it) and noticed her. "Saria! What are you doing here?"

"Who's this?" Navi asked, darting towards her. Up close, the fairy's body was a really beautiful shade of blue.

"Navi, this is Saria," Link introduced, barely able to contain his joyous smile. "Saria, this is Navi, my fairy partner. Can you believe it? My fairy partner!"

"I heard!" Saria said happily, giving him a tight hug. With Link in her arms, she felt a heavy weight drop from her back. He was here, he was warm, and he wasn't going anywhere. Everything was alright. "I'm so happy for you."

"Hello, Saria. Nice to meet you and all that," Navi replied. "And who're you?"

"Tatl! Saria's fairy partner!"

Navi nodded, and then motioned to Mido. "And who's that?"

Link released Saria and looked around the corner. His lips tugged into a small frown. "That's Mido and his fairy partner Varl."

Navi must've noticed her partner's grimace. "So I take it the two of you aren't the best of friends?"

"Saria!" Mido called again. His face was full of eager determination, but when he saw Link standing beside her, he put on his hateful scowl. "Mr. No-Fairy! Why are you here?"

"Whoa, back up!" Navi flew up to Mido's face. "Who're you calling Mr. No-Fairy? If he's Mr. No-Fairy, then what am I? Deku Scrub dandruff?"

Mido stared at Navi in disbelief. "What are you doing here? Go back to your partner! You know it's not proper for a fairy to leave their partner!"

"Really?" Navi said in false surprise. "Well, I'm so sorry! I'm new here, so I don't know all the rules yet. Don't worry! I'm going back to my partner!" She flew over to Link and landed on top of his hood. "See? All better now!"

Mido's eyes became as round as deku nuts. "Wait … Mr. No-Fairy is your partner? That's not possible! This has to be a mistake!"

"Hey! The Great Deku Tree personally assigned me to Link!" Navi snapped back. "You don't like it? Take it up with … oh, wait! Link, we don't have time to waste! The Great Deku Tree sent me to find you because he urgently needs your help!"

If Saria ever wondered if Mido could look any more outraged, he was proving it right now. His face swelled into an unhealthy red, and his fingers clenched into tight fists until his arms started trembling.

"The Great Deku Tree wants to see Link? Why?" Mido demanded, stomping towards Link and Navi. Saria was afraid he would start throwing punches again.

"Because only Link can help him, obviously," Navi said as-a-matter-of-factly.

"But_ why_ Link? I'm the leader of the village! The Great Deku Tree should have called for me!" Mido irately protested.

"Really? You're the leader? Funny, the Great Deku Tree never mentioned you," Navi shrugged, bouncing atop of Link's hood. Mido nearly popped a blood vein in his head.

Varl came to his partner's aid. "Chill, Mido, chill! The leader doesn't get angry over little things! Look, if you want to prove you're better than Link, now's your chance! The Great Deku Tree needs Link's help? Then if you help the Great Deku Tree first, he'll know who's better!"

Mido's face returned to its normal color. "You're right, you're right! Mr. No-Fairy! Today's the day I show our father who the real leader of the village is! Later, loser!" He rudely shouldered his way past Link and bolted for the Great Deku Tree's meadow with Varl cheering him on.

Link rubbed the spot where Mido struck him. "Alright, but make sure you're careful around—"

"!"

"—the Deku Babas!"

Mido and Varl came rushing back faster than Saria thought possible. "Are you two okay?" She asked them both.

"D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D!" Mido's uncontrollable stammering minced his words before they could leave his mouth.

"Deku Babas!" Varl shouted for his partner. "There are Deku Baba's in the village! What's going on? How can there be Deku Babas in the village?"

"Something's wrong with the Great Deku Tree," Link filled them in. "At first, I was going to visit the Great Deku Tree to ask him to stop the food fight in the village, but when I saw those Deku Babas I knew something was wrong. We need to talk to the Great Deku Tree, and soon."

"H-H-How?" Mido sputtered in Link's face, shooting flecks of spit, tears, and snot. "It's impossible! There's no way we can get past those monsters! I bet the mighty Mr. No-Fairy ran away at the sight of them!"

Tatl coughed loudly. "Actually, he killed eight of them before you got here."

Mido glared at Saria's partner, clearly not believe a word she said.

"Link, you don't have time to waste!" Navi said urgently. "The Great Deku Tree needs your help, and I should've gotten you to him by now!"

"B-But why Link! _Why_?" Mido demanded.

Navi was glowering at Mido now. "Seriously? Look, what's about to happen today goes far beyond the reaches of the Kokiri Village! It'll affect the world! The Great Deku Tree knows he can't entrust the fate of Hyrule to a lazy boy like you!"

Saria doubled over, both her hands clutching at her stomach as her forgotten pain intensified. There it was again: Hyrule. That one word, tearing apart her world. Link, Mido, Tatl, and Varl were all over her, asking what was wrong and if there was anything they could do to help.

But her savior came from a most unexpected source. "Move."

"Navi?" Link said, "What're you doing?"

"Listen! Just move!" Reluctantly, Saria felt Link's hands fall, and when she looked up, Navi was pressing her body against her forehead. A soothing coolness pooled from their point of contact and spread to the rest of her limbs. The relief was so intense she nearly fainted; she would've hit the grass if Link hadn't caught her.

"Navi! What did you do?"

"Don't fret, Link. You can say I cured her."

"That's impossible!" Tatl protested. "My magic couldn't do a thing for her, and all fairies are given an equal amount of power from the Great Deku Tree! Why is yours so much stronger?"

"Desperate times," Navi said, and then whispered to Saria, "I really can't tell if your meeting was by chance or fate, but please listen to me. I know you're scared, I know it's hard, but you have to do as he says."

Saria's shocked expression must've been good, because Navi started giggling. "How … how do you know that? I thought it was only a dream!"

"If only," Navi sighed, and this time Saria could feel the sorrow she was emitting. "You're in pain because the preparations were forced on you, sending old memories into a body that wasn't fully prepared. I know he's a crabby old geezer, but don't be afraid. The voice is an old friend of yours."

"Navi, what are you talking about?" Link asked. Saria could feel his grip on her tighten. "What's wrong with Saria?"

"Nothing," Navi replied, fluttering away and orbiting Link's head. "Now if we could please focus on the problem at hand? I'm not joking when I say the Great Deku Tree desperately needs your help."

"I don't understand," Saria spoke, relieved to find that standing straight no longer invoked any pain. "The Great Deku Tree is the protector and father of the village! His magic is both ancient and powerful! What danger could the Great Deku Tree possible be in?"

"Big danger."

"Then aren't we totally in trouble?" Tatl asked. "I mean, if this danger is so bad that the Great Deku Tree can't handle it, what hope does Link have?"

Navi turned to her new partner, and something passed between her and Link. Saria saw something in the way the fairy flew, the way she hung close to Link: There was recognition.

"Link is special," Navi answered. "Only he can save the Great Deku Tree."

Mido reached the end of his rope. "Stop it, stop it, STOP IT! Why is it always Link this, Link that! Link's no different from the rest of us! What makes him so special?"

Saria knew Mido was insulting Link, but his eyes only shone with delight. "You really think that? You really think I'm a Kokiri like everyone else?"

"I … what? No! You're … you're …!" Mido wrestled his fingers through his hair in irritation. "Dang it, I'll show you all! I'll show you I can do anything Mr. No-Fairy can do! I'll get my Kokiri Sword, chop down these Deku Babas, and show you all!"

Saria's hand shot out and grabbed Mido by his tunic's sleeve before he could run off. "You have the Kokiri Sword?"  
Mido's smile was almost too smug to bear. "That's right! You all know the legend of the Kokiri Sword!"

"Hey! New fairy in the village!" Navi spoke out. "Somebody please fill me in."

"You don't know this?" Tatl asked, turning a brighter green in astonishment. "The Great Deku Tree provides us fairies with almost all his knowledge, so that we can aid our partners in any way possibly!"

"I was a rush job!" Navi snapped. "Is someone going to tell me how one little kid's sword is going to help us?"

"It's an old story the Kokiri children have been passing down for a while," Link explained. "They say that long ago, when the Great Deku Tree was still a sprout, a great evil roamed the world. Dark minions lurked in every corner of the forest. To protect himself, the Great Deku Tree created a warrior with his magic. They say it was the First Kokiri. The First Kokiri fought bravely against the tides of evil, but his own strength wasn't enough to fend them off for long. To aid him, the Great Deku Tree cast another spell. This time, he used his magic to forge a blade: the Kokiri Sword. With this weapon, the First Kokiri protected the Great Deku Tree against every form of darkness which threatened the forest until a great hero defeated the source of all evil. Unfortunately, the numerous wounds the First Kokiri suffered from over the many years eventually led to his death, and despite his vast knowledge of healing the Great Deku Tree could not revive his first child. That was when the three Goddesses, the mothers of the Great Deku Tree, took pity on the First Kokiri and returned life back into his broken body. The three Goddesses turned the First Kokiri into a divine protector, and said he would awaken to defend the forest if evil ever returned. The Great Deku Tree, still mourning his loss, kept the Kokiri Sword, preserving it until he found another Kokiri worthy enough to wield it."

"Cool story. So how'd Mido get it?" Navi asked.

"You heard the legend!" Mido replied, nose high.

"My point exactly. How'd _you_ end up with the Kokiri Sword?"

Mido finally realized Navi was mocking him. "I have the Kokiri Sword because the Great Deku Tree said I deserved to carry out the First Kokiri's legacy! Not Mr. No-Fairy! Not anyone else! Me!"

"When did the Great Deku Tree give it to you?" Link asked.

"A year ago! After Mr. No-Fairy was done spitting on the Great Deku Tree's name and ran away from the meadow! That was when the Great Deku Tree decided I was worthy!"

"Mido, you were supposed to—" Varl began, but Mido cut him off with a tantrum of random jeers and noises.

"I have the Kokiri Sword! I'm worthy! I'll show those stupid Deku Babas how strong I am and prove to the Great Deku Tree that _I _deserved the Kokiri Sword, not Mr. No-Fairy!" The pause that followed was so long it was almost deafening to Saria's ears. Mido's face burned as he slowly recognized his blunder.

Link was the first to speak. "Mido, I thought you said the Great Deku Tree gave you the Kokiri Sword?"

Mido ran, sprinting back towards the village as fast as his skinny legs could take him.

"Varl!" Link shouted. The fairy halt mid-chase after his partner. "What did Mido mean when he said he was going to prove that he deserved the Kokiri Sword and not me?"

Varl jittered nervously as he hovered. "Link, the only reason the Great Deku Tree gave Mido the Kokiri Sword was because he wanted Mido to give the sword to you. You were supposed to get the sword. Instead, Mido got jealous and kept it for himself. I'm sorry for his actions, but please don't be mad at him. You know why he's doing this."

"Yeah," Link sighed, "I know. Thanks, Varl."

"Don't mention it."

"Got it."

"No, I mean it," Varl repeated, dead serious. "Don't tell Mido I told you, or else he'll never talk to me again." The fairy gave Link a final nod before bolting after his partner.

"That jerk!" Tatl fumed, buzzing angrily after Varl was gone. "Who does Mido think he is? First he lies to our faces about the sword, and then he has the nerve to run away when the truth slips out? Somebody slap him!"

"It's my fault," Link said, startling Saria with his confession of guilt. "I know I've always been inconsiderate of Mido, but I never knew I'd done so much to have him hate me."

"That's not true!" Saria objected, stepping in front of him so her eyes bore into his. "Mido has always been jealous of you! You've done nothing wrong! Please don't take his words seriously!" Mido's previous outburst still rang clear in her ears. _I'll never acknowledge you! Never! I wish you would leave! I wish you would disappear from this village and never come back!_

Link did his best to smile for her sake, but Saria could tell he was forcing it. "Don't fret it. After all, we've got bigger things to worry about. I'm going to go after Mido. I want to make sure he actually brings the Kokiri Sword. Want to come with me?"

Saria's immediate answer would've been yes, but her eyes floated down to the Fairy Slingshot stashed under his belt. "No, there's something else I need to take care of." She noticed his temporary pout. "What's wrong?"

"When you were kneeling over in pain, I could tell it wasn't normal. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine!" Saria assured, though she was barely convincing herself. Her doubts and worries were surging inside her, fighting to break free. She still didn't want Link to meet with the Great Deku Tree, because some part of her knew something bad was bound to happen. However, if the Great Deku Tree was in as much danger as Navi said, there was no way she could let her baseless fretting stop Link from helping. "Go after Mido. I'm going to get you something else you might need."

"Something else?"

"Get to it!" Saria said, grabbing Link's hand and tugging him away from the Great Deku Tree's meadow. Back at the village, with the food fight in full view, Saria shoved him towards the first stone step on the pond's surface; he almost tripped and took a nose dive.

He found his balance before he ended up taking a bath, turning back to Saria with his normally playful grin. "Aren't you pushy today?"

"It's that kind of day."

"Meet you back here?"

"I'll see you then."

Link said a small farewell before hopping across the pond and diving into the food fight, side stepping fruit-stained children and ducking under flying vegetables while shouting, "Let's go, Navi!"

"Right behind you!" His new fairy partner flew by his side. In moments, the two of them disappeared behind tumbling food, blemished bodies, falling pumpkins, and boomeranging pancakes.

"Those two are kind of cute together," Tatl snickered, perching on Saria's shoulder. "So what's your urgent mission?"

"Nothing much, but it's all I can do for the moment," Saria replied, placing her feet together and carefully jumping towards the pond's first stone step. She didn't have Link's impossibly refined sense of balance, so she took greater precautions as she leapt from one water-smoothed stone to another. She almost slipped and landed bottom first into the water at the third step, but Tatl flew to her back and pushed her upright.

"Thank you."

"What else am I here for?" Tatl snickered. As the two of them continued their way across the pond, ducking now and then to avoid a stray orange or celery stick, Tatl said, "I really can't believe Mido."

"What do you mean?" Saria asked, hopping across the last step and onto solid grass; she jumped to the side when Sally, one of the Triplets, came blindly screaming past her and tumbled into the pond.

"I'm talking about the way Mido treats Link! I mean, Link had literally done nothing against Mido! The only thing hurting Mido is his own pride and ego, and he always takes it out on Link! Did you hear how he sounded when he said _he_ deserved the Kokiri Sword? Cocky and arrogant! I don't mean to speak badly of the Great Deku Tree, but he totally messed up with Mido! What has Mido ever done to help the village? I mean, seriously?"

Saria made it a policy never to badmouth others, so she kept her lips pressed together. Nevertheless, Tatl made perfect sense. Mido claimed to be the leader of the village, yet he never acted like one. She'd heard all the stories about the village leader before either she or Link was grown, about how he swaggered around like he founded the place. He expected others to do whatever he said without question, was constantly starting rumors about other children he didn't like, and never lifted a finger to help anyone else. Dally, Sally's younger triplet, told Saria how Yally, the oldest triplet, once went to Mido to confront him about his bigheaded attitude. He responded by shoving Yally into the pond while bombarding her with name calling. When the Great Deku Tree summoned Mido and demanded to know the reason behind his actions, he said it was his duty to keep the other children in line. He was grounded for six months, unable to leave his home for the entire duration, but when his punishment was over his conceited attitude only swelled. He claimed the Great Deku Tree had only been testing him to see if he had what it took to be the leader of the village, and that he passed. No one wanted to argue.

Then Link came along, a leader the village deserved. He always helped everyone he could, giving his all into every task given to him, regardless of how menial. He was fun to talk to and great to be around. It only took a matter of weeks before everyone was calling him the new leader of the village. Naturally, Mido was outraged. He tried proving his superiority through teasing, rude name calling, and bullying. When all that failed miserably, Mido tried to isolate Link from the rest of the village through his lack of a fairy partner. Although it generated some suspicion towards Link, it barely lasted for a day. Finally, Mido shouted and screamed at Link to deny his leadership in front of the whole village, threatening to make every day of his life miserable if he didn't. Link agreed, gathering everyone to the center of the village to make his announcement (everyone she asked disgustingly recalled the look of triumph Mido made that day, describing it such over-exaggeration that Saria was t glad she hadn't been grown yet). He did exactly as Mido ordered, clearly stating he wasn't and never wanted to be the village's leader. Instead, he said he wished to be everyone's friend, and hoped it would stay that way forever. Everyone loved him even more.

Saria was grown a few months afterwards. After being partnered with Tatl, Link was the very first person she met, and they became fast friends. She made many other friends as well, and when she asked them about Link, all they could talk about was how amazing he was. Every story she heard made her appreciate her bond with him more and more, until she realized she'd given him her heart without realizing it.

Her brisk walk came to a halt as she bent down and hugs her knees to her chest. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks as she recalled the day the two of them accidentally kissed. It happened a few years back; everyone in the village was participating in another game of Heroes & Monsters. It used to be the village's favorite game (before food fights became a fad). Everyone split into two teams. One side would play Heroes, so they would get the toy wooden swords. The other side would be the monsters; they didn't get any weapons. Heroes defeated Monsters by smacking them on the head with their swords. Monsters beat Heroes if they bit any part of the Heroes' body. If you got smacked or bit, you were out of the game. If you were out, you had to wait on the circle around the battle. You could still hit a Monster on the head or grab and bite a Hero if they got too close, but other than that, you weren't allowed to move.

In this game of Heroes & Monsters, Link was the last Hero (because he was undefeatable with his wooden sword) and Saria was the final Monster (because her fellow boy monsters kept protecting her). Link was too skilled for her to catch, and she knew he could end her Monster career with a single swipe. But when he was shuffling his feet around her, he tripped on a small rock and stumbled backwards. Saria took this opportunity to run forward and bite him, only to end up tripping forward on the same piece of stone that caught Link off balance. In the end, their bodies collided, and their lips made contact.

There was a lot of cheering, booing, fussing, and whooping. Overall: Mayhem. Since then, the whole village (excluding Mido) was clamoring about how the two of them would inevitably end up sitting on the Loveable Seats.

Saria looked up at a spot about a third way up the Wall right behind her home, which was a part of the village center circle. On this lone area of the Wall was a pair of branches sprouting from the seamless barrier: the Loveable Seats. These seats were connected to the rest of the village via wooden plank steps lassoed together with vines, linked from one rooftop to another, zigzagging around and across the village until they ended at the playground. There were as many rumors and legends about the Loveable Seats as there were stories about the First Kokiri. One stories said the seats was where two lovers sat before professing their love to one another and giving birth to the forest. Another said it was where the First Kokiri met the love of his life before the Goddesses took him. In any case, the Loveable Seats were where two children would go to prove their feelings of love towards one another.

And no one, not even the oldest child in the village, Ledge, had ever seen this happen. According to the Great Deku Tree, "love" was an alien concept to the children of the village. They could develop crushes, but they could never experience anything as deep and complex as "love," for their minds were "too immature." Thus, Saria was explicably baffled when she ran to the Great Deku Tree after her accidental kiss with Link, informing him about her light headedness, chest pains, and uncontrollable feelings, and the Great Deku Tree said, "Ah yes, what thy is experiencing is love."

After that, the rumors cropped up faster than their re-growing food. Her friends would start pestering her about when she was going to take Link up to the Loveable Seats. Other children bombarded her with demands to see her and Link in the legendary seats. Tatl begged her to see the two of them in the seats. Yet despite all the pushing and prodding, Saria adamantly refused to take Link. For starters, she was dying from embarrassment simply thinking about the mere notion. Secondly, Link was obviously too "immature" for her to take. She didn't need magical mind reading to know Link only saw her as his best friend, and nothing more (Tatl said she had been "friend-zoned"). He knew all the stories and lore about the Loveable Seats, but when she asked him what he thought about "love," he'd only stare back at her in confusion. Saria wasn't about to drag him to the seats without him knowing what it was all about. If she did, she'd be no better than Mido (he tried to get her to sit in the Loveable Seats with him before she knew what they were).

"Saria!" Tatl screamed in her ear, forcing her to involuntarily leap to her feet.

"I wasn't, I wasn't!" Saria yelped, shaking her head in hope that the embarrassing ideas would tumble out her ears.

"You weren't in pain?"

"Why would I be in pain? Link's fairy healed me, remember?"

Tatl fluttered her wings in annoyance. "Well excuse me for worrying when you suddenly stopped walking and started huddling up and shaking like when you were in pain!"

"I'm sorry!" Saria apologized, instantly realizing how worried her partner must've been. "I was just remembering something."

"Something important?"

"NO! Definitely no! Absolutely not! It's so not important right now!"

Tatl stared her, then turned in the general direction Saria was facing, looked up, and saw the Loveable Seats. Her body started to turn a mischievous shade of pink. "Saria, you naughty girl. What could you possibly be considering during these dire times?"

Saria felt the flush return to her face a hundredfold. "L-L-Let's go! We don't have all day to stand around!"

"_Link and Saria, sitting in the Seats! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes—!_"

Saria grabbed her partner before she could say any more. "Are you done?"

"Hardly!"

She scanned the ground and spotted a watermelon broken right in half a few steps to her left. She kicked it over to see that someone had chewed, eaten, and hollowed out the watermelon. Perfect. She placed Tatl on the ground and slammed the empty watermelon over her fairy, trapping her inside the fruity prison.

"W-Wait!" Tatl muffled voice came from within. "I promise I'll stop! I promise! Don't leave me in here! My wings will smell like watermelon for weeks if you do!"

Saria kept her hands on top of the watermelon. "Do you promise?"

"I promise!"

She began to lift the cage off her fairy partner, but the moment there was a crack of open space for Tatl to escape from, she heard her fairy sing: "_First comes love, then comes fair—_!" Saria smashed the watermelon back over her fairy and stomped away, leaving the laughing fruit to its own fate.

She reached her intended destination within the next minute: The village store. Thanks to the food fight, it was now splattered with several new colors while receiving a new wall decoration every other second. She had to pull a head of broccoli off the doorknob before she could turn it. It was locked.

"Larro! Lepp! Are you in there?" Saria called, banging on the door as hard as she could.

"Behind you! Behind you!" Lepp's voice hissed from the window.

Saria turned around; she almost left her shoes behind as she jumped out of the way of an incoming volley of onions, all of which splattered against the store's door.

"Nice dodge, Saria!" Larro's voice followed. "I think the two of us made a few enemies, so I hope you don't mind if we keep the door closed."

"Not at all," Saria coughed. She stayed down, keeping low on her hands and knees as she crawled towards the store's window. "What did you two do?" She asked as she got back up and stared into the porthole.

Larro's face quickly filled the opening. "We were having a bit of fun. We had a spare slingshot and thought it'd be fun to shoot a few rounds from in here."

"I guess it didn't go all too well?" Saria asked as she heard something large and wet explode against the door.

"We didn't shoot _that_ many!" Lepp protested.

"Only two or three!" Larro corrected.

"Maybe four."

"Possibly five."

"It was twenty-seven!" Lepp confessed. "Larro shot twenty-seven other peeps and now they want to replace our heads with pumpkins! Saria! Please help us! I don't want to be a pumpkin! I'm too handsome to be a pumpkin!" The two of them screamed when a pumpkin crashed through their roof and landed right next to them.

"Has Link gotten to the Great Deku Tree yet?" Larro asked desperately. Saria could see him bouncing nervously on his tippy toes.

"He's getting to it," she assured them. "But I need something from the two of you."  
"Anything!" They said in unison.

"What's the best type of ammo for a Fairy Slingshot?" Saria asked. "Link has Mido's slingshot now, but he can't do much with only cherries. Do you have anything else he can shoot?"

"Will this help him get to the Great Deku Tree?" Lepp demanded.

"Definitely."

"Then we have just the thing!" Larro's face disappeared from the window. Saria heard the familiar clatter and clang echo from inside the store as Larro and Lepp scurried around to find what they were looking for. A few moments later, his arm stuck out of the window, holding a small brown bag tied shut with a strap of leather.

"What is this?" Saria asked, taking the bag from Larro's hand. His arm slunk back into the window and his face popped back up. She undid the strap and looked inside the bag; it was filled with small, hard, objects about twice the size of her thumb.

"We call that our Bullet Bag, and it's already filled with deku seeds!" Larro explained. "You can find them in the village if you search hard enough! Look, look! You see those grooves on the seeds? Those help them spin as they're shot, helping them cut through the air with increase power and precision! They're perfect for our Fairy Slingshot!"

"Thank you," Saria said, closing the Bullet Bag's mouth. "But tell me, if these deku seeds are so perfect, why did you use cherries instead?"

Larro and Lepp gasped. "You can't be serious!"

"Saria, deku seeds are dangerous when used with our slingshot!" Lepp hissed. "Someone could get majorly hurt if you use the two in combination!"

Saria held the Bullet Bag tightly. "So why are you giving them to me? I know I asked for them, but if they're so dangerous, are you sure I should have them?"

"Our lives are in danger!" Larro hollered at her. "If Link needs to use our Fairy Slingshot to get to the Great Deku Tree to stop this food fight and save our lives, of course we'll hand them over! Now hurry up and get them to Link!"

"Incoming!" Lepp shouted.

Saria looked up in time to see a barrage of melons crashing into and through the store's roof, sending Larro and Lepp frantically scrambling for cover.

"Well, thank you!" Saria called into the window, slightly doubting that Larro and Lepp were conscious enough to hear her. Link was right, children were going to get seriously hurt if this food fight didn't stop. Beat the Deku Babas, get to the Great Deku Tree, help him with whatever impossible task he had for them, and then stop the food fight. Today was going to be a very long day.

She hurried back to the entrance of the Great Deku Tree's meadow, picking up Tatl along the way. She caught a glimpse of Link's tree house and saw he'd been correct: His home was surrounded by several rows of children and was constantly being pelted with every fruit imaginable. Hiding there would've been a very bad idea. She reached pond, hopped across each stone step to cross the body of water, and ran towards the pathway infested with Deku Babas.

Link and Mido were nowhere to be seen.

"Do you think something happened to them?" Saria asked her partner, stepping away from the snapping jaws of the Deku Babas.

"Actually, I'm praying Mido got the Kokiri Sword but got hit in the head with a pineapple, forcing Link to take the sword for himself and come back here," Tatl replied. "But that's just me."

"MOVE IT, MR. NO-FAIRY!"

"Dang it, dreams never come true," Tatl moaned as Mido came around the corner with Varl, Link, and Navi right behind him. In his hands was the Kokiri Sword, its handle and guard made from polished wood with a red ruby embedded in the center of the guard. Its blade was still enclosed in a plain wooden sheath.

"Mido, this is dangerous!" Link said, jogging alongside the snarling leader to keep up with his fast-paced trot. "Give me the sword! I can handle the Deku Babas if let me!"

"You only want to brag to the Great Deku Tree!"

"No, I only want to save your life! I've seen the way you handle a sword when we play Heroes & Monsters! You'll be eaten alive!"

"S-Shut up! That's only a game! I never show my true skills during a stupid game! I'll show you what I can really do!"

"Mido, listen to Link for once!" Varl pleaded to his partner, urgently flying in front of Mido's face. "You know how good Link is as a Hero! He's great with a toy sword! Give him the Kokiri Sword!"

"Shut up! Even you're turning against me! I thought you were _my_ fairy partner, not Mr. No-Fairy's!"

"For the last time, I'm right here!" Navi snapped.

"I _am_ on your side!" Varl fought back. "I'm only doing this to help you! If you attack those Deku Babas on your own, they'll tear you to pieces! I'm saying this for your sake and safety! Give Link the sword!"

Mido jerked his head away from his fairy partner, and Saria could see the hurt on his expression from everyone's well-founded lack of confidence in him. "I'll show you all, I'LL SHOW YOU ALL! Get out of the way, Saria!" He ran towards the Deku Babas despite his partner's objections, wildly yanking the Kokiri Sword from its sheath as he passed her (almost beheading her if she hadn't ducked). He tossed the sheath aside and screamed, "I am Mido, leader of the Kokiri Village, protector of the Great Deku Tree, and owner of the Kokiri Sword, the blade of the First Kokiri! I will slay you all!"

Mido threw his sword arm into the air, as if he were posing for Saria's sake as he recklessly charged at the wall of forest monsters. At the same time, his trembling feet stumbled against one another, tripping his legs and flinging his body forward in the most awkward fashion. His terrible grip on the Kokiri Sword's hilt sent it flying out of his hand, planting it blade-first into the grass a few feet behind him as he fell. All of this might have been hilarious if Mido hadn't landed face flat into the ground before the ravenous Deku Babas. The moment he lifted his head, the closest Deku Baba lunged, and Saria screamed.

Whether it was fate or sheer dumb luck, Mido was on the very rim of the Deku Baba's attack radius, meaning the forest monster's rooted stem prevented it from biting off Mido's head. It did, however, get close enough for Saria to see some seriously unwanted lip-on-lip action. Mido's body tensed into stone, and she swore she heard the Deku Baba cackle in its own twisted way.

"Ugh! That's just wrong!" Navi gagged.

"I'll never be able to un-see what I saw," Tatl whimpered.

Only Link took the momentary lapse seriously. "MIDO! Get out of there!"

It was no good. Mido's pride had been crushed, grinded, and spat on. Saria could already see his fearful shaking be replaced by a raging tremor. With nothing but blind anger, Mido screamed as he scrambled back onto his feet and swung his fists at the Deku Baba that stole his first kiss. It was a fool's decision, because this time the monster pulled its head back and swung its clenched mouth into Mido's face, colliding against the side of his head and sending him sprawling into the ground. This time, Mido landed well within five of the Deku Babas' biting range, and each of them opened their mouths wide for the meal.

It was the last thing they did. Link sprinted forward in a burst of speed and grabbed the planted Kokiri Sword with his left hand. He spanned the remaining distance between him and the Deku Babas with a single bound, lopping off the top halves of the five Deku Babas with a clean horizontal slice.

Saria could barely follow what happened next. Deku Babas pounced and snapped at Link as fast as they possibly could, only to end up losing their heads, missing their target, or getting bashed back by his Deku Shield. The Kokiri Sword was a whirlwind of destruction in Link's hand, almost dancing in joy to taste battle in the hands of someone capable. Because the Deku Babas were so tightly packed against one another, Link could easily decapitate three or four at a time with each swing he took. In a matter of moments, the crowd of forest monsters was no longer fighting to get an easy meal, but struggling for their very lives as Link cut them down without a moment of pause.

When the last head dropped, Link was standing on a mound of lifeless Deku Babas. Their bodies dried and stiffened into deku sticks, and a few intact heads shriveled and shrunk into deku nuts.

Saria was stunned.

Tatl was equally silent.

Varl was trying to say something, but couldn't get past the first letter of his sentence.

Only Navi seemed impossibly unfazed by Link's outstanding performance. She landed on the Kokiri Sword's discarded sheath and flew towards her partner, the sheath sticking to the underside of her body. "Nicely done, Link."

Link swung the Kokiri Sword in a wide arch around him, flinging off the accumulated blue blood on the pristine blade; a large splatter landed near Saria's feet. "Thanks. You don't seem surprised." He noted, accepting the sheath from his partner and putting away the sword.

"Hey, if you couldn't do this much, I'd be disappointed in you."

Link laughed, using the straps attached to the sheath to fasten the Kokiri Sword to his back. Then he turned around and looked to Saria; there wasn't a drop of blood on him. "You okay?"

Was she okay? She just saw her best friend, someone she'd known her whole life, pull off an impossible feat with unfeasible skill and power she'd never seen before. Now he was standing on a small hill of dead Deku Babas, barely breathing hard and acting as if what he'd done was the most natural thing in the world. Yeah, she was okay, because Link emerged without an injury to worry about.

"That was incredible!" Saria laughed, running past the collapse Mido and up to Link. "Where'd you learn to fight with a sword like that? Was it from Heroes & Monsters? Did you practice in secret?"

"I don't really know," Link shrugged. "The moment I had my hands around the Kokiri Sword I … I _knew_ how to use it. It was a little strange, having my body move exactly the way it needed to."

"Maybe it's the spirit of the First Kokiri giving you strength!" Tatl suggested.

"Or maybe …" Navi began, but quickly silenced herself. "Nah, it's nothing. Look, the Deku Babas are gone, but they'll be back. The route is cleared, and the Great Deku Tree needs your help. Can we get going now?"

"Wait, I got this for you," Saria said, holding out the Bullet Bag for Link.

"What are these?" He asked, accepting the Bullet Bag from Saria and opening it to see the deku seeds inside. "Deku seeds? Are they for the slingshot?"

Saria nodded. "I thought you might need them against the Deku Babas, but I'm glad to be wrong."

"I still might," Link replied, using the straps on the Bullet Bag to fasten it to his belt. "Thanks, Saria. Thanks for worrying about me."

"Someone has to," Saria smiled. "Shall we get going?"

"Sure, but what about Mido?" Link asked, turning to the fallen leader.

Mido was already starting to regain his bearings, dizzily getting back onto his feet while clutching the side of his bruised head with both hands.

"Mido! Are you okay?" Varl asked, flying around his partner in a panic.

"I'm fine … I'm fine!" He yelled. Then he saw the pile of deceased Deku Babas in front of him. "Did … did I do this? With my bare hands?"

"I say we leave him here," Navi suggested.

"Good idea," Tatl agreed.

"Right behind you," Saria said, pushing Link towards the Great Deku Tree's meadow.

Their father's meadow was almost as grand and majestic as the Sacred Grove. The four of them entered a boundless prairie blossoming with endless fields of wildflowers and tussled with long meadows of lush grass. In the center of the meadow was the Great Deku Tree, a tree of colossal size and stature. He was more than twenty times taller and wider than any other tree found in the forest, with a coating of bark as sturdy as any armor and branches so thick that ten Kokiri children could comfortably fit inside them. Even the smallest leaf growing from the Great Deku Tree's branches was larger than anyone in the village. On the front of the Great Deku Tree was their father's face, growing out of the wood itself. It consisted of two massive eyebrows, a well-formed nose, and a grand mustache. This was their father and protector.

"Great one!" Navi called out. "I've brought Link, as you requested!"

"Young … one …" The Great Deku Tree's mouth didn't move, but his voice came from everywhere around them. But something was terribly wrong; his voice was barely above a whisper, lacking all the usual strength and vigor Saria remembered.

That was when she noticed; the meadow flowers were wilting, and the grass was withering into a dull brown. The Great Deku Tree's usually flawless skin of bark was chipped and broken in numerous places, and several of his leaves were drying into dust before scattering into the air. This was impossible. Their father's powerful magic kept him and the meadow in perfect condition. There was only one explanation for what was happening, and it was a reason Saria refused to believe in.

Link must've seen the changes to the Great Deku Tree as well, for his face twisted into shock and his voice was tainted in alarm. "Great Deku Tree! What's … what's going on? What's happening to you?"

Mido came rushing into the meadow at that moment, his mouth spread into a repulsively wide grin. "Great Deku Tree! Great Deku Tree! I did it! I defeated those Deku Babas, and I didn't even need the Kokiri Sword! What did you summon me … me …" Mido and Varl slowed to a stop besides Saria as they finally caught up to speed. "G-Great One, what's happening to you?"

"Mido … Varl …? Thou were not …summoned …"

"It's his fault, isn't it?" Mido roared, striding past Saria and grabbing Link by the front collar of his tunic. "You did this to the Great Deku Tree! You did this time him! This is all your fault!"

"SILENCE!"

For a moment, their father regained his vigor. His voice rebounded through their ears and minds, pushing Mido off Link and forcing him to stand at abashed attention. It didn't, however, stop Mido from shooting dirty looks at Link.

But when the Great Deku Tree spoke again, his voice was weaker than before. "Navi … I thank thee … for bringing Link here … with such haste."

"We were a bit sidetracked, so we're actually a bit late," Navi admitted. "There were Deku Babas blocking our path. You didn't happen to have anything to do with that, did you?"

"Of course he didn't! Shut your mouth, newbie!" Mido barked at Navi.

"MIDO!" the Great Deku Tree roared, silencing him once more. However, his voice became frightfully weaker soon after. Saria was afraid the Great Deku Tree would cease speaking all together at any moment. "Thou is … correct … Navi. It was I … who was responsible … for the creatures."

"Why?" Link asked.

"To test … thee. If thou could not … defeat such a simple … adversary … then thou … would've been unable … to accomplish the task required."

"Well I beat them all without the Kokiri Sword!" Mido shouted with pride, sticking out his chest and raising his nose. Varl looked like he wanted to go home. "Tell me what needs to be done, Great One, and I shall see to it! Hurry up and shove off, Mr. No-Fairy! You're not needed here!"

That was the last straw. Saria didn't want their father to expend any more unnecessary energy, so she brought her left foot up and crushed it down on Mido's toes.

"Please, Great One," she said while Mido furiously yelped up and down on one foot. "What's wrong? What can we do?"

"Children … please, listen to what I must … tell thee. Link, thy past slumber must have … been restless …and blighted with nightmares."

Link slowly nodded. "That's right, but how did you know?"

"As the servants of evil … gain strength … a vile climate pervades the land … and causes nightmares to those … sensitive to it."

Saria clasped her hands together to stop them from trembling. Nightmares? Was that what happened when she passed out in the store?

"Verily … thou has felt it."

Saria almost shouted, "No, I haven't!" but managed to hold herself in check when she realized the Great Deku Tree was still speaking to Link. Right now, her nightmares were her own problems, and those could wait. The Great Deku Tree needed Link's help, and she wasn't going to distract him with her own meager problems.

"Link … the time has come … to test thy courage. I have been cursed … and I need thy courage to break it."

"Cursed?" Link repeated, looking as grief-stricken and puzzled as Saria felt. To be able to lay a curse upon an entity as great and powerful as their father required an enormous deal of power and almost certainly spelled the Great One's doom. "Great Deku Tree, I don't know anything about curses! My magical abilities are limited to turning the Light Flowers in my home on and off! I want to help you, but I don't think I have the knowledge to do so!"

The Great Deku Tree chuckled, weakly. "Knowledge … shall come to thee in time. What I ask from you now … is courage. Does thy … have the courage to help me?"

Link's back straightened. "Always!"

"Then enter, brave Link, and thou too, Navi." Slowly, the area beneath the Great Deku Tree's moustache lowered itself into the ground with a rattling groan until it disappeared into the grass at the base of the Great One's roots, leaving a gaping black opening leading into his body.

"You and me, Navi," Link said, tightening the Deku Shield's straps on his right arm and drawing the Kokiri Sword from its sheath. "Our first real adventure."

There was a brief glow of regret to Navi's body, but she still said in a cheery manner, "Then let's make it a good one!"

Together, the two of them solemnly crossed the meadows towards the Great Deku Tree. Link paused before entering, turning around to look back to Saria. There was nothing she could do. She was screaming at herself to stop him, but she knew her selfishness could cost the Great Deku Tree his life. Instead, Saria brought her folded hands to her chest and gave Link a slight nod. He received her message:_ Stay safe!_ Without another glance back, Link and Navi crossed over the Great Deku Tree's lower lip and into the darkness beyond. As soon as they entered, the Great One's mouth began to shut.

"Wait! WAIT!" Mido suddenly went flying past Saria, his feet barely touching the grass as he tore across the meadow and towards the Great Deku Tree's closing mouth. He was too late; the Great Deku Tree's mouth groaned shut the same moment Mido's fists slammed against the Great One's base. "Why, Great Deku Tree? WHY? Why do you always choose Mr. No-Fairy over me? Why do you always push me away?"

"The answer … to thy question … is simple," the Great Deku Tree whispered. "Thou cannot accomplish … this task of mine. Only Link … only the young one …can."

Mido howled, pounding furiously at the Great Deku Tree's mouth.

Saria sat down, blocking out the sounds of Mido's fit with her overwhelming concerns. She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. Tatl landed on her shoulder and tried whispering words of encouragement, but all of it was lost to her.

_Please … stay safe!_

* * *

EDIT: Wow...I made a lot of spelling and grammar errors. I'm definitely going recheck all my current chapters before continuing with the next. This chapter has been re-rechecked and many errors have been corrected, but some still many exist. I will find them all eventually, thank you.

EDIT: Chapter 2 has also been rewritten to better suit the story I have in mind. See you later! (7/4/12)


	3. Chapter 3, PARASITIC ARMORED ARACHNID

**Chapter 3**

**Parasitic Armored Arachnid**

**GOHMA**

Link flexed his fingers around the Kokiri Sword's hilt as the Great Deku Tree's mouth gradually rumbled to a close behind him and Navi, entrapping them both in darkness.

"Hold on, I got this," Navi spoke up. He heard his new fairy partner emit a low-tuned shrill as her body's glow grew brighter and brighter. Soon enough, Navi was a second sun, radiating a large orb of light which illuminated the bottom half of the Great Deku Tree while keeping the upper areas shrouded with shadows.

"I didn't know you could do that," Link said, giving his partner a thankful nod.

"Neither did I," Navi confessed, landing on his hood. "Do you see the curse we need to break?"

Link took a careful look at their surroundings, feeling an aggravating sense of desperation bubble in his stomach. The inside of the Great Deku Tree was almost entirely hollow, betraying every fleeting expectation he had. He half-expected to find himself flying inside another world filled with dazzling green lights, vigorous greenery that moved as if it were alive, and a whole host of fairies waiting for a Kokiri partner. Instead, all he saw was a barren cylindrical chamber probably hundreds of feet high. Every now and then, he spotted a cluster of wilted vines or a stray patch of dying Light Flowers randomly sprouting from the walls, but that was it. The only other decoration he could find was a narrow ledge protruding from the walls, starting from the bottom floor and circling around the chamber, leading to the very top of the Great Deku Tree. Nothing screamed: _I'm a curse! Break me!_

Link fought to contain the sense of helplessness gnawing at him. Sure, he knew a little about curses thanks to his extended visits to the Kokiri Library and his frequent chats with the Know-It-All Brothers (some of the oldest and smartest Kokiri children in the village), but reading about curses didn't help prepare him for the real thing. And breaking curses usually required a great deal of intelligence; Link never considered himself very smart. So how was he supposed to deal with this? If the curse was magically connected to a monster, the answer was easy: Kill the monster. But what if the curse's source was a magical rune protected with dark sorcery? What then? Smacking it with a sword wouldn't do any good. And what if the curse was still being powered by the one who cast it? That would mean the caster could be miles away from the Kokiri Village and he would be wasting his time inside the Great Deku Tree.

What if Link couldn't break the curse? The repercussions of his inaction would be devastating, both to the village and him. He had his share of heated arguments and ugly spats with the Great Deku Tree, but the Great One was still and always would be his precious father; if Link couldn't save him, he'd never forgive himself.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Link felt Navi gently bouncing on his head to get his attention, and found his body trembling to his inability. He gripped his left wrist with his right hand, willing the shaking to stop.

"I'm fine," He strained to say past his clenched teeth.

Navi flew off his hood and fluttered in front of his face; her voice was stern but gentle. "Look, we're partners. You don't have to hide anything from me. I'll listen to anything you have to say. I'll hear out any doubt you have, and I'll help you with everything I can. Don't forget you ever forget this: I'm here for you." She pressed herself against his forehead, and a feeling of warmth and comfort quelled his uneasy tremble.

Link's shudder eased away, and his taut scowl loosened into a smile. He'd forgotten he wasn't alone anymore, that he had a partner he could rely on from now on. He relaxed his arms and held out his right hand, allowing Navi to land in his palm as he stroked her smooth soft body with his thumb; she almost purred.

"Thanks, Navi. I'm glad you're here."

She rang like a joyous bell. "As am I." She hopped out of his hand and back onto his head. "So talk to me. What's clipping your wings?"

"I don't have any wings."

"It's an old expression. Just tell me what's bugging you."

Link stared beyond their orb of light and at the pitch-black walls. For a moment, he thought they were moving, but discarded it as his troubled imagination. "I don't know what I'm doing here."

"You're here to break the curse on the Great Deku Tree."

"I know that part! I'm saying I don't know how I'm going to do it," Link explained. "I've read a bit about curses, and I've got a general gist about how they work, but there are as many different curses as there are trees in the Kokiri Village. How do I know which one I'm dealing with? Saria's better at these kinds of things."

"Hey, do you trust the Great Deku Tree?"

"With my life."

"And do you remember what he told you before we came in here?"

"Every word."

"The Great Deku Tree said he needed your courage, right? Then that's what you give him. Don't panic about everything when you've only got one thing to worry about. Observe your surroundings, understand the situation, and act on what you can. You can't worry about the future when you ignore the present."

"Navi."

"Yes?"

"I never knew you could sound so intelligent."

"You've been hanging around too many stupid fairies, that's all," Navi gloated.

"Tatl isn't stupid," Link protested, not bothering to wipe the smile off his face. "She just says the wrong things at the worst times."

"Exactly."

He laughed, letting every unhindered pound of worry fall off his shoulders.

_Rustle._

The sudden noise instinctively made Link raise his shield and pointed his sword at the source in a single motion, cutting off his mirth and directing his attention on the matter at hand. Navi remained perfectly quiet while he slowly scanned the walls for the disturbance.

_Rustle_.

This time he located the source of the sound and his gaze fell towards the floor. He almost smacked himself for not spotting such a large anomaly before. The spacious walls and high ceiling kept his attention locked upward, meaning he never bothered to look towards the floor. In the center of the chamber was a gaping hole with a radius of almost ten feet, sealed shut with layers of upon layers of thick cobwebs.

"How'd we miss that?" Navi whispered.

Link didn't answer. Instead, he carefully tiptoed towards the edge of the anomaly. Its chipped and jagged edges told him that someone, _something_, ripped apart the floor within the Great Deku Tree to create it. He leaned forward and stared down, past the interwoven locks of webbing, to see the hole was actually a deep tunnel leading into another open area hundreds more feet below them.

"Well, there's our curse," Navi murmured.

"You mean the webs?"

"No, I mean the monster that created these webs. Whoa, wait! What're you doing?" Navi demanded as Link slowly took one step after another onto the sticky threading. The silky structure clung to the bottom of his boots with each step, but Link managed to make his way towards the center without falling. At the middle, he experimentally jumped up and down, feeling the threads loosely flex with the momentum of his body. After he stopped bouncing, he raised his Kokiri Sword and sliced at the webs. His blade stuck to the sticky strands, and it took him several hard tugs to yank it free.

Navi was livid. "What're you thinking? What if you actually managed to cut the webs and we fell? The bottom is a seriously long way down!"

"That's what I was hoping for," Link replied, scrapping strands of loose web off his Kokiri Sword with the edge of his shield. "There's nothing up here, so that means the source of the curse is down there."

"And what if we _did_ fall? It's a long way down! How did you plan on surviving the drop?" Navi inquired.

Link chuckled. "I can't worry about the future if I don't act on the present, remember?"

"That's not what I—! Oh, you're going to kill us both someday!"

_Rustle_.

Link's eyes snapped down. The layers of webbing below him were jerking and swaying as something made its way towards them. He yanked his feet across the web until he was back on solid footing, prepared to face the unknown enemy. A small figure popped up from between the web's openings, steadily balancing itself upon the strands while murderously glaring at him

He'd never seen such an odd creature before. Its body consisted of a single blood-red eye as large as his hands. It had three arachnid-like limbs protruding from equal sides of its eye/body. When it balanced itself upright on two of its legs and angrily hissed at him with its third, its total height barely came up to his waist.

The odd monster lunged at Link, pointing the jagged points of its spidery legs at his chest. In response, Link raised his right foot, caught the creature with the heel of his boot, and smashed it into a blue-bloody pulp on the floor.

"That was easy," he noted, stepping away from the squashed remains while dragging his right foot to wipe away any lingering chunks. "If that was the curse, then I'm happy it's over."

"Don't celebrate so soon," Navi ushered in a low, urgent tone. "The thing you killed is called a Gohma Larva, the baby form of a monstrous creature. One major detail you need to know about Gohma Larva is that there's never just one of them."

Right on cue, twenty or more Gohma Larvae dropped from the darkness above and landed all around them, hissing at Link in obvious rage. But he wasn't scared at their arrival; in fact, he was barely fazed. He finally knew what he was dealing with, and if killing monsters was all it took to help the Great Deku Tree, then these insects weren't about to stop him.

The Gohma Larvae attacked. Some of them scurried across the floor; others leapt towards him from the air. It didn't make any difference to him. He slashed the insects attacking from above with his sword and battered aside the ones striking from below with his shield. Severed limbs and blue blood flew in scattered pieces across the ground as Link slaughtered the Gohma Larvae with ease. The final baby bug kept its distance before striking, scurrying around him in a semi-circle before lunging for his back. He retaliated by knocking it away with a jumping back kick and then impaling it against the wall by throwing his Kokiri Sword directly into the center of the creature's body/eye.

"Easy," Link breathed, walking over to his embedded blade and pulling it free. He swung it in an arch, flinging the Gohma Larva carcass off his weapon. "Are we done?"

"Oh, Link," Navi whispered. "We are so far from done."

A jolt ran down his spine as his body screamed: _Danger!_ He raised his sword and shield back into a fighting position and swiftly ran his eyes across the floor to see if he missed any of the Gohma Larvae; he saw none. Then a brief glimpse of movement scuttled past the upper corner of his eyes. He looked up, and again he thought the walls untouched by Navi's light were moving. That was when he looked harder, and realized it wasn't his imagination: The walls _were_ moving.

All at once, thousands of murderous red orbs glared out from the darkness above them. Each belonged to a single eye of an infuriated Gohma Larva. The walls weren't actually moving; there were so many Gohma Larvae amassing above them that it appeared that way.

"Gohma Larvae are born in the thousands," Navi whimpered. "They take family matters to a whole different level. You kill one of them, you deal with the rest of the family."

Link didn't work up a response. He knew the moment he stopped to panic, he was dead. His mind worked overtime, running through and strategizing of any scenario that could get him and his partner out of this predicament alive.

_Think, think!_ He shouted at himself as one failed battle development after another played inside his head. A frontal attack was suicide; no matter how weak these insects were as individuals, attacking an entire chamber of them head on was a hopeless cause. Neither could he run, for he was sealed within the Great Deku Tree without any means of escape, and even if he did have that option, he'd never take it. The Great Deku Tree entrusted this task to him, and he refused to place such a terrible burden on anyone else. He did his best to ignore the descending wave of Gohma Larvae as they gradually marched down the walls towards him. He soaked in every detail of the environment, hoping to find something he could use to his advantage: The high ceiling, the ascending ledge ringing around the chamber, the wide web-covered hole.

An idea clicked together. It was an insane, terrible, and definitely life threatening idea, yet if it worked, he could kill all the Gohma Larvae in one fell swoop. He could barely resist a grim smile; despite the overwhelming odds, he felt no fear, doubt, nor hesitation. There was only the roaring excitement urging him to complete the impossible task at hand.

"Navi! Close your eyes!" Link ordered, digging his right hand into his tunic and reaching for an inner pocket over his left breast. His fingers clasped around the object as he yanked it out, raised it high, and hurled it towards the floor while clamping his own eyes shut. The deku nut shattered upon impact, releasing a brutal barrage of light penetrating every shroud of shadow within the Great Deku Tree. It was so powerful he could still see the light as a painful red glare past his clenched eyelids. Though the deku nut's light barely lasted half a second, the blinding flash seared itself into the open eyes of all the Gohma Larvae glaring down at him. Now they were falling off the walls by the hundreds, tumbling towards the floor thrashing and squealing in sightless agony. Those that fell from higher up smashed themselves into a messy pulp as they met the hard floor; those that still desperately latched onto the walls could only wail in pain.

Link seized the moment, peeling open his eyes and sprinting towards the ledge looping around the inner walls of the cylindrical chamber. He needed to get to the very top in order to carry out his plan, and this uneven pathway was the only way to do it. He stepped on and slashed any squirming Gohma Larvae that dropped down or scampered in his way.

"You okay, Navi?" He asked as he ran up the sloped ridge. One Gohma Larva fell from the walls and nearly landed on his head; he smacked it aside with his Deku Shield.

"A little more of a warning would've been nice!" Navi cried, squirming on his hood. "Where'd you even get that deku nut from?"

"From the Deku Babas I killed! I thought they'd come in handy, and I was right!" A small struggling group of Gohma Larvae detached from the wall above them and drizzled down on him and Navi. He covered his head with his shield and pressed on.

"Got any more? You know the blinding effects of a deku nut are temporary!"

"I only took four deku nuts! I've got three left!" Link answered. He spotted a cluster of vines draping down on his path, growing from the ledge above him. He took the shortcut, sheathing his Kokiri Sword and climbing the dangling vines. Two sightless Gohma Larvae randomly scurried in his way. Navi took charge and rammed herself into them, knocking them out of his way so he could continue climbing unhindered. He made it to the outcropping trail in a matter of seconds, clambering onto the higher ledge and resuming his all-out sprint. He was thankful for the shortcut when he took a quick glance at the ground. Several of the Gohma Larvae were experimentally blinking their eyes as their sight slowly returned, and he was only a third of the way up the Great Deku Tree.

"Faster, Link! Faster!" Navi urged.

"What do you think I'm trying to do?" Link barked, pumping his arms as he raced up the ascending ledge. A lone Gohma Larva managed to recover its sight faster than the rest of its siblings and leapt onto the pathway in front of him. He didn't waste any time or strength pulling his Kokiri Sword back out; instead, he kept his pace unhindered, stomping on the insect with his boot as he ran over it.

Several seconds later, a chorus of hissing rang out and echoed across the chamber, informing Link that all the Gohma Larvae had fully recovered. He dared a momentary look down to see a new wave of baby arachnids charging towards him from below. A separate group of Gohma Larvae, those that'd managed stay attached to the walls above, rained down on him to hinder his progress. He whipped out his sword and hacked them apart as they descended upon him, sending sliced legs and severed eyes plummeting towards the floor. Seven or so of the baby arachnids jumped onto the pathway before him, scurrying atop one another to form a barricade to block his way. He retaliated by bracing his Deku Shield against his right shoulder and ramming his way through.

The Gohma Larvae below were rapidly gaining on him. While Link had to follow the ledge running around the circumference of the chamber to reach the top, the Gohma Larvae could scurry straight up the walls and run directly towards him. Two of the baby arachnids latched themselves onto his right leg from behind; he hastily sliced them into pieces with his sword, feeling his skin crawl as small flecks continued to stick onto him. Another Gohma Larva attached itself onto his back, nearly knocking him over. He tried to dislodge the creature with his sword, but he couldn't reach it with his blade. Navi came to his assistance, knocking the Gohma Larva off his back and battering aside several more than leapt at him from behind.

"Link! We can't keep this up!"

"Then once more!" Link roared, reaching into his tunic and pulling out a second deku nut. Navi zipped into his hood as Link covered his eyes and threw the deku nut at his feet, sending another explosion of light throughout the chamber. It worked almost as well as the first as blinded Gohma Larvae tumble to the ground in droves. Unfortunately, some of the wiser arachnids refused to fall for the same trick twice, closing their single eye before the deku nut shattered. These baby arachnids continued their pursuit unhindered.

By now, Link was halfway up the Great Deku Tree. He was glad his body was keeping up with the physical demands he was imposing on it, but he could feel his lungs start to squeeze while the strength in his legs progressively flagged. The Gohma Larvae that continued their chase must've seen his slight decrease in speed, because they pounced at him with unrelenting persistence. Each time he slashed or knocked aside a Gohma Larvae he could feel the miniscule loss of strength.

"You're not going to make it to the top at this rate!" Navi warned.

Link didn't respond, knowing it'd be a waste of air and energy. Still, he knew Navi was right; at the rate he was tiring, he'd never make it to his destination in time to carry out his plan. The unaffected Gohma Larvae jumped at him all at once from all directions. They were going to pin him down, wait for their blinded siblings to recover and catch up, then tear him to pieces.

"Eyeballs!" He yelled, praying Navi understood his brief message. He yanked out a third deku nut and hurled it at his feet, catching the attacking Gohma Larvae unaware and delivering an eye-full of harsh light. He hadn't planned on using another deku nut so soon after the second, but he needed to save strength. The sightless Gohma Larvae squealed as they missed their target and stumbled and tripped over one another.

Two-thirds of the way up, and Link was fighting to keep his body moving. His sword and shield felt fifty pounds heavier, his chest heaved heavily for every droplet of air he could consume, and sweat streamed down his face, irritably dripping into his eyes. He could barely feel his own feet, but resisted the temptation to look down and see how exhausted they really were. The moment he knew how drained he truly was, he knew he'd cease running. Right now, he was still moving, and that was all that mattered.

"C'mon! You can make it!" Navi urged. She was no longer perched on his head, but was pushing him from behind. Link couldn't tell if her assistance was aiding him in any way or not, but he was still grateful for her actions. "I don't mean to hurry you in any way, but the Gohma Larvae are catching up again, and they look really angry!"

Link felt a tug on his lips. He wondered how many different ways the Gohma Larvae could kill him, and found the thought strangely humorous.

The end of the ledge was in sight; the closest point to the ceiling was on the opposite side of the chamber from Link. Only half a lap from the finish, he put everything he had into one last burst of effort. He forced his tired lungs to suck in one gasping breath of air, held it in his chest, and took off in a final mad dash for the finish. Aching sores resonated from the soles of his feet with each fierce step he took, and his chest grew heavier and heavier with every passing second. But Link was unrelenting, locking his eyes onto the goal and blocking off all unnecessary thoughts and consequences. Upon the verge of passing out, his feet fumbled and tripped, hurling his body forwards and bringing his trek to a painful stop. He nearly coughed his lungs out of his mouth as his chest furiously rose up and down for air. His whole body hurt with a dull pain but still, he smiled.

He made it. His right arm and Deku Shield dangled over the end of the ledge, with the bottom floor a terrifying distance below him. The closest Gohma Larva was at least twenty seconds away, twenty seconds he intended to exploit. He flipped himself onto his back and concentrated every ounce of thought into breathing, feeling each refreshing gust of air flow in and out of his body. His hammering heart slowed to a fast-pace thumping, and the strain in his legs loosened by the slightest degree.

"We made it to the top! Now please tell me there was a reason for all this," Navi begged, flying in nervous circles in front of his eyes. Link, still focused on his breathing, replied with a wink. "Good! Now please say you're not planning anything _too_ insane!"

He didn't have an answer for that.

"We're dead," Navi moaned.

He coughed out a brief laugh, then asked, "Navi, how persistent are Gohma Larvae?"

"They'll follow their prey to the end of time if they have to."

"Perfect." Link forced himself to his feet, almost swaying off the ledge when his fatigued legs nearly gave out on him. He leaned his back against the wall, with the chamber's ceiling brushing against the top of his hood, and calmly waited for the Gohma Larvae to get closer.

"So what's the next step of your plan?" Navi nervously asked as she swiveled back and forth to watch the Gohma Larvae close in around them. The baby arachnids weren't taking any chances this time. The closest Gohma Larvae patiently waited several feet away from them while the rest of its siblings formed a tight circle around him.

"Wait for it," Link whispered. He put his Kokiri Sword away and fastened his Deku Shield onto his back, where it latched into place on his sword's sheath. Then he motioned for his partner to come closer, protectively holding her inside his cupped hands.

The Gohma Larvae had completely surrounded them by now. They clustered around the walls beside him, below him, and on the ceiling around him. Their angered red pupils remained focused entirely on him, watching for any move he was about to make.

"So what's next?" Navi whispered from inside his hands.

"This."

Link jumped. He threw himself forward, leaping off the ledge and into empty air. For a full second, he felt his body suspended in nothingness. The next, he was plummeting towards the ground while Navi screamed every harsh and inconsiderate name imaginable. As he fell, he turned his head to see the Gohma Larvae watch his sudden descent before lunging after him, exactly as planned.

"I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!" Navi screamed past the rush of wind whipping at his ears and face.

Link only laughed as an excited rush of adrenaline gushed into every tired pore in his body. He kept himself perpendicular to the ground as he descended head-first. He stole a momentary glance over his shoulder to see that the Gohma Larvae were clustering together to form a massive spike hammering towards him.

A second away from a dead on collision with the ground, Link spun his body so he plummeted feet first. But he didn't strike hard wood; instead, he had aimed his jump so he dropped towards the amassed webs sealing the hole in the center of the floor. With the additional speed and momentum, he dove through the layers of webbing and into the tunneling hole, snapping the threads beneath his boots. Sheet after sheet, he continued to fall and tear through the mesh of webs. A few sticky strands clung to his limbs and tunic as he fell, but nothing could stop his descent. As the tunnel, illuminated only by the rays of blue light escaping from the spaces between his fingers, continued to zoom past them, Link turned around to see the pillar of Gohma Larvae crash through the hole after them. Their bunched together bodies grated and exploded against the uneven sides of the tunnel, but persistently tailed them.

Then the tunnel ended, dropping Link and Navi into an underground chamber beneath the Great Deku Tree. The area was enormous, so spacious that even the Kokiri Village couldn't compare in terms of size. As much as he was enjoying the high-up view, the ground was coming up fast; another five seconds and he'd be kissing the dirt at an uncomfortably high speed. He held Navi close to his chest with his right hand and lashed out with his left, wrapping his arm around the thickest line of webbing still attached to his tunic and connected to the tunnel above. To his immense relief, the strand held together, changing his landing from instant death to painful landing. As the mossy ground struck his feet, he hastily dispersed the rest of the fall's energy with a messy roll, snapping off the remainder of stray webbing from his body. When he barreled to a disorienting stop, with his face buried in a bushel of moss, he was still alive.

Navi squirmed her way out of his clutch. Link half-expected to hear her outbursts of insults and arguments, but instead heard: "Link! Above! Above! MOVE IT!"

His successful landing created a momentarily lapse in his concentration, causing him to forget what was right above him. Navi's warning jump started his weary body into action, pushing him onto all fours and sending him scrambling forward as fast as possible. Not a moment too soon, as a pillar of free falling Gohma Larvae smashed into the ground he'd previously been occupying. After the continuous chorus of eyeball squashing and limb crushing sounds ceased, he flipped around to see the damage he'd done. A mound of Gohma Larvae corpses, filled with broken limbs, splattered eyeballs, gushes of blue blood, and puddles of eye fluid, loomed in front of him. Several more Gohma Larvae tumbled down the tunnel from above, adding to the slowly growing pile in infrequent intervals.

Link wearily got onto his protesting feet, rather amazed his ludicrous plan actually accomplished everything he'd hoped for a more. A lone surviving Gohma Larva struggled free from the shattered bodies of its dead siblings and jumped at Link in anger. Too tired to draw either his sword or shield, he turned around, let the Gohma Larva latch itself onto his Deku Shield on his back, and fell backwards. With a simple _splat_, the last Gohma Larva died.

"I can't believe you did it," Navi breathed, floating around the small mountain of dead bugs.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Link joked, keeping his spread out arms and legs motionless; every moment of rest felt like bliss.

"I'm serious! Whole armies struggle to fight against swarms of Gohma Larvae, yet you, a twelve year old child, killed them all by yourself! It's amazing! What you did was absolutely astounding!"

Link chuckled; he didn't feel very astounding. "I had a partner who was cheering me on. How could I possibly dream of losing?" He said, raising his left hand to touch his fairy partner. Navi flew close, but right before they touched, she drew herself away. He frowned. "You're doing it again."

"Doing what?"

"I don't know," Link shrugged, lifting himself into a sitting position. "Sometimes, when I try to get close to you, you pull away. Like that time I went with Mido to get the Kokiri Sword. We went into the Hole of Z, where he hid the sword, when you started telling me more about yourself and then randomly stopped. What's wrong?"

Navi hovered, as if she were hesitating. "I have my reasons."

"Reasons?"

"Well, I guess they're more like secrets. A lady has to have her secrets." "We're partners!" Link protested. "You're the one who said I could tell you anything. So how come you won't tell me anything?" A thought crossed his mind. "And I thought you were born today! How can you already have secrets?"

Her wings fluttered unevenly, a sign that she was troubled. "That's not entirely correct. You can say that I was … reborn, today."

Link raised an eyebrow. "Reborn? What do you mean?"

"Ah, Link, you've no idea how long I've wait for this day. I know you've waited for me for years, but I've waited for you for centuries. But now that I'm actually here, I'm not sure how to … act, I guess."

"What are you talking about?" Link asked. Nothing Navi said was making any sense to him, yet her tone of longing and reprieve was sparking an unknown feeling of nostalgia in his chest. "Navi, what's going on?"

"I'm not sure!" She groaned, shaking in jitters and zigzags. "Everything is so new to me! I can barely understand myself at the moment!"

"Are you unhappy with me as your partner?"

"What? No! I already told you how long I've waited for you! How can you possibly think that?" Navi demanded.

"It's because you're not making any sense."

Navi sighed, landing in Link's open hand. "I suppose I'm not." After a moment of pause, she asked, "Do you know what would make me happy?"

"What? You know I'll do anything."

"I'd be happy if you remembered," Navi replied softly. A suddenly feeling of warmth jumped down Link's arm and into his heart, and for a single moment, he remembered; he remembered something vital, something gut-wrenchingly important. But that feeling of acceptance disappeared as quickly as it came. "Until then, you can pretend like this conversation never happened. My past has nothing to do with the problems at hand."

"No! I can't do that!" Link argued, cupping his partner with both hands. "You're sad! I get that! I don't know why you're sad, but I know I can change that! Please, tell me what I'm missing!"

Navi giggled, flying from his hands with a new spring to her wings. "Really, you never change, do you? I always liked that about you, even when I didn't know it myself. Like I said, if you can remember, I'll be happy."

"But how am I supposed to remember if you won't tell me anything?"

"Oh, I'm sure it'll come back to you as long as we're together," Navi laughed, bouncing in the air. "Until then, you'll have to stick close, partner."

Though Link was rather put off at Navi's reluctance to share what she was hiding, hearing her call him her "partner" planted a soft spot in his heart. "I hope I remember what you're talking about."  
"You will. Until then, we've got other concerns. For instance, how are we supposed to get out of here?"

Link stood up and looked around, slightly more rested than before. The more he saw, the more he realized how much of dilemma they were in. The underground space was enormous, effortlessly more than four times larger than the Kokiri Village. He hadn't noticed it before, but a thick white fog blanketed the ground, licking at his ankles. Each small step he took told him that the floor was covered in moss. Another sight that struck him as odd were the arbitrarily placed stone columns which rose from the ground and stabbed the ceiling a hundred feet above; each was more than five feet in diameter. He also realized Navi was no longer the only source of light; luminescent blue mushrooms, a type of vegetation he'd never seen before, sprouted all about the chamber floor, coating the lower areas in an easy blue light while leaving the ceiling trenched in darkness. The only exit he could find was the tunnel they came from far above them, and he had no way to reach it.

"There's no way I'm getting out," Link noted, "But you can, Navi. Can you fly back up the hole where we fell from and ask the Great Deku Tree for help? If those Gohma Larvae were the curse, then it should be broken now, right?"

Navi frozen, her blue body paling into a ghostly white as shock spread over her.

"Navi? Navi! What're wrong?" Link demanded. He hurriedly strapped his Deku Shield back onto his right arm and drew his Kokiri Sword with his left. "Are there more Gohma Larvae down here?"

"Gohma Larvae … by the Goddesses, how could I be so stupid," Navi moaned.

"What're you talking about? Are there more or not?"

"Link, please listen. Gohma Larvae are exactly that, _baby Gohmas_. If there are babies—"

"—then there's a mother," Link completed her chain of thought as his partner's realization dawned on him.

"A Queen," Navi corrected, hastily darting back and forth to find the invisible foe. "Din's Flame, we're in so much trouble. What's in Hyrule's name is the Great Deku Tree thinking? Why did he send you in here if he knew what you'd have to face?"

"So there's a queen Gohma? Then stay calm. If we can handle a Gohma Larva, we can handle a Gohma Queen," Link said, trying to keep his confidence high. He turned in a steady circle to catch any movement in the underground chamber.

"Don't be absurd!" Navi snapped. "The difference between a Gohma Larva and a Gohma Queen is like comparing a Keese to a dragon! In the whole history of Hyrule, there have only been a handful of Gohma Queens, and each is infamous for their merciless cruelty and power! You don't stand a chance against one!"

"I'll never know unless I try!"

"Link! Please! We need to find a way out of here before—!"

_!_

A blood-grating howl blasted Link's ears, sending him to his knees and his hands to his ears. At the same time, a maelstrom of danger struck his nerves, paralyzing him with an overwhelming sense of peril. It took all of his self control to stop himself from turning tail and hiding; he looked up and stared at the heart of the eerie wails.

A gigantic olive eye stared back. He scampered backwards as the eye fell towards him, taking four long strides before a massive tremor knocked him off his feet. His blood froze at the beast before him.

"The Parasitic Armored Arachnid, Gohma," Navi gasped.

Gohma was nothing like its offspring. Its eye, larger than Link himself, glowered at him with unfiltered hatred. Its eye/body was supported by three colossal limbs. Its two arms, both over twenty feet long, jutted out from its shoulders on both side of its body; they pounded at the ground to generate miniature earthquakes. The third, a disfigured leg about as tall as Link, was directly below the Queen; it was a single mass of muscle strong enough to support the rest of the arachnid's body. On top, in the spaces between its eye and shoulders, was a pair of furiously snapping pincers, each dribbling poison onto the mossy ground, eroding the soil with a sizzling smell of rot and fungus.

"RUN!" Navi screamed as Gohma lunged for Link. Its jump was nothing like the petty hop-scotches of the Gohma Larvae. When the Queen crashed towards him, it was like an avalanche. He barely managed to scramble back far enough when Gohma collided into the ground. The sheer force of its landing knocked him two feet off the ground and onto his face.

Link tried to push himself back onto his feet, but Navi cried, "Don't! DUCK!" He threw himself flat onto the ground as something passed over his head with such power it felt as though a hurricane had blown past him.

"Now! Run!"

He got onto his feet and ran, trying to put as much distance between him and Gohma. He looked over his shoulder in time to see the Arachnid Queen raise one of its massive arms and swinging it down at him. He jumped aside, narrowly avoiding the overhead blow as it smashed into the ground, blasting mold and upturned dirt into the air.

Gohma wasn't done. It horizontally swung its other arm towards Link with bone-shattering force, a lethal attack he barely managed to duck beneath. But the moment he pressed himself against the dirt, the Arachnid Queen used its stubby leg to toss its entire body into the air to crush him in a sure-kill body slam.

Link kicked himself forward, once again avoiding certain death. After Gohma smashed its body flat into the ground, and he remained standing after the tremor it caused, he spun around the stabbing his Kokiri Sword at the Arachnid Queen. His blade bounced off Gohma's thick exoskeleton, not even leaving a scratch on its naturally grown armor.

Gohma was back on its leg in an instant, towering over Link and swinging both its arms down towards him. He avoided the attack and the quake that followed. In another desperate attempt, he slashed at Gohma's extended arm; again, his blade bounced off hardened armor, dealing no damage.

"You can't fight it! Please, run!" Navi begged, furiously buzzing behind him.

"I'm the only one who can!" Link shouted back. This time, he stood his ground as Gohma raised itself back to full height. The Arachnid Queen attacked thrice more, and he evaded each one, knowing he avoided death by the skin of his teeth. Gohma's fourth attack was the one Link had been waiting for, another downward vertical swing which cratered the ground he stood on. This time, immediately after he leapt out of the way, he used the uneven ridges on Gohma's arm as a foothold to climb up and kick off of, letting him jump towards the Arachnid Queen's eye. With a stab from his sword, he jabbed his weapon towards its massive pupil.

Distraught rang down the length of his arm as his blade bounced off a transparent layer of armor coating Gohma's pupil, effortlessly protecting it from his blade. The Arachnid Queen whipped its left arm at him while he was still in midair, and with no chance to dodge, Link braced his Deku Shield against his body to meet the attack.

The result was devastating. With power he'd never known existed, Gohma slammed its arm into his shield, nearly shattering his right arm while smashing his clenched fist into the stomach. The attack sent him flying halfway across the open chamber. As he spiraled away, his left shoulder clipped against one of the room's stone pillars, twisting him in midflight and sending him painfully skidding across the mossy floor before coming to an eventual stop.

The agony flaring throughout Link's right arm was unreal, sparking additional bursts of pain with the slightest twitch. A scream ripped its way up his throat and tore at the back of his teeth, but he swallowed it down; crying in pain wasn't going to help him in any way, it would only be a waste of air. With nothing but resolve to keep him going, Link shoved his forehead into the ground and pushed himself back onto his feet. His left arm and Kokiri Sword hang uselessly at his side, numbed due to the impact to his shoulder.

"Link!" Navi whimpered, flying low until she reached him. She inspected every inch of his body, growing paler by the second. "By the Goddesses, you're hurt! You're hurt real bad!"

"… I'm … fine …" He coughed. His left fingers twitched as feeling, and pain, gradually trickled back into his arm. He kept his eyes on Gohma; the Arachnid Queen was angrily striking the ground as it searched for its prey. Using what little time he had, Link looked down at his Deku Shield to see how it fared against Gohma's ruthless blow: Not a scratch. The Great Deku Tree's enchanted shield had been the only thing between him and oblivion. His right arm, on the other hand, was bruised and bleeding around the straps wrapped on his arm. He grunted, considering himself lucky his arm wasn't broken.

An enraged shriek drove his attention back to Gohma. The Arachnid Queen's venomously green eye was now a bloody red as it spotted Link and approached with earth-fissuring steps.

"You need to run! You need to get out of here!" Navi pleaded.

"Can't," Link growled, preparing himself for another bout. He could barely move his left arm; the most he could do was tighten his grip on his sword's handle. He charged forward, rushing headlong towards Gohma in order to meet her assault. The Arachnid Queen swiped at him with another ground-sweeping blow, which he barely managed to leap over. He tumbled back to his feet and landed behind the Arachnid Queen. With a savage twist from his body, he swung his flaccid sword arm at Gohma's back, scowling as the Kokiri Sword rebounded off its carcass without a mark. The monster rotated its body to deliver another attach from its giant arm. Link threw himself onto his back, gritting his teeth as pain flared from his shoulder; once Gohma's arm passed over him, he kicked himself upright. He tightened the muscles in his left arm, regained a modem of control, and jabbed his sword into the space between the Arachnid Queen's body and its leg, hoping to catch a chink in its armor. His effort was met with success as the Kokiri Sword sunk an inch into its body; he pulled back, and the tip was stained with blue blood.

Gohma howled, not in pain, but in rage. Link back flipped and side stepped to dodge its following two attacks and then dashed forward to get out from under another body slam attempt. The moment the Arachnid Queen hit the ground, Link was already charging at her flattened body, slashing at another one of its unprotected joints, where its interlocking exoskeleton exposed a spot of unprotected flesh.

Link felt the Arachnid Queen's rage simmering off its body as it whirled at him, showering him in a flurry of lethal blows, each of which he dodged with only the narrowest margin for error. When the opportunity presented itself, he jumped for Gohma's reddened eye, aiming his sword at a groove between its main body and left shoulder. That was when the Arachnid Queen's eye suddenly reverted to its sickly green color and collided into him during his jump, knocking him backwards.

He lay motionless on the ground, stunned by what just happened. It wasn't the attack that kept him still, but what he saw. He hadn't been aiming for Gohma's eye, but what if the Arachnid Queen thought he had been? During that moment of transition between red and green, he saw something, something extremely vital.

"What are you doing? Get up!"  
Navi's voice brought Link back to reality, and not a moment too soon. Gohma's arm came swinging down at him, and if he'd been a second too slow, his roll to the side wouldn't have gotten him out of the way in time. The Arachnid Queen pounded down at him again and again, and each time he spun his body out of harm's way. But on his fourth successful evasion, the pain in his left shoulder suddenly ignited, halting his movements for a second too long. This time, Gohma pulled back its arm and punched at Link with a vicious uppercut that carved a groove in the ground. Unable to move in time, he could only cover himself with his Deku Shield as Gohma's strike crashed into him. The force was as deadly as before, jarring his body with torturous agony while flinging him towards the ceiling. Link's dazed vision barely registered what was happening as the world spun in circles while his near-lifeless body flew upwards.

He flew halfway towards the roof of the chamber before he started to fall again. When he caught sight of Gohma and its blood-red eye leering at him from below, he knew what it was planning and barely had the strength to defend himself against it. Before he hit the ground, the monster threw another brutal punch at him. He caught the full force with his Deku Shield and was thrown back at an accelerated rate. When he finally hit the ground, his body bounced off the floor three times before it struck a stone column and came to a stop. He remained motionless as he dropped to the earth, refusing to move another inch.

Gohma screeched in what could only be a roar of victory as it traced the location where Link fell. His chest was pressed to the ground and his head bent to the side as the Arachnid Queen stalked towards him. Right now, he couldn't even register pain; all he felt was a calming darkness brushing over his eyes and lulled him to an eternal sleep.

"… Li …!"

"… Lin …!"

"… Link …!"

At the very edge of his consciousness, he heard Navi's terrified voice. He blinked past his blurring vision, watching his fairy partner appear as a large blue sun. More words spilled into his ears, yet none of them registered inside his dimming mind. Navi disappeared from his sight, and he felt her worm her way into his tunic, where she tugged an object out of his inner pocket. When she flew back into his line of sight, she was holding something on the underside of her body. The moment she darted towards Gohma with the item in tow, Link dully registered what it was and what she was planning and peacefully closed his eyes.

The deku nut shattered as light burned a smog of red onto his closed eyes. The following shriek of anguish came from the blinded Arachnid Queen. It was an impressive feat for a fairy.

Another pocket of time passed, with only Gohma's unending howls to occupy his mind. He couldn't feel anything, and the luring temptation that came from the darkness kept his eyes closed. His breathing slowly diminished until his chest ceased to move, yet no discomfort came from his airless lungs.

Everything was fine like this.

Drifting.

Fading.

Disappearing.

_WHO AM I TRYING TO KID?_

Link's voice raged at his shattered body. He almost gagged on the air rushing into his lungs as he opened his mouth and breathed.

_I can't die now! I REFUSE TO DIE NOW!_ His roaring emotions burned away at the dusk tempting him to sleep. If he gave up now, the Great Deku Tree would die. If he gave up now, the Kokiri Village would die. If he gave up now, Saria could die. The Great Deku Tree asked only one thing from him: Courage.

He didn't want the strength to defeat Gohma.

He didn't care about the knowledge to beat Gohma.

He only wanted the courage to face Gohma.

In a scream of defiance, Link willed his hands to move, placing them under his body and pushing himself to his knees. With another gargantuan effort, he pulled himself to his feet, brought up his sword and shield, and refocused his attention to the foe at hand: Gohma. The Arachnid Queen was thrashing about in its blinded tantrum, its arms and leg flailing, its eye continuously shifting from red to green.

"Link!" Navi cried, ringing in relief beside him. "You're alive! You're okay!"

Link laughed, dribbling blood down his lips from the numerous cuts inside his mouth. "I think … '_okay_' … is pushing it."

"Give me a moment!" She flew in tight circles around his tattered body as her healing magic went to work. He looked down to see how he was faring, almost wishing he hadn't when he saw his blood-tattered tunic, scrapped skin, and bloody discolored welts. As his fairy partner zipped around him, she left behind a trail of shining powder. Soon, Link was in a mild cascade of healing magic. He gasped as the harsh pain immobilizing his body sent a spasm throughout his limbs before slowly easing away. After Navi did everything she could, Link still looked worse for wear, but could move again without too much difficulty.

"Thank you, Navi."

"Now let's get out of here. If we try, we might find a way out!" Navi said, frantically searching for an alternate exit.

"No, we're not running."

His partner looked as if she'd gone deaf. "Wait, what?"

"We're not running. I'm going to stay, fight, and bring Gohma down."

Navi went berserk. "Are you crazy? Link, you were getting tossed around like an unwanted and much hated lice infestation, and all you managed to do was give Gohma a few scratches! I know you want to stay and fight, but there are some battles you can't win!"

"And if we run, then what?" Link demanded, experimentally rolling his shoulders to see how far he could push himself. "No, we have to stay, and we have to fight."

Navi looked as if she wanted continue protesting, but stopped when she knew she couldn't change his mind. "Aren't you scared? Don't you want to run?"

Link chuckled, instantly wishing he hadn't as his torn mouth throbbed. "I'm terrified. But you know what? If we run away now, and this monster breaks out of the Great Deku Tree and attacks the village, everyone in the Kokiri Village is going to feel this fear. I don't want that. The Kokiri have done nothing wrong to deserve this kind of terror! No one in the village has!"

"Even Mido?"

Now Link was fighting to stop himself from laughing. "Either way, the Great Deku Tree asked for my courage, and I'm going to give it to him. I won't run, but I won't fight a losing battle. I know how I can win."

Navi buzzed in surprise. "You do?"

"Just learned how," Link nodded curtly, taking his Deku Shield off his right arm and fastening it onto his back. He wasn't going to need his shield for what was about to do next, and even if he did use it, one more direct attack from Gohma, shield or no shield, and he was as good as dead. Instead, he used his right hand to grab a handful of moss and dirt from the ground. Right now, it was all or nothing.

"Anyway I can help?" Navi asked.

"How do you think you can help?"

"Right now? In any way I can."

Despite everything he was going through, Link put on a smile. "I'm glad you're here with me, Navi."

"Thanks, but honestly, I wish we were anywhere but here."

Link let out a laugh. With renewed spirit and fortitude, he charged.

Gohma recovered its lost vision and was standing upright on its stubby leg. Its body swirled from one side to another as its olive eye searched for Link; he decided to save the monster the effort. He let loose a battle shout, succeeding in seizing Gohma's attention as the creature whirled around to face him. The Arachnid Queen leapt into the air, attempting to finish him once and for all by flattening him into a pulp in a final body slam.

Link anticipated the move. He dug his heels into the mossy soil, skidding to an abrupt stop; he kicked himself back and watched Gohma crash landed in front of him. As soon as the Arachnid Queen began to pick itself off the ground, with its expansive green pupil a mere two feet away, Link tested his theory. He scattered the soggy dirt and clingy moss in his hand onto Gohma's eye, obscuring the Arachnid Queen's vision.

From up close, Link saw the change as clear as day. The dirt and moss began to slide upward into Gohma's eyelid, moving with the deep green armor protecting the naturally blood red pupil. Fully exposed, Link lashed out with his Kokiri Sword.

It was his first true attack. His blade dipped into the Arachnid Queen's pupil like it was water, carving a foot deep gash in its eye while spurting a downpour of blue blood from the retina. Gohma's following scream doubled in intensity, magnified by the injury he inflicted. Its transparent plate of green armor began to move back down into place, to cover its wounded eye and prevent any further injuries.

"No you don't!" Link thrust his sword forward, stabbing the blade into Gohma's eye, directly below the initial wound. He left his sword in its pupil, watching as the eye's armor continuously jammed against his embedded blade, unable to fully close. The Arachnid Queen fell back, scampering away on its massive arms as blood continued to foam from its eye. Link refused to give the monster a moment of peace. He drew the Fairy Slingshot from his belt and armed it with a deku seed he pulled from the Bullet Bag hanging from his side.

"Thank you, Saria," Link breathed as he held the slingshot up, pulled back on the elastic strip, and fired. His aim was true; the deku seed pierced the air and found its way into an exposed area of Gohma's eye, puncturing an unbroken section of the pupil and flooding it with arachnid blood.

Link didn't stop. He armed his slingshot with another deku seed and fired again and again, repeatedly perforating Gohma's eye with a new wound every other second. Its high-pitched scream generated small cracks in the stone columns with its intensity. The Arachnid Queen eventually turned its back to him and arbitrarily scampered off, repeatedly ramming into any pillar of stone in its blind path.

"You're not getting away!" He shoved the Fairy Slingshot back under his belt and gave chase. He quickly closed in on the Arachnid Queen as it continued to collide into every obstacle in the underground chamber. But when Link was ten feet away, Gohma suddenly twisted around and lunged for him. The accuracy was uncanny and perfect; the Arachnid Queen would make direct contact with him unless he dodged, but he knew he didn't have to, not while Navi was with him

His fairy partner, hovering right beside Gohma's profusely bleeding eye, let out a knife-like tone from her body that penetrated the atmosphere. She must've been close to Gohma's ear, because the ear-bleeding noise disoriented the Arachnid Queen enough to send its attack harmlessly flying over Link's head.

He put another burst of speed into his steps, leaping for his implanted Kokiri Sword once he was close enough. His fingers tightened around his weapon's wooden hilt, and he found himself precariously dangling from his jammed blade as Gohma shook and spasm.

"Navi!" Link called, releasing one hand from the sword's hilt as Gohma violently swung him up and down with pain-maddened jumps. Using his free hand, he grabbed his Deku Shield from his back and tossed it to his fairy partner. Navi understood his intentions, attaching herself to his unbreakable shield and navigating it towards Gohma's leaping leg. The moment it jumped, Navi placed the Deku Shield vertically beneath the Arachnid Queen; its leg landed on the upper rim of the upright shield, and in that moment, lost its balance as the shield tilted beneath the beast and sent it sprawling on its back.

"Open wide!" Link wrapped both hands around his sword's hilt and giving it a savage twist. His had to avert his eyes as a fresh spurt of blood splattered across his body as Gohma's protective lens shot upward due to the fresh dose of pain. Link used that moment to draw his Kokiri Sword free from Gohma's pupil, and before the Arachnid Queen's eye armor could close with the obstruction gone, he unbuckled his sword's sheath from his back, held it in his right hand like a second sword, and rammed it halfway into the upper portion of Gohma's eye, preventing its transparent eye armor from closing.

Gohma thrashed back onto its leg, continuing its blood curdling screech of pain. It nearly tossed Link off of its body, but he managed to grab a hold of one of its poison producing pincers with his right hand. It was his only handle as Gohma took him for a rodeo ride, bucking and bending its body both in pain and in an attempt to throw him off. Link kept a death grip on Gohma's pincer, feeling his cheeks fly open and close, back and forth, from the wind pressure generated from its rampage. The moment Gohma slowed down, Link hacked away at the Arachnid Queen's second pincer, aiming his blade at the ridges of the appendage. With the fifth slash, the pincer was chopped clean off Gohma's body. Link tossed aside his sword, grabbed the dismembered poison barb as it fell, and climbed Gohma's heavily shuddering body until he was directly over its unclosing eye. He took the venomous fang and thrust it into its eye again and again and again. The Arachnid Queen kicked and flailed, but Link kept his balance as he stabbed Gohma relentlessly.

Gohma finally succeeded in tossing him off its body with a sharp jerk. Before his feet could touch the ground, the Arachnid Queen put everything it had into another powerful uppercut aimed directly at his head. Link didn't have his Deku Shield, and even if he did intercept the attack with it, his battered body would be obliterated either way. Navi came to his rescue again, releasing another bloody tone right beside Gohma, throwing the monster's attack awry so that it narrowly missed him. Unfortunately, an uneven barb protruding from the side of Gohma's attacking arm caught onto the shoulder of Link's tunic, snagging him as the Arachnid Queen punched empty air. Instead of decapitating Link, Gohma sent him flying eighty feet upward, almost high enough to see the individual roots wriggling out of the ceiling. He twisted his body in midair so his feet were beneath him, but with the ground so far below, he knew he'd be dead upon landing.

"Link!" Navi shot towards him with his discarded Kokiri Sword fixed to her body. The moment she was close enough, she released his blade and sent it spinning towards him. He snatched his sword by the hilt and rammed the blade into the nearest stone pillar just as he was beginning to fall. The tip of his sword barely dipped half an inch into the hardened column, but it was enough to keep him hanging in the air.

"Nice save!" Link panted, readjusting his grip on his sword.

"I can't have you dying on me," Navi said, flying to his side. The two of them looked down as the Arachnid Queen came ramming into the pillar he was hanging from. The impact nearly knocked the Kokiri Sword out of the stone support.

"It knows where I am? How?" Link demanded, feeling his teeth clatter as Gohma slammed its massive body into the column once more.

"It has you marked. If a Queen Gohma encounters a foe she deems worthy, she marks them with her blood. That way, she can find her target anywhere, any time. You're soaked in her blood. Even if she can't see you, she knows where you are."

"Great, an unwanted admirer," Link chuckled darkly, feeling his Kokiri Sword nudge another centimeter out of the stone pillar with the next ramming blow. All his injuries were starting to sap his strength, loosening his grip on his sword one finger at a time. Link had to end this battle, now.

As it so happened, Gohma thought the same. The Arachnid Queen did something that nearly caught Link off guard; it planted its two bulky arms into the ground, leaned its body back, and bent its leg upward until the end was pointed at him. Before he had any time to ponder what Gohma was up to, a signal of danger shot down his neck, causing him to instinctively twist his body out of the way as a fleshy projectile flew past his head and struck the ceiling. When Gohma's mystery pellet fell back down in pieces, Link saw the crumpled remains of a broken egg and disfigured Gohma Larva.

"It's shooting Gohma Larvae at us!"

"That's insane! Gohma is incredibly protective of her children! She'd never sacrifice them like that!" Navi objected.

Link flailed his legs and managed to kick another incoming pair of Gohma Larva Eggs, gagging as the moist bullets exploded on contact and slathered him in undeveloped Gohma embryos.

"Then I must've really struck a nerve!" He spat. The stone pillar he hung from began to shudder from a series of quaking blows as Link looked down to see Gohma scaling the column from the bottom while continuously pelting him with her eggs. "Fine, let's end this!"

Link pressed his feet against the pillar and freed his Kokiri Sword from the stone with one sharp tug, resuming his free fall. He dropped towards Gohma while the Arachnid Queen scurried up towards him. His slashed and sliced four more incoming larva missiles with quick succession, and in the one moment before the two of them collided, pointed his sword straight down at Gohma's eye. His fall carried all the energy he needed to ram his blade into the center of the Arachnid Queen's pupil, plunging it so deep he sunk his entire left arm into the bleeding mass.

This time there was no screech, no wail, no final cry of agony.

Gohma died on the spot. The only sound echoing throughout the underground chamber was Link's hoarse scream of victory as its corpse crashed into the ground. Link was cushioned from the fall thanks to the dead arachnid's deflating eye, allowing him to stagger away from the giant corpse without anymore grievous wounds.

"You did it!" Navi cheered.

"Huh?"

"You did it! You really did it! You defeated Gohma!"

Link sighed, lacking the energy to share Navi's enthusiasm. As Gohma's death steadily sunk in, he could feel the tension keeping his body standing fade away. The Kokiri Sword slipped from his fingers as he dropped to his knees, breathing so hard and long his vision started to slip. His bent his head back, letting it roll on his neck as he gazed at the faraway ceiling.

"Yeah … _pant_ … I did it."

Gohma was dead. The curse was broken, the Great Deku Tree would live, and the Kokiri Village would go back to normal. Everything would go back to normal. _Back to normal?_ Link fell onto his back, splaying his arms and legs out. "Navi?"

His partner landed on his forehead. "Yes?"

"I know the Great Deku Tree sent you to me because he needed my help taking care of Gohma, but now that this—all this—is over, will you be leaving?"

"Over?" Navi repeated as if she didn't understand what he meant.

""Yeah, you know. Gohma is dead. The fight's over. Everything will be fine again, right? Since the danger has passed, will you be leaving me?"

Navi snickered, although something about it sounded forced. "Oh, Link. Now that we're together, _nothing_ is over."

"What do you mea—"

Link was cut off as an earthquake suddenly plowed through the underground room. He sat up, bouncing on his bottom as the powerful tremor brought down clumps of rock and soil from the ceiling and toppled several of the chamber's stone pillars.

"What's happening?" Link demanded. For a second, he despairingly wondered if there was an Emperor Gohma Navi had forgotten to mention, but when he heard his partner breathe in relief, he relaxed his guard. "Navi?"

"Don't worry, it's only our ride out."

"Our rid—whoa!"

A cushion of leaves burst from beneath him, and the branches supporting him began to grow taller. He peered over the side to watch the foggy floor get farther away as his magical transport grew, directing him towards the hole in the ceiling. Separate branches of living greenery gathered up his Kokiri Sword, the blade's sheath, and his Deku Shield and dropped them all onto his lap as he continued to ascend.

"What's going on?" He asked as he was pushed upward and through the tunnel on his mattress of leaves.

"It's the Great Deku Tree's magic, of course," Navi answered, remaining calmly settled on his head. "Did you think he'd leave you buried beneath his roots after you saved him?"

"Hadn't thought about that," Link grinned, relaxing into his nest. He hadn't seen the Great Deku Tree's nature magic in so long he hadn't recognized it at first. Now that he let his mind wander and his body settle down, he could feeling the comforting sensation of his father's presence within the nestle of branches pushing him towards the surface. It was a peaceful sense of security, like he was resting in the Great Deku Tree's open arms and no longer had anything to fear.

His ride home brought him back to the inside of the Great Deku Tree, dropping him off at the rim of the hole dug out in the floor. Once Link and Navi got off, the tree branches expanded until they completely sealed the wound shut.

Following that, the Great Deku Tree's mouth reopened with its familiar sound of creaking groans, flooding Link with the soothing light of the outside meadow. It was all over. He didn't care what anybody else said; everything was going to be all right.

* * *

EDIT: This chapter was rewritten to better see why Link believes in courage and to show why he acts the way he does in the following chapter. (7/4/12)


	4. Chapter 4, Goodbye

**Chapter 4**

**Goodbye**

Saria opened her eyes. She was sitting in a realm of nothingness; everywhere she looked, there was only white, white, and white. The ground beneath her showed nothing. The sky above her portrayed nothing. From one end of the blank horizon to the other, there was only one thing: Nothing.

Despite her unnatural surroundings, she felt at peace. She recognized where she was and knew she was safe. She couldn't recall the name for this place, nor could she remember how she got here, but she knew nothing could harm her.

"That is incorrect, my friend. Soon, the darkness shall breach these sacred boundaries."

Saria, with her arms still wrapped around her legs so that they were hugging her chest, looked up to see the yellow silhouette of a man. She couldn't make out any of his defining details, but could tell he was an elderly man of sorts. Though her heart said this man was a friend, her mind stayed wary: She remembered that voice.

"No more rude shouting telling me to awaken?" Saria murmured past her knees.

The elder chuckled in an affectionate, deep, and knowledgeable voice. "Not this time, my dear. I'm sorry for interrupting your lovely dream, but urgency was required. I vainly attempted to use force in order for you to awaken, and my rash actions caused you a great deal of pain. For that, I am truly sorry."

"Who are you?"

"My dear, you know who I am, you simply haven't remembered yet."

Saria pouted; she didn't remember why, but she was pretty sure she hated it when this particular fellow avoided a direct answer. "Where am I?"

"You already know the answer, my dear."

"That's not an answer."

"Neither is your question relevant."

Saria pressed her forehead against her knees; she didn't want to talk anymore. If this was anything like her previous dream, she'd wake up soon enough. Right now, all her concerns were for Link.

"It is futile, my dear."

Saria moodily stared at the silhouette. "Are you reading my mind?"

"Perhaps."

"Send me back. I don't want to talk to you."

"You will return to the meadow, that I promise you. However, I ask you hear me out before you do. Please, this humbled soul asks for your ear."

Saria noted a faint hint of desperation in the elder's yellow glow. "What's wrong?"

"The Curse of Demise is coming to light once again. This will be nothing like the wrath of the Fiend. His evil blight will cover all of Hyrule in blood and ash, and darkness shall terrorize the followers of the light. We must stop it. We can no longer rely upon the descendents of the Skyward Hero. We must end the Curse of Demise ourselves before the storm destroys everything we hold dear."

"Hyrule … why does that sound so familiar?" Saria murmured.

"Awaken, and your memories shall give you the answers you seek."

Saria frowned, still pestered by a horde of unanswered questions. "You keep telling me to awaken, but what does that even mean?"

"Awaken, and you will know."

"You're incredibly unhelpful, do you know that?"

The yellow elder laughed. "I'm sorry I cannot tell you more, but that is part of the process. You must discover yourself on your own. That is how the awakening begins."

"Stop me if I'm wrong, but I remember a really grouchy old voice telling me to awaken over and over again, and then my head almost popped off when I started seeing strange things," Saria said accusingly.

The yellow elder bent down in apology. "I sincerely regret my actions. My rash decision to break the norm and force your awakening caused you much grief. I am sorry. If she was not there to heal the damage I caused, your situation would have become dire."

Saria pulled her legs closer to her chest as a chill settled in her stomach. "Are you saying I might've died?"

"Yes."

"Then why did you do it in the first place? If what you did goes against the norm, why did you try?" Saria demanded, feeling her angst build towards the yellow elder. It was one thing to mess with her head, but _kill _her? Navi said the elder was a friend, which could only mean her awakened self lived in a very bad social circle.

"Again, I am truly sorry. When I discovered the intentions of the returning darkness, I became desperate. It seems I have not gained much wisdom with my age."

"I still don't get what any of this has to do with me!"

"You must—"

"—awaken, I know!" Saria finished. "Fine, then at least answer this: Why won't you tell me anything? Why do you keep telling me to awaken first?"

"Should I divulge too much about your true self, I may trigger a premature awakening. The repercussions could threaten your life."

"I happened to notice, thanks to you."

"You do not plan to let me off so easily, do you?"

"Not a chance."

The yellow elder sighed, causing his glowing yellow outline to dim. "Then allow me to ask you a few questions, my dear. Why do you resist your awakening? Why do you choose to turn your back on who you are?"

Saria leered at the yellow elder. "I still remember what you did in my dream. You took Link away from me. You said he has his destiny and I have mine. If I awaken, I'll never be able to see him again, will I?"

"My dear, your destiny—"

"Will I?" Saria sharply cut him off.

An empty atmosphere settled between them, prolonging every second with an uncomforting degree of silence. Finally, the yellow elder said, "Should you awaken, it will be the end of your earthly life. You may never see the child, Link, again."

Saria buried her face in her knees; that was it, she was done. No more talking, chatting, or even thinking about the mere word, "awakening." She didn't know this stranger, and he wasn't telling her anything. Now he expected her to separate herself from Link because some mysterious land she never heard of was in danger. Enough was enough; she simply didn't care any longer.

"My dear—"

"Don't, just don't."

"I am sorry. Life is always cruelest when it seems sweetest. Whether you wish it or not, Link will leave. He will leave your village and—"

"Stop it! Just stop it!"

"—he will never—"

"I SAID STOP!"

* * *

Saria screamed the words as hard as she could, getting onto her feet and using every last breath of air she had.

"Whoa! Alright, alright! I'll stop!"

Saria opened her eyes, immensely relieved to find herself back at the Great Deku Tree's meadow. She dropped to her knees, holding her face in her hands as she tried to push away the yellow elder's words from her mind.

"Aw, c'mon Saria! Don't be mad with me!" Tatl whined.

"I'm sorry, I … I dozed off," Saria mumbled, brushing her hair back. "What did you say?"

Her partner gave her a quizzical stare. "Well, you know. I was trying to cheer Link on by shouting '_Please don't die, please don't die, please don't die_' over and over again, and then you shouted at me to stop, didn't you?"

"Oh … right. Yes, that's right."

"Saria, you said you dozed off?"

"Yes, but only for a moment."

"How in the Great Deku Tree's name did you manage to do that?" Tatl asked.

Saria faltered, wondering if she missed something crucial. She tried thinking back, running through her fading memories to figure out when she began her chat with the yellow elder. She remembered watching Link and Navi disappear within the Great Deku Tree. She remembered Mido angrily arguing with their father about his favoritism towards Link. Then she sat down, and it all went blank.

"I'm a little tired, that's all," Saria assured her partner, who seemed to be growing increasingly concerned. "Where's Mido? Is Link back yet?"

"How _exactly _did you manage to doze off through all that?" Tatl demanded.

"All what?"

_!_

Saria's hands flew to her ears as the noise knifed into her head, followed by a tremor which shook the whole meadow.

"W-What was that?"

"I-I-I-I-It's a m-m-m-m-m-m-monster!" Mido stammered; he was trembling in fright behind her, his face buried in the grass with his rear held high. "N-N-N-N-N-No Fairy is in t-t-t-there with a m-m-m-m-monster!"

"You still wish you went in instead of Link?" Tatl jeered at the cowering leader. Mido didn't reply; he merely buried his head deep and raised his behind higher. Varl snapped at Tatl to back off.

Saria couldn't spare an ounce of concern for Mido; all her worries immediately went to Link. He was trapped within the Great Deku Tree, fighting for his life against a beast only told of in scary bedtime stories. She wanted to know why the Great Deku Tree was risking Link's life like this, but her mouth didn't have the energy to move. Every time a tremor ran through the ground, every time a bone-chilling screech blasted the air, she saw Link's body, cold, lifeless, and unmoving, trapped within the jaws of a terrifying beast found only in nightmares.

_Link … please, come back!_ Saria folded her hands together and pressed them against her chest, praying to every deity she could think of and begging for Link's wellbeing.

_Awaken_.

She froze as her least favorite deity spoke in her ear. Despite her misgivings, she couldn't help but ponder the idea. If Saria awakened, could she help Link? Could she save him? She didn't know if Link was going to survive this ordeal. She couldn't even tell if he was still alive or not. Could she save him if she awakened, if she transformed into some unknown entity of power? But if she did, she'd never get to see him again. Saria buried the notion beneath a landslide of prayers. She didn't trust the yellow elder. She didn't believe in this "awakening" nonsense. But she trusted and believed in Link, and that was all she could do.

Several minutes later, Tatl spoke. "It stopped."

Saria opened her eyes, prying her hands apart when she felt how tightly she was clutching them together. She stood as still as possible, straining her ears for any discernable sound. Tatl was right; the screeching, the tremors, everything, it all stopped.

"Mido! Mido!" Varl ushered to his partner. "Get up! It's over! The noises have stopped!"

"Wuah? It stopped? Hey, it stopped!" The village leader strode beside Saria as she kept her gaze focused on the Great Deku Tree's mouth.

_Please open. Please open. Please, please open!_

"What … what do you think happened?" Varl whispered.

"It' obvious, Mr. No-Fairy is dead," Mido replied nonchalantly. Tatl did Saria a favor and smack Mido on the head in her place.

"Great Deku Tree!" Saria called, struggling to keep her wavering voice steady. "What happened? Please, tell me what happened!" Their father remained silent, and her worst fears started to manifest.

Then the miracle happened. The Great Deku Tree's mouth groaned as his lower lip fell, revealing the very sight that vanquished every last one of Saria's worries: Link. His tunic was torn, his body slathered in pungent blue slime and pecked with purple bruises and blood, and he walked with a limp in his steps, but he was alive.

Saria ran faster than she thought possible, flying over the grass as her feet barely touched the ground.

"Saria! It's good to see—!" Link never got to finish his sentence and Saria jumped on him with outstretched arms, holding his body as close to her as possible. She didn't care about the slime and gunk covering his body and stained her clothes; all she cared about was the warmth that softly emanated from his skin and the steady heartbeat in the chest, two irrefutable facts proving he was still alive.

"Gah! S-Saria! N-N-Not there!" She heard Link gag in her arms. She released her hold and held him at arm's length; it was then she understood the extent of Link's injuries.

"By the Great Deku Tree! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" Saria asked, frantically checking his body to make sure everything was still there.

"I'm alive. Can't really say any more than that," Link groaned; merely putting on a smile seemed to cause pain.

"Hold on! We'll get every fairy in the village to help heal you! You'll be okay!" Saria tried to find some undamaged part of Link she could hold onto in order to help him get to the village, and was all the more dismayed when she found none. All she could do was try not to touch any part of his body as he limped forward.

"What's wrong, Tatl?" Link asked as Saria's partner stared at him in an unnaturally long silence. "I thought you'd be cracking out the jokes by now."

"Give me something funny to talk about and I'm all in," Tatl mumbled. "But I don't see anything worth joking about."

"Mr. No-Fairy!" Mido called, swaggering over to Link with all vestiges of his previous cowardice gone without a trace.

"Seriously?" Navi puffed. "Seriously?"

"Looking pretty bad there, aren't ya?" Mido laughed, stopping in front of Link. "Too bad I didn't go first! I could've handled everything you faced a hundred times over without getting a scratch! Oh! What's that on your arm? Looks like a pretty big bruise! Let me get a closer look!" He sinisterly leaned forward, clearly attempting to aggravate one of Link's injuries.

Saria snapped, letting all her fear, irritation, and angst explode. "MOVE IT, MIDO!" The intensity of her voice sent the village punk sprawling onto his rear, and invoked a look of astonishment from Link and the fairies. "Can't you act like a real leader for _once_ in your life? Link is hurt! He needs help! Now is _not_ the time for your selfishness!"

Mido remained dumbfounded.

Saria turned back to Link. "Come on, we can help you once we get back to the village."

"I've never seen you shout like that before," Link said with a look of awe that made Saria blush.

"And you never will again. Let's go."

"Wait." Everyone stopped to the Great Deku Tree's voice as he spoke with renewed strength, letting it resound throughout the meadow with his previous and familiar vigor. "Stay, young Link. I shall tend to thee. Consider it my thanks for thy aid."

A ray of green light shot from the branches cloaking the sky, bathing Link in a powerful blast of healing magic. When it faded, Link stood beside Saria in flawless condition. His wounds were gone and his tunic was newly restored and freshly cleaned. He looked as he did before he undertook the Great Deku Tree's task: Perfect and whole.

Link look as overwhelmed as Saria felt as he experimentally moved his arms, bent his legs, and twisted his restored body to ensure his damage was no more. "Thank you, Great Deku Tree. I didn't want to worry everyone in the Kokiri Village by walking in while looking like a Moblin's punching bag."

"Hey, Great Deku Tree! I've got something to say too!" Navi spoke up. "What in the name of Hyrule did you think you were doing? You had to have known there was a Queen Gohma festering inside you, yet you still sent Link to take care of it anyways? Are you out of your leafy mind?"

Saria was a little taken aback by Navi's outburst, but after hearing the monstrous noises of the beast Link was pitted against, she didn't feel like reproaching the new fairy.

"I know I put thy life in danger's hands, Link, but thou exceeded my every expectation," The Great Deku Tree praised. "Well done. Thou as verily demonstrated thy courage. Despite thy odds, I knew that thou wouldst be able to carry out my wishes."

"Thanks, I did my best."

"Wait! What about me?" Mido shouted, rising to his feet and waving his hands over his head; his inability to stand back and let their father commend Link for his bravery was starting to annoy Saria. "Let me prove my worth too, Great Deku Tree! I can do anything Mr. No-Fairy can do and more!"

"Thy test of leadership shall come, young Mido, but not now. Thou must be patient, for thou will receive a chance to demonstrate thy worth." Mido was disheartened by the Great Deku Tree's rejection, but was satisfied enough knowing his chance would come. "Now, young Link. I have yet more to tell ye, wouldst thou listen?"

"It's not another Gohma, is it?" Link asked.

Saria could feel the Great Deku Tree smile. "No, that danger has been vanquished, thanks to thee. I speak to thou now about the man from the desert, the man who cast this dreadful curse upon me."

"Desert? What's a desert?" Tatl whispered.

"No idea, now be quiet! The Great Deku Tree is speaking!" Varl hissed back.

"Man from the desert? The man who cursed you?" Link repeated; it was easy to tell he was interested in knowing more, but Saria felt troubled about what would happen next. "Why did he do it? Why did he curse you?"

"He is a man who ceaselessly uses his vile, sorcerous powers in search for the Sacred Realm connected to the world of Hyrule," the Great Deku Tree replied.

"Sacred Realm?" Link slowly chewed the words. "What's that?"

_The world of nothingness_. Saria tensed as the answer came to her naturally. How did she know that? For a moment, she feared it would trigger another awaken, but relaxed when it did not.

"I do not possess the time to explain it all to thee, young one, so I must tell thou what matters most."

"You don't possess the time?" Link interjected. "What do—?"

"Young one," the Great Deku Tree cut off his unfinished sentence. "Will thou listen? I must tell thee that which is of great importance."

Link fought to keep his own pressing questions under check, but he did so with success. He kept his lips sealed together and gave the Great Deku Tree a curt nod.

"I thank thee. The man from the desert cursed me in order to retrieve an object of great importance. It is one of many keys needed to enter the Sacred Realm. It is within the Sacred Realm that one shall find the divine relic, the pure essence of the Goddesses: The Triforce."

Saria was nearly knocked to her knees as a hurricane of visions burn themselves into her mind. The images came and went within a fraction of a moment, but her mind recalled every detail. She saw the Sacred Realm, the familiar land of white, but this time, in the center of the empty world, there was an artifact of gold. It was the Triforce, three golden triangles, each joining with one another to form a single larger whole.

"Now listen to my tale," the Great Deku Tree said, gaining vitality with each following word, "Hear the story of our world and its creators, the three Goddesses."

Saria couldn't prepare herself for what came next. Her world faded around her, entrapping her within a darkness portraying nothingness. It wasn't familiar and peaceful like the Sacred Realm; this darkness was empty, deep, and dreadful, an endless void hungrily gnawing at her sanity. The only tether that kept her from losing herself in lonely fear was the sound of their father's voice, which boomed from all around her.

"_Before time began, before spirits and life existed, three golden goddesses descended upon the chaos that was Hyrule_."

At the edge of darkness, Saria spotted a star bringing itself forth into existence. It was only after the star got closer that she realized it wasn't a star at all; it was three golden, feminine, figures that hurtled towards her, each within their own aura of light.

"_Din, the Goddess of Power_." The golden goddess cloaked in purple flames shot past Saria. "_Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom_." This goddess was veiled in a wave of blue and closely followed her sister, Din. "_Farore, the Goddess of Courage_." The final goddess was armored in an aura of green; she was the last of the three.

"_Din. With her strong flaming arms, she cultivated the land and created the red earth._" With a gesture from her arms, the Goddess of Power flung a ball of fire into the darkness. At first, all it did was fall and fall. Then it exploded, blazing with such intensity that Saria knew she would've been vaporized if her physical body had actually been there. When she opened her eyes, she stood upon the surface of a barren, rocky-red wasteland: The Earth.

"_Nayru. She poured her wisdom onto the Earth and gave the spirit of law to the world._" Nayru circled the barren globe, leaving behind a rainbow of her essence in her wake. As her light settled within the lifeless planet, trees, plants, grass, and every other naturally growing form of life started erupting from the surface of the Earth, instantly transforming the desolate wasteland into a paradise of greenery. The darkness of the sky was changed from an endless black to beautiful blue.

"_Farore. With her rich soul, produced all life forms who would uphold the law._" Green streams of pure, vibrating energy came pouring down upon the paradise, condensing as they touched the land. One after another, the other life forms of Earth came into existence. There were creatures Saria recognized, as well as beings she'd never seen before in her life yet immediately knew what they were. There were fairies, animals, humans, Gorons, Zoras, and more. Saria spotted a sliver of the green magic pour into a shrub, which she knew would one day become the Great Deku Tree.

"_The three Goddesses, their labors completed, departed for the heavens._ _And golden sacred triangles remained at the point where the Goddesses left the world. Since then, the sacred triangles have become the basis of our world's providence. And, the resting place of the triangles has become the Sacred Realm._"

The vision ended. When Saria blinked, she was back at the Great Deku Tree's meadow. Tatl hovered close by as she stood beside Link and Navi. Mido sat behind them a few paces away, absentmindedly picking his nose as Varl tried to persuade his bigheaded partner to pay attention to their father's story.

"Young one," the Great Deku Tree's voice had alarmingly lost all its previous strength. "This is the reason for my curse. Thou must never allow the desert man in black armor to lay his vile hands upon the Triforce! Thou must never suffer that man, with his evil heart, to enter the Sacred Realm of legend!"

"Great Deku Tree," Link spoke; his voice shook, as if he feared the words coming from his own mouth. "What _aren't_ you telling us? Why are you suddenly telling us about the creation of the world? Why are you acting like …" his voice fell into silence, and when it rose up again, fear was the only emotion embedded in his tone. "Are you—" Saria saw him bite on his lower lip until he drew a trickle of blood. "—dying?"

A heart stopping pause forced its way into the meadow, stilling the air and freezing the blood of everyone within. When the Great Deku Tree spoke, it only became worse: "Yes, thou are correct. My life is near its end."

Saria's world yanked itself from under her feet. She felt the Great Deku Tree's words echo his impending death within her ears as her heart and mind fought to deny them. It was impossible. Their father _couldn't_ die. He was their father, their protector. He'd been around since the world was created; Saria had _seen _that. He couldn't die! He couldn't!

Yet for all Saria's accumulating grief, none of it could compare to the onslaught of outrage coming from Link. His outbreak of denial and rage was so thick, so strong, she could feel his anguish flood from his body.

"You're lying!" He howled, distorting his face into an expression Saria had never seen. "I broke the curse! I saved you! You're not dying! I don't believe it! What did I fight Gohma for? What did I kill that monster for? I fought to save you! I fought for you! This! THIS …!" He fell onto his hands and knees, his fingers tearing at the grass beneath him. Saria didn't need to see his face to spot the tears watering the ground. "This isn't supposed to happen! I saved you! I … I saved you!"

"Thy courage has saved the village, but not I," the Great Deku Tree said, his once-grand voice now a barely-audible whisper. "I was doom before thou even began."

"But I … I broke the curse! You're … you're not supposed to … Why?" Link demanded, keeping his head bent at the ground. "Why are you dying even though I broke the curse? Why?"

"The curse has drained me of my magic. Magic is my blood, my life force, and Gohma, the beast thou has slain, hast been draining my magic for the longest of times. Just as it is impossible for any being to live on a droplet of blood, tis impossible for me to sustain myself on a sprinkle of magic."

Link's trembling stopped. He raised his head to face the Great Deku Tree as rage continued to flow from his body. "When were you cursed? When did the man from the desert curse you?"

"One year ago, upon the same night thou saw me last."

His hands, still clutching the grass, tightened until his knuckles were white. "So if I'd only come to see you sooner, if I'd only gotten over my own stubbornness and ignorance sooner, if I'd only seen the pain you were in and slain Gohma before it could steal too much of your magic … you'd still be able to live, wouldn't you?"

The Great Deku Tree didn't answer.

"WOULDN'T YOU?"

Only silence persisted, but it in itself was the answer: Yes.

Link cried, pounding and ripping at the ground until there was nothing but a patch of dug up soil beneath him. All the while, he demanded only one thing: "Why? Why didn't you call me sooner? Why didn't you ask me to break the curse sooner? Why didn't you let me save you?"

The corner of the Great Deku Tree's mustache cracked as the ancient one smiled. "It was not thy time, young one."

"That's not an answer!"

"Thou will understand one day. Time is a river, always flowing, never stopping. Thy actions simply followed the current stream, nothing more, nothing less."

"This is all my fault!" Link howled, terrifying Saria with his sudden outburst of guilt. "I should've saved you! I should've come back to you! The last thing I said to you … I said … I said I hated you! I … I …I couldn't bring myself to face you!"

Link wept. Saria could only watch as he broke down in front of her eyes. She'd helped others crying over lost toys. She'd tended to sobbing children blubbering over minors cut and scraps. But this, seeing what Link was going through; she didn't know what to do. For a while, she wanted to know why the Great Deku Tree, on his dying breath, wasn't doing anything during his final moments to comfort Link, who'd gone through so much to achieve so little. Perhaps this was all their father could do, listen and accept Link's bare-hearted misery.

In the end, it was Navi who came to Link at his time of need. The azure fairy flew down to her partner and whispered something in his ears. Initially, nothing happened. However, as time passed, he steadily picked himself up, wiping his tears before standing straight in front of their dying father. As much as it relieved Saria to see Link up on his feet, it pained her to know it wasn't her who helped him. She clutched at her heart, despising herself for everything she should've yet didn't do.

"Is thou better now, young one?"

"Not at all," Link roughly replied. "How … how much longer do you have?"

"Not long."

"Then tell me something right now: What did the man from the desert want from you? What did he want so badly that he put that death curse on you?"

"He desired one of the keys required to reach the Triforce, a treasure of the forest that I have guarded for much of my long life. As my life nears its end, I can no longer fulfill this duty. Young one, I must entrust this task to thee. I entrust thou with the Kokiri Emerald."

A speck of green light, smaller than a fairy, fluttered past Saria and hovered over Link's head. Another swiveled out of the ground near the Great Deku Tree's roots and joined the first. One after another, a gale of emerald orbs emerged from every corner of the Great Deku Tree's meadow, each amassing directly above Link's head. When the last fragment gathered, the collective hoard of energy burst in an outward wave of radiance so bright Saria had to turn her head away and close her eyes. Once it was safe enough, she looked back to see what happened.

Floating above Link, a few inches over his head, was a faultless emerald as large as Saria's outstretched hand entwined within a band of pristine gold. It was the most beautiful jewel Saria had ever seen. The emerald was greener than the richest of trees, its surface smoother than the most peaceful of rivers. The band of gold wrapped along the sides of the emerald only enhanced its beauty. She subdued the desire to step forward and snatch the jewel, to caress it within her fingers in longing and envy.

Link didn't think same. He angrily grabbed the treasure out of the air, glared at it in disgust, and said, "This? You were killed for this?"

"Yes, young one."

Saria watched Link's fingers compress around the Kokiri Emerald, as if he hoped to crush the jewel into a hundred fragments. She didn't know if he accepted the jewel or discovered he couldn't break it with his bare hands, but eventually mellowed his expression and loosened his grip.

"Young one." The Great Deku Tree's voice was a pitifully weak whisper. "Thou must now make a choice. I asked thee to stop the man from the desert from obtaining the Triforce, but that is a decision for thou to make, not I. Thou may stay within the village if thou desires, for thou will always have a home here. However, I warn thee, the man from the desert shall return in search for the stone thou now carries. Or, thou can leave the village."

Despite every horrible thing that already happened, Saria's heart managed to grow heavier as it held itself in painful suspense. Link? Leave the village? Everything the yellow elder said was coming to pass, and she could barely lift a finger to stop it. Her heart was already stabbed by the Great Deku Tree's imminent death, and now it bled to hear Link was given a choice to leave the village. She didn't know how much more pain she could take, but for Link's sake, she refused to let any of it show. She couldn't begin to comprehend what he was going through, and she wasn't about to add to his burden by acting pitifully spoiled.

"Wait a sec!" Tatl burst out. "What about the Curse of the Kokiri?" Saria flinched; she didn't want to speak about curses in front of Link, not after what happened. "Great Deku Tree, you told us so yourself! Any Kokiri that attempts to leave the village will be cursed and transformed into a Stalfos, an undead monster that'll roam the forest beyond the village for eternity!"

The Great Deku Tree barely managed a chuckle. "The Curse of the Kokiri tis nothing more than a mere rumor spread by I. Only outsiders, beings beyond the Kokiri Forest who intrude upon these lands with ill intent, are cursed. Regardless, even if the curse did affect you, my Kokiri children, it would do nothing to Link."

"Wait," Link said, his voice in monotone, "What do you mean it would do nothing to me?"

A look of pity cracked across the Great Deku Tree's oak features. "Young one, thou has suspected the truth for many years. Tis also the reason why you lacked a fairy partner during your birth; not because thou was unworthy of one, but because of my incompetence to find you one. A fairy partner is the other half of a Kokiri, born from their innocent soul as they're grown. Tis why the bond between Kokiri and fairy is unbreakable. However, I could never have formed a fairy partner from thy soul, Link, for thou was never born from my magic.

"Link, thou is not a Kokiri."

If the truth struck Saria hard, she didn't dare image what it did to Link. Though his physical body remained still, she could see his soul crumble into pieces as the truth he always kept at bay with strong-willed denial pulverized him to the core. His expression was blank, his body portrayed no discernable language, yet tears dropped from the corner of his eyes without restraint.

Mido began flapping his mouth open and close behind them as he took several steps away from Link, pointing an accusatory finger at his back. It was obvious; while Mido had always indicted that Link was not a Kokiri, he never believed his own words until now. When he worked up the nerve to smear Link in harsh language, Saria shot him her hardest glare to shut up him; Mido kept silent, but moved away from Link as if he were a forest monster.

"I … I'm not a Kokiri? But then what's Navi?" Link asked, his voice so full of hurt Saria blinked past tears of her own. "She's my fairy partner! All Kokiri have a fairy partner!"

"Make no mistake, young Link. Whilst the bond between Kokiri and fairy is unbreakable due to their connection with their souls, the link between you and Navi is equally strong, and perhaps even greater."

"But—!"

"Young one, thou and Navi have been through many unforgiving trials. The pact between you and her is stronger than anything I have ever witnessed before. Thou and she are partners in the fullest sense of the word. Take heart in that."

"Link," Navi whispered. "You'll remember."

Saria had no idea how such a short and meaningless phrase could possibly comfort Link as he was now, and was astonished as he gradually calmed down. It pained her to see how well Navi knew him in less than a day when Saria had seven years to do the same.

Link took a deep breath before saying, "I'm not a Kokiri."

"Yes." The Great Deku Tree confirmed.

"Then how did I come to the Kokiri Village? If I wasn't grown through your magic, how did I come to be?"

"Link, forgive me, but I lack the time to answer all thy questions. Perhaps thou will find the answers to thy questions in days to come, but not now. Right now, thou must choose thy future: To stay within the Kokiri Village, or leave."

The foreboding sense of unease grew darker in Saria's heart as Link thought over his decision. "Great Deku Tree, if I leave, will the village be safe? If I leave with the Kokiri Emerald, will the man from the desert leave the village alone?"

"I do not know. But his return is certain if you stay."

Link's grip on the Kokiri Emerald tightened. "Then I'll leave. I won't put the Kokiri Village in danger, not when … not when you're gone. I'll hunt down the man from the desert and avenge your death! I swear it!"

Saria splintered into pieces. She couldn't move or speak. She only watched as destiny ruptured her path and Link's into separate directions.

"I thank thee, young one, for thy courage to do what is necessary. If thou wishes to chase after the man from the desert, seek out the Princess of Destiny. She will aid thee in thy quest to stop the brewing evil that arises. But young one, promise this old one something. Promise me, that if thou hunts for the man from the desert, thou will do it for what is right, not for revenge."

Link opened his mouth to protest, but one of the Great Deku Tree's expansive branches suddenly snapped off, crashing to the ground with a terrible thud. Their father was dying; soon, very soon, the last of his magic would fade away, and he would be dead.

With the Great Deku Tree's death at hand, Link couldn't waste the ancient one's last moments in protest. "I promise, Great Deku Tree."

A substantial break shot up the Great Deku Tree's mouth as he smiled one last time. "Thou hast my eternal gratitude."

"No, you have mine," Link said, bending forward into a low bow. "You've been a mentor, father, and best friend. I'll never forget you."

"And thou …" Several more of the Great Deku Tree's branches dropped as he faltered. "…thou hast been a dear friend and son to me as well. Navi … please help young Link carry out … my will. Protect thy village … protect thy land. I entreat ye Navi. Saria … Tatl … Mido … Varl … look after … thy village. Goodbye … my beloved … children."

Those were the final words of the Great Deku Tree. His ripe bark darkened and peeled, breaking off from his trunk in droves. His leaves dried and cracked all at once, raining dust upon them. The meadow began to wilt and die with their father's passing; the flowers shriveled, the grass crumpled, and the soiled dried up as life left the field.

Their father had passed away.

"I will old friend, I will," Navi vowed, holding back a sob of her own.

For a moment, they all remained rooted to where they stood, caught in the deluge of scattered leaves and wilted vegetation. Saria could barely see beyond her own tears and torrent of leaves, but she was certain she saw Link give the Great Deku Tree's rotting trunk a final bow of respect.

The silence broke, however, as Mido started bawling his eyes out. He was weeping out waves of tears, saliva, and snot as he pounded the dead brown grass while wailing the Great Deku Tree's name.

"This is all your fault!" He screamed. It took Saria a moment to realize Mido was directing his accusations at Link. "You kill the Great Deku Tree! You kill the father of the Kokiri! You bloody monster!"

Saria was momentarily shocked by Mido's claims, unable to come to Link's immediate defense as the stricken leader rambled on.

"That desert man the Great Deku Tree was talking about, he's probably a friend of yours isn't he? It's your fault he cursed the Great Deku Tree! It's your fault the Great Deku Tree died! I knew from the moment you stepped foot into my village you'd ruin us all! Well? Are you happy? Are you satisfied the Great Deku Tree is gone, LINK?"

"What was that?" Tatl shouted in spite of her own distress. "I'm gonna—!"

"That's enough!" Saria yelled, managing to find her voice. "Link's hurting like the rest of us! He risked his life to save the Great Deku Tree! How do you think he feels?"

"He's probably laughing it up!" Mido shouted back, ignoring Varl's vain attempts to calm him down. "How can you defend this monster, Saria? You heard the Great Deku Tree! He's not even a Kokiri! He doesn't belong here! You wanted to leave, didn't you, Link? So come on! Leave! HURRY UP AND GET OUT OF MY VILLAGE!"

Saria glared at Mido, ready to do some she'd never done before: Strike him down where he stood with all her bottled misery and resentment. But she never got her chance, because Link stepped between her and Mido, preventing her from giving the arrogant leader the well-needed slap he deserved. Instead, he wordlessly stared into her eyes, conveying all his regrets with a single glance before absently walking away from the Great Deku Tree. He motioned for Navi to follow him, and he left the meadow with Mido's insults and indictments at his back. Navi gave the Great Deku Tree one last glance before following her partner.

Link's back never looked so lonely, torn, and dark.

* * *

"My dear."

Saria look up from her bed, finding herself back in the world of nothingness, in the Sacred Realm. The yellow elder, still in the vague form of a yellow silhouette, sat on one end of her maple-bush bed; if he had a face, she knew he'd be wearing a look of concern. Saria wasn't interested in talking, so she lay back down and tugged her grass-woven blanket over her head to envelop herself in her own little world of lament.

Her blanket disappeared into thin air. "My dear, please."

"I don't want to talk." Saria said in an undertone, cushioning her head between her arms. "I know what you're going to say, and I don't want to."

"I did not come here to ask you to awaken," the yellow elder said. "I came here to give you my condolences. The Deku Tree was a friend of mine as well, and I am heartbroken to see him go. I hope he finds peace in the embrace of the Goddesses."

"Couldn't you have done anything? You have powerful magic, don't you? Don't pretend like you don't, I can feel it. Couldn't you have come to our village and saved the Great Deku Tree?"

"Even if I wished to do so, I could not. I am the guardian of my realm, and with the situation becoming more dire by the moment, I cannot afford to leave."

Saria blinked away her dried tears. "You said Link would leave the village, and you were right. I don't want him to go, but he's leaving for the sake of the village, so I can't possibly ask him not to. In the end, there's nothing I can do for him."

"Are you so sure?" the yellow elder inquired. "Have you truly done everything you can?"

"That's the worst part!" Saria stated, hating herself more and more with each word. "I didn't do _anything!_ When Link was fighting to break the Great Deku Tree's curse, I didn't do anything! When Link was hurt by the Great Deku Tree's death, I didn't do anything! When Link learned he wasn't a Kokiri, I didn't do anything! When Link said he'd leave the village, I still didn't do anything! I'm useless! I can't even look him in the eyes without hating myself! I can't do anything for myself or him! I wish I could do as you ordered and awaken! I wish I could make myself stronger for Link's sake and mine! But that'd be no different from what I've already been doing: Running. Running from the pain, running from the truth! If I awaken in order to be stronger, I'd only be running away from reality! I believed I was Link's friend, but when it matters most, I can't do anything for him!"

"My dear, you give yourself too little credit," the yellow elder said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. She thought the yellow elder might try to initiate another awakening, but all she felt from their contact was warmth. "It takes great strength to know your faults, but greater strength to acknowledge them to others. There is little I can do for you now, but I can give you a bit of sagely advice." The yellow elder chuckled as if he'd made a witty joke. "It takes courage to watch your loved ones leave, but greater courage to say goodbye. Make sure you do not regret what you could not do. This will be my gift, for you and him.

"Be at peace, my dear."

* * *

Saria awoke with a start, sitting upright so fast she threw off her grass-knit blanket. The inside of her single-room home was dark and quiet, exactly the way she left it when she arrived directly after leaving the Great Deku Tree's meadow.

"Saria?" Tatl spoke from above her, nested in her own miniature bed protruding from the wall above her. "Are you alright? Heck, what am I saying? How can anyone possibly be alright after what happened. Ignore me."

"How long?" Saria demanded, swinging her feet over her bedside and shuffling her feet across the floor to find her shoes.

"Huh?"  
"How long have I been sleeping?"

"Three hours, I guess?"

Saria bit back a naughty word, desperately praying that it wasn't already too late. She jammed her feet into her shoes and got up; something flew off her lap and landed on the floor with a soft _thump_ as she stood. Tatl, attracted to the noise, fluttered down from her bed and hovered near the strange object. With her green light directly over the foreign item, Saria saw it was an expertly crafted, rectangular leather pouch, large enough for her hand to fit inside with reasonable ease. Her instincts, however, told her it wasn't any old pouch: It was a Dimensional Pouch, small on the outside yet infinitely big on the inside. It was one of the rarest of treasures for any adventurer, yet she had no recollection of owning one.

_This will be my gift, for both you and him._

Saria looked to her bed, at the spot where the yellow elder had been sitting in her dreams. "Thank you," she whispered. Without another moment to lose, she grabbed the Dimensional Pouch from the floor and attacked her wardrobe. She found the two objects of her search and placed them into the pouch; normally, the two objects would've taken up all the space inside the leather container, but in this case, they slipped into the Dimensional Pouch like it was a portable bottomless pit; Saria knew she could effortlessly reclaim her two possessions.

She hurriedly pushed her door open and stumbled her way outside and into the center of the barren village with Tatl chasing her heels. The entire village heard the terrifying screams of Gohma, the beast and curse of the Great Deku Tree. However, no one actually knew about Gohma's existence; everyone interpreted the bone-chilling screeches as their father's rage towards their food fight; upon hearing Gohma's roars, everyone immediately stopped what they were doing and grounded themselves in their own individual homes. The village was cleaning itself up after the mess caused by the food fight thanks to the lingering remnants of the Great Deku Tree's magic, but Saria could tell the cleanup was progressing more slowly than normal.

When the Great Deku Tree died and Link and Navi left the meadow, everyone was already punishing themselves with their self-imposed curfew. However, it didn't stop Mido from running through the village while sobbing about the Great Deku Tree's death, placing all the blame on Link. No one believed him; why would they? Everyone was already used to the numerous lies and rumors Mido fabricated, so why would they start believing him now? Even if they did see the Great Deku Tree's decomposing remains, they'd never actually believe he was dead. Everyone would hold onto their childish beliefs that their father would be with them until the end of time, that it was impossible for their protector to pass away and leave them alone.

Still, all of that was inconsequential right now. Saria raced her way to Link's house with the Dimensional Pouch dangling in her hand. She made it to his home in record time and scaled in the ladder in seconds before bursting through the front tarp shouting: "Link!"

He was gone.

His bed was fresh made, his closet was emptied, and the Light Flowers were plucked from the ceiling. A fist of hopeless dismay curled in Saria's chest as she wondered if she was too late.

_No! Don't give up! _Saria urged herself. She flew back out the door and jumped from tree house's porch to the ground; she was afraid of heights, but she was more afraid of what would happen if she didn't catch up to Link in time. Her feet hit the grass hard, almost spraining something in her ankles, but that didn't stop her from taking off again at full speed. If Link was leaving the village, there was only one way to do it.

Saria retraced her steps, rushing back to the village center, towards the playground, and slamming to a stop at the Wall. The towering barricade of trees, grown so close together they left no space in between their trunks, was far more imposing up close. Saria didn't stop moving; as soon as she hit the Wall, she turned to the right and dashed alongside its entangled roots. A number of steps down, Saria pulled herself to a stop at a large raspberry bush growing at the base of the Wall between two trunks. She pushed it aside to reveal a small gap in the blockade, an opening Link discovered and showed to her four years ago. He constantly used this little breach to explore the forest outside the village, never straying too far from the outer perimeter of the Wall; now he was using it to leave the village.

Saria scrambled through the gap, easily slipping past thanks to her small stature. The moment she stepped onto the other side of the Wall, she was in an alien world. The trees were as tall as the ones that formed the Wall, but these had bent trunks which clawed at the sky above while their low hanging branches snapped at the air. The shrubbery at her feet was so dense she scrapped and cut her knees just by stepping into them. Small pockets of light shriveled through the opaque brushwood kneading at the sky, but the spots of light did nothing to quell the eerie nature of the alien woods; in fact, it made the forest look all the more terrifying.

Saria couldn't find Link anywhere. To her left, right, and front, all she saw was the straggling shadows of the Kokiri Forest. For a brief moment, she knew she'd lost her one chance. Then:

"Saria?"

She jumped as Link materialized beside her when Navi popped out from his hood, surrounding them both in her blue orb of light. He stared at her in an intense mixture of curiosity, uncertainty, and relief. He had his Kokiri Sword and Deku Shield on his back with the Fairy Slingshot and Bullet Bag strapped to his belt. In addition to that, there was a large sack slung over his right shoulder, bulging with supplies he'd taken from his home and the village.

"What're you doing here?" He asked, putting his supply sack down on the brambles at his feet. From the way he moved, Saria could tell the travel sack was heavy.

"I could ask the same," Saria said, trying to sound upbeat despite her dejected emotions. "Leaving without saying goodbye? Don't tell me I was the only one who thought we were friends."

Link apologized with a shadowed smile. "Sorry. I thought it'd be best if I left discreetly."

"Are you sure you want to leave so soon? You know what'll happen to the village once everyone learns and accepts the Great Deku Tree's death."

"I know," he replied, keeping his tone low.

"Mido's already told everyone you're responsible for the Great Deku Tree's death," Saria added, hoping her voice wouldn't break as she spoke. "If they find out you've disappeared, they might start believing him. They might start hating you."

"I'm actually hoping for that."

"What? Why?"

"I don't want to leave," Link confessed. "The Kokiri Village has been my home for all my life, and suddenly leaving it like this … it doesn't feel right. But if everyone hates me, if everyone doesn't want me to be in the village, I'm hoping that'll make leaving easier. I meant to leave you a note, you know, about me leaving and all, but it seemed rather petty with everything considered."

"Leave me a note? Just me?"

"Just you."

"Why?"

Link rummaged his hand through his hair. "I don't care if the whole village hates me. I deserve it. The Great Deku Tree said otherwise, but I still failed him. But I couldn't stand the thought of you hating me. I didn't want to spend a single day thinking you hated me. That's why I wanted to leave you a note, but since it seemed like a stupid way to say goodbye, I decided not to."

Saria felt the weight of destiny lessen on her shoulders by the smallest margin. Had it been any other day, his words would've forced her to trap him in an unbreakable hug. Right now, all she could say was: "Thank you, that means more to me than you know."

Link smiled. "Thanks."  
"Still!" Saria yelled, trying her best to sound disappointed. "It didn't give you the right to try and disappear without directly saying goodbye! Because of that, I almost lost my chance to give you your farewell gifts!"

"My what?"

Saria held out the Dimensional Pouch, dropping it in his open palms. "This is the—" she paused, "Dimensional Pouch" was a mouthful, "—Pouch! The … Great Deku Tree gave it to me a long time ago. It'll hold anything you need and more. Watch." She opened the Dimensional Pouch's lid while Link held it in his hands. She stuck her hand in, imagined one of the two items she stored inside it, and pulled her hand out. Wrapped in her fingers was her handmade green hood, her second gift to Link.

"That's amazing!" He said, and then got a better look at what she was holding. "Saria, what's that?"

"Oh, nothing much!" Tatl piped in. "It's only Saria's handmade hood she made especially for you!"

Saria chewed the insides of her cheeks as Link accepted her handmade garment. Normally, the Great Deku Tree would fashion all their clothing, so handmade outfits were rare in the village. She blushed as he tugged off his own hood and slipped on hers.

"It's perfect," he said; another comment that would've made her day.

"One more thing," Saria said before she could loosen a few tears. She reached back into the Dimensional Pouch and pulled out her last gift: Her pink ocarina. An ocarina was a small handheld instrument played with both hands. It had an oval-like structure with a small mouthpiece sticking out from the side. The precisely spaced holes lining the surface of the ocarina were the instrument's keys. Out of the many things Saria loved in the village, her Fairy Ocarina was one of them. She loved music; the writing, practicing, the perfection, and the playing. Sometimes she referred to her ocarina as her most valuable partner (something Tatl always found insulting), and she was willing to give it away

Link was visibly shocked by the sight of her pink ocarina, almost causing him to trip as he stumbled backwards. "Saria! That's!"

"My ocarina. I want you to have it." Saria replied, holding it out for Link to accept.

He leaned farther back. "Saria, I can't! That ocarina is your greatest treasure! I know how much it means to you! I can't take it!"

Saria continued to persist. "If you know how important my ocarina is to me, then you know you can't refuse. Please, take it. Perhaps you can play it every now and then."

Link hackled up a laugh. "Me? Play an ocarina? You know how terrible I am with these things! I can barely use the drums!" Saria was rather fond of that memory: Link's first attempt at an instrument. The result was half the village passing out in agony, imploring for mercy.

"Take it," Saria continued to beg, "Who knows, you might get better with a little practice. As long as you play it, I hope you won't forget about me."

"I'd never forget about you. Not even if a hundred years went by."

"Then at least keep a part of me for those hundred years."

Subjugated by her words, Saria felt a glimmer of relief as Link accepted her ocarina. He fiddled with the keys, even dared to play a note, before placing it back inside the Dimensional Pouch. Afterwards, he placed his old hood into the endless storage device, along with all the other contents of his weighty travel sack. He had prepared for everything he could as Saria watched him transfer several sets of clothes, numerous fruits and vegetables, the recipe for the pancakes, his Fairy Slingshot, the Bullet Bag, numerous deku nuts, and several deku sticks, into the bottomless Pouch. Once he was done, he picked up the Dimensional Pouch and secured it to the back of his belt.

"It is heavy?" Saria asked curiously.

"I can barely feel it," Link grinned.

All that was left were the farewells.

"This is good-bye, isn't it?" she asked quietly, binding her fingers together.

Link shook his head, placing his hands on her shoulders so his peerless blue eyes were staring right at her. "No, I'll be back. I don't know how long I'll take, but I'll come back. After all, this is my home."

Saria held back a silent tear. "Always."

He held her in a small hug, and Saria hugged back. She savored every moment before the emptiness and regret replaced the warmth. He let her go, giving her one last smile before turning his back and darting into the darkest parts of the forest, vanishing with barely a trace.

The moment Saria knew Link was gone, she let it all go. She let her distress swallow her, she let her tears drown her, and she let her heart torture her. Her beloved father was dead, and the boy she loved was gone. But beneath the disorder of her anguish, she kept a small piece of steel in her heart, bound together by a single belief: _He'll come back to me._


	5. Chapter 5, Welcome to the City!

**Chapter 5**

**Welcome to the City, Fairy Boy!**

Malon savored her ice cream one scoop at a time, squirming to the occasional brain freeze. When her spoon hit the bottom of the strawberry ice cream bucket, her enthusiasm dropped just as fast. Frowning at her shortage of ice cream and the fact that she spent twenty rupees (a month's worth of allowance) on it, she gulped down the remainder before the overhead sun could melt it.

Mourning over the last scoop, Malon dropped her spoon into the empty bowl and pushed it aside as she crawled to the edge of the Ice Cream Store's laundry-hanging rooftop. Two stories below, Eva, the Ice Cream Store owner, was happily passing out bowls of the frosty mixture to many fervent customers seeking a reprieve from the hot day. Eva was only sixteen but managed the store just as well as her father, who was coughing sickly on the floor below. She was overworked during these scorching days, but was always more than happy to help others and keep a load off her ill dad's back. Eva's highly regarded manners was the second reason Malon loved this particular ice cream store (the first was because of the ice cream).

Malon kept her belly pressed to the rooftop as she leaned her head over the edge, woefully gazing at the barrels of ice cream Eva still had left.

"I didn't think it was going to rain today!" Eva jokingly told her as a few flecks of Malon's drool accidentally drizzled from her mouth.

"It might stop if the ice cream was free," Malon happily suggested.

Eva burst into her merry laughter. "Buy a few barrels and I just might!"

Malon playfully swung her empty wallet over her head like a white-flag and turned her attention elsewhere, hoping to get her mind off the delectable meals below. Left, right, and straight ahead, all she saw was a labyrinth of shops selling all kinds of different stuff. All sorts of kids, parents, travelers, customers, and big men with shiny swords flocked about the merchant city. Malon could discern the satisfied feelings of buyers, the cheerful giggles stemming from the kids at play, and irritable bouts of annoyance seething from travelers who realized their wallets had been lifted. Everyone was in a good mood, despite the Dread Nights. Malon's eyes often lingered at the numerously clothing stores only to be reminded of her feather-light wallet.

Occasionally, Malon saw a group of kids scampering between alleyways wearing black outfits with a shabbily sewn lightning bolt somewhere on it. Those kids were members of the Thunder Wings, a band of child thieves who stole anything of value for their secret leader, Suvica. Only a select few non-Thunder Wings knew Suvica's identity, and they spoke his name with terror. Malon often tried tailing a few members of the Thunder Wings to their hidden hideout, but with little avail. The Thunder Wings were sneaky, and Malon was more clumsy than careful.

A muck of laughter came from a store to her right. There were big men with big weapons making boastful claims to the store owner's daughter, Celia. Celia was rolling her river-blue eyes, impatiently brushing her long blond hair from her pretty face as she endured the witless banter from the smelly adventures vainly trying to hit on her. Malon felt Celia's frustration, but she put on a strained business smile and tried to act interested nevertheless; being the daughter of a weapon store owner looked tiring. The big men with big swords looked bustling with overconfidence, but digging beneath their assurance Malon detected spots of nervousness and lament. Intrigued, she tried listening in on their chitchat, but couldn't hear anything beyond the racketing drone enveloping all of Oron City.

Left with nothing to do but roast beneath the cloudless sky, Malon rolled and wallowed in her boredom. She was at Oron City, a small town of commerce stationed several miles north of the Lost Woods, because her dad was the proprietor of Lon Lon Ranch. Lon Lon Ranch was Hyrule's most prominent beverage producer and dealer. Her dad, and his aid Mr. Ingo, were Hyrule's best marketers of ale, mead, milk, and more, and they got an offer from Oron City they couldn't refuse. Her family ranch also raised the finest horses Hyrule had ever seen. It always made her stomach squeal when their horses, her friends, got shipped away by her dad and Mr. Ingo to be battle steeds for knights and whatnot, but there was little she could do about it. Once she was old enough to be the owner of Lon Lon Ranch, she could change that.

Right now, Malon's dad was probably haggling prices with Brice, vendor of the smallest, dirtiest, and most popular building in Oron: The drinking parlor, Ale Galore. She always wanted to see how her dad bartered rupee prices with Brice, but when she said she wanted to come along, her dad strongly opposed her decision. "This is an argument that uses lots of … grown up words," her dad emphasized. Malon knew exactly what "grown up words" were; he used them all the time when her mom died and her dad tried to drown his sorrows at the bottom of a beer keg. Then again, Malon really didn't want to go anywhere near Ale Galore unless it had a major renovation. Her wants and dislikes canceled each other out, leaving her with very little to ponder about.

With nothing to do, Malon let her eyes aimlessly wander, letting them stroll across prosperous stores, travelers whose wallets had been cut by members of the Thunder Wings, a boy dressed in green, several bare-chested warrior flashing their oversized muscles like they were the gems of Hyrule, and an old lady screaming about the end of the world.

"Whoa!" Malon whipped her head back towards the small blob of green sticking out of the trailing river of brown. Wedged between a homeless man and a sickeningly obese merchant, she spotted the boy dressed almost entirely in green. Unlike everyone else in dull-colored Oron City, he was wearing a vibrant green tunic and hood. His hair was a rare shade of gold, with curious blue eyes and a smoothly shaped face. He had a short sword strapped on his back (something you'd never find on a kid), along with something that looked like a torn off piece of tree bark. Malon guessed the boy harassed the tallest tree he could find to get that improvised shield.

As fascinating as the boy's attire was, his body language was far more captivating. He was completely engrossed about everything and everyone around him, like he was visiting a never-before-seen playground for the first time. Malon could tell his inquisitiveness was storming around him, putting him at the eye of the tornado and letting everything else get swept up in the squall of his interest. He acted like he was seeing a city, a building, an adult, for the first time in his life.

"Green clothes, acts like he's never been in a city before—" Malon's dull day took a sudden trip north. "—and we're the closest city to the Lost Woods! He's a Fairy Boy from the Lost Woods!" She flew to her feet, whipping her long red hair into her eyes as she spun around and tumbled down the rooftop trapdoor to descend to the second floor. She apologized to Eva's sick dad for the ruckus before sprinting down the stairs to the bottom floor.

"Malon? You don't get more ice cream for pretending the roof's on fire again!" A surprised Eva called out when Malon bolted past her.

"Not this time! I need to see the Fairy Boy!" she shouted back, smiling at Eva's puzzled face as she dived into the swarthy stream of bodies populating Oron's cobble streets. She lost sight of the Fairy Boy the moment she stepped off the roof of Eva's Ice Cream Shop, but hoped his colorful tunic would be a signal flare to his location.

There was a reason for Malon's excitement. No Hylian child grew up without hearing the stories about the legendary paradise hidden deep within the treacherous Lost Woods. Fables spoke of a heaven teaming with riches and splendor beyond believable comprehension, and that the only dwellers were ageless children born from the earth itself. Thousands of glory seeking adventures, warriors, and scholars journeyed into the Lost Woods searching for that paradise. Some wanted the riches, other wished to study the eternal children to undercover the secret of immortality, and the rest longed to capture and sell the fairies rumored to populate the paradise like Cuccos in a chicken farm. Fairy trade was declared illegal by the first King of Hyrule, King Halden, but that didn't stop heartless hunters from trading captured fairies on the black market every now and then. Fairies sold for a queen's ransom, making them a top commodity for all wealthy Noble families. Malon was averse to fairy trading; all she really wanted to know was if fairies really tasted like candy when licked. Capturing one and holding it against its will inside a cramped bottle was cruel and coldhearted. Regardless, thousands went into the Lost Woods, and thousands were never seen again. Eventually, the paradise of the Lost Woods became nothing more than a bedtime story due to the lack of proof and evidence of its existence. Malon might've just seen that very evidence walk down the streets of Oron City; she couldn't let the Fairy Boy leave, not when she had so many burning questions for him.

Her spirits rose and dropped the next instant; she spotted the Fairy Boy, but found him at the second-most undesirable location in all of Oron City. It was Pablo's Pawn Shop, a well adorned and certainly the most hated store in all of Oron. Both locals and travelers alike gave the shop a wide berth, as if there were a repugnant stench surrounding the golden front door.

The Fairy Boy was ignoring the invisible borderline others didn't dare to cross, standing in front of the Pawn Shop's display windows and admiring the lifted goods inside. Malon admitted Pablo had a collection worthy enough for the King of Hyrule, but found their value diminished because of their stolen nature.

"Run away, Fairy Boy! Run!" Malon urgently whispered, fearfully observing the Fairy Boy from behind a stack of water barrels around the corner of Pablo's Pawn Shop. To her imminent surprise, his head turned towards to her direction, like he heard what she said. Malon pinched herself at the idea; she could barely hear herself think in this crowd, so how could the Fairy Boy, who was several gallops away, catch her muttering?

Unfortunately, the repulsive Pawn Shop Owner spotted the Fairy Boy right as he turned around to disappear into the crowded streets. Pablo danced out the front door, flashing his pompous red silk cape and flaunting his gold-laced vest. He tapped the stone street with his pointy ruby shoes, dusted his gold-and-red stripped pants, twiddled his puke-inducing curly mustache, and flattened his long brown hair with his greasy palms. His face was layered with his favorite white powder makeup (he probably thought it made him look regal, when in fact it made him look like a well dressed ReDead) and his cheeks were dotted with clumsy red blotches of face paint.

Malon was further repulsed by the way Pablo's body spoke; his every movement screamed of heartless, devil-like greed. All things considered, she really didn't like Pablo. A few months back, during her last visit to Oron City, she accidentally stepped on a green rupee Pablo deliberately dropped at her feet, and the voracious Pawn Shop Owner demanded compensation for decreasing the value of his precious currency. When Malon said she was sorry, Pablo grabbed her by her long red hair, lifted her off her feet, and threatened to shave her head bald and sell her hair as reimbursement. She escaped without losing a single strand of her precious hair when a mysterious someone punched Pablo in the face so hard he literally flew through the wall of his own Pawn Shop. Malon wanted to thank the one who saved her, but her mystery savior had already disappeared

Now the Fairy Boy was in similar situation, with Pablo circling him like a vulture waiting to descend on its dying prey. Locals and travelers alike watched him close in on his latest victim and took several steps away to avoid the mugging that was bound to come. Even the adults and battle-scarred-warriors weren't going to help the Fairy Boy, finding it more humorous to start betting on how badly the child would get robbed.

"Run away, Fairy Boy! Pablo is a super bad guy!" Malon ushered to herself, twiddling the tips of her toes. Again, the Fairy Boy glanced her way like he heard every word she said. She brushed it aside as another coincidence, but noticed the air around the Fairy Boy changed. His shoulders tensed and his eyes narrowed at Pablo; his naïve curiosity shifted into wary precaution as the Pawn Shop owner stopped in front of him with a smug smile.

"Ah, my little boy!" Pablo cooed with his sweet-fake voice he used to tempt unsuspecting customers (Malon heard every word he said because the area around the Pawn Shop became still and quiet). "Where did you steal that sword from? A cute child such as you shouldn't be traveling with such a scary weapon! What would your parents say?"

"Parents?" the Fairy Boy repeated, his guard faltering as he spoke in genuine confusion. "What are those?"

Malon's stomach dropped to her feet; stories and legends alike always said how the paradise in the Lost Woods was a place without parents, more proof that the Fairy Boy really was a boy from the fabled haven. While this new information would've put an eager smile to Malon's lips, she knew once Pablo figured out the Fairy Boy's origin, the poor child of the forest would never see the light of day again. But one way or another, the Fairy Boy didn't have a guardian to turn to, and that was the type of victim Pablo loved the most.

"Aw, running away from home, little boy?" Pablo chuckled disgustingly; Malon felt her hair stand on end at his overly fake tone. "How about you let big daddy Pablo take that dangerous sword off your hands? As a bonus, I won't tell the city guards about your naughty behavior! You know they arrest bad boys like you!"

"Fat chance," Malon mumbled. Oron City was a small capital of trade at the far edge of Hyrule's borders. Though it attracted many danger-seeking, fame-hunting adventurers because of its close proximity to the fabled Lost Woods, its isolation was the only protection it needed against attacks from bandits or mercenary thieves. That was why the city guards did nothing but drink all day, barf the next, and drink some more the following morning. If Oron's guards actually did their jobs, they would have arrested Pablo for theft, the trading of stolen goods, and assault against the common folk. Instead, the greedy merchant bribed the guards to keep himself off their extremely short watch list. He even brought them spiked drinks every other day to make sure they were too weak to do anything against him. If anyone tried to stand up to Pablo, the black hearted merchant would buy the services of every strong arm in the city to make an example of the protestors. If Pablo wanted something, he always got it.

But the Fairy Boy was different.

"Sorry, but this sword is mine," the Fairy Boy said defiantly. Malon went giddy as she heard the Fairy Boy's voice: Powerful, confident, and unyielding beneath Pablo's reddening face as the Pawn Shop owner began burning his makeup off.

Pablo knelt down until he was leering at the Fairy Boy eye-to-eye. "Listen here, kid." He growled, dropping his candy-coated pretense. "You don't want to piss me off. I control all the muscle in this city, Oron's soldiers and more! If you don't want to be hunted for the rest of your life, hand over everything you've got and scram!"

An angry authority figure always made Malon's blood go cold, but not the Fairy Boy. Instead, he laughed out loud, making all onlookers solidify into dumbfound statues. "Ah, sorry about that," the Fairy Boy apologized, hugging his sides. "I'm sure a giant like you would've been rather threatening to me two weeks ago, but after seeing Gohma, you're not much to look at."

"Gohma?" Malon wondered aloud, pleasantly puzzled; she'd never heard of a "Gohma" before.

Neither did Pablo, apparently, but that didn't stop the angered Pawn Shop owner from grabbing the Fairy Boy's collar and lifting him a few feet from the ground. "Listen here, brat! I don't give a damn what sort of imaginary plaything a Gohma is, but it's nowhere near as terrifying as me! You do as I say, or I'll do it for you!"

Malon's stomach churned as she expected a public lynching, but her distress was quelled by the overflowing self-confidence coming from the Fairy Boy's easy smile. While everyone was focused upon Pablo's fuming expression, only she saw the Fairy Boy's hand slip into a small leather bag fastened to the back of his belt. Then he pulled out his clenched fist and slammed it towards Pablo's face. Malon, adverse to blood-shed and violence, turned away with her eyes clamped shut before the Fairy Boy's fist connected with Pablo's nose.

What hit her next was a seizure of unexpected screams. The blackness her closed eyes provided was momentarily overthrown by an instantaneous flare of white light. Spurred by her irresistible curiosity, Malon opened her eyes and spun around to see what happened.

She almost jumped out of her white one-piece dress when the Fairy Boy's smiling face appeared a few steps in front of her (now that he was so close, she saw he was about two inches taller than her). She took a few steps back, startled by the Fairy Boy's teleportation skills. Startled and perplexed, Malon looked past the Fairy Boy to see Pablo and all the onlookers squirming on the ground, grabbing at their eyes while howling in pain.

"Hi there. My name is Link, Link of the Kokiri Village. Pleased to meet you."

* * *

Electrified and unadulterated excitement coursed through Malon's veins as she hauled Link, the Fairy Boy, down the streets of Oron City. She zigzagged past clustered bodies and crawled beneath open legs as she followed her time-tempered instincts, leading Link to Oron's best eatery, the Gourmet Crusade. It was built, run, and owned by her dad's best friend, Chef Gordon; she called him Uncle. The Gourmet Crusade was a three story restaurant spilling over with an excess of customers, food, and mouthfuls of joy. It was a wonderful place bustling with delicious food and a boisterous atmosphere. Waiters and waitresses alike were constantly overworked but were well compensated by Uncle for their overtime services.

Malon spotted the restaurant as a giant, open-wall cube brimming over with tummy-rumbling aromas. She darted between stores and down alleyways as a shortcut, dragging a confused Fairy Boy behind her. Once they arrived at Gourmet Crusade, she found the long queue of restless customers lined up at the singular entrance at the bottom floor of the restaurant (the line was so long it circled the eatery twice). Ignoring the queue, Malon raced straight for the entrance, squeezing her way past angry customers who shouted: "Get in the damn line, brat!" At the Gourmet Crusade's entry, she spotted waitress Rebecca wearily letting in the next waiting customers once a table was cleared. Malon jumped up and down to make herself seen as she waved at Rebby (the nickname Malon gave her) and Rebby waved back with a tired but bright smile. Her working outfit, a sleeveless black gown with a short black skirt covered by a white apron, was stained with several different colors. Malon could tell by her sluggish motions and fatigued wave that today was one of those busier working days.

"Long time no see, little Mal!" Rebby called, combing back the loose strands of reddish carrot hair draped over her eyes as Malon pulled the Fairy Boy to a stop at the eatery's entrance. "Who's your date?"

"He's a Fairy Boy from the Lost Woods!" Malon exclaimed, barely able to contain her bustling excitement.

Rebby laughed, obviously disbelieving her words. "Whatever you say, kiddo." The waitress turned her head towards the inside of Gourmet Crusade and screamed, "BART! WE GOT ANY FREE SEATS YET?" Malon couldn't hear anything resembling a response over the clamoring noise of the restaurant and the bustling racket of the city, but seconds later, Rebby stepped out of the way with a smile and said, "Welcome to Gourmet Crusade. Enjoy your meal and make sure to tip me big."

"I eat for free, remember?" Malon reminded with a wide grin as she stepped over the threshold, pulling the Fairy Boy along behind her.

"Little cheapskate," Rebby snickered.

"Hey, redhead! Why do those kids get to skip ahead? You screwing with us?" an angry member of the growing wait-line demanded, snarling in frustration while jabbing a finger at Malon; several others added their dissatisfaction to the growing commotion.

"She's the goddaughter of our head chef, Gordon!" Rebby snapped back, her voice cracking like an overused whip. "You've got a problem with our Head Chef giving his goddaughter special privileges?" The complainers mellowed, deciding it was in their stomachs' best interest to keep their mouths closed, putting a cap on their boiling impatience.

"Got your hands full again?" Malon asked.

Rebby groaned heavily. "If this job didn't pay so damn well, I'd be on the other side of Hyrule, chugging beer while sunbathing at Lake Hylia. CHARLIE! SHIFT CHANGE! WATCH THE DOOR!"

This time, Malon managed to hear someone shout, "GOT IT, SIS!"

"Follow me, I'll show ya two love birds to your seats," Rebby said, beckoning them to follow her.

Malon tightly held onto Fairy Boy's hand as she closely followed Rebby's long-stride steps. They passed tables threatening to crumble beneath towering mountains of food and watched Rebby shove aside customers fighting for the last mug of ale as she led them to their table. Despite the overall ruckus, Malon was always soothed by the communal aroma of good food and drinks. The jubilant sight of satisfied customers added a little spicing to that toping. They walked past one disgruntled customer, whom Malon noticed by his livid expressions as he hollered for a refund. He was demanding reparations for discovering a piece of hair in his salad and insisted on seeing the Head Chef. Obviously, he was a newbie to the Gourmet Crusade, because he didn't know the two basic rules about Uncle Gordon's restaurant. First, Uncle _never_ made a mistake with _any_ of his meals. Second, those that tried to skimp out on the bill got "royally screwed." When Uncle Gordon approached the disgruntled customer, revealing his muscled figure that made hardened adventurers whimper in jealously, the rioting consumer instantly shrunk to half his normal size. Uncle easily deduced the hair was planted by the customer himself in order to skip out on the bill. Ultimately, the customer's entire wallet was taken after he received two black eyes and was tossed head-first out the restaurant. Uncle Gordon he waved fondly at Malon as he made his way back to the kitchen, and she waved back.

Rebby led Malon and the Fairy Boy to a table in the corner of the restaurant, a slightly quieter spot than the rest of the boisterous eatery. Malon hopped onto one seat and the Fairy Boy took a spot on the opposite side of the table.

"So you gonna tell me who your crush is yet?" Rebby asked, beckoning at the Fairy Boy with teasing repartee. "He's got style, I'll give you that much. Seeing some new colors in this dull city is a nice change of scenery."

"He's not my boyfriend, he's a Fairy Boy from the Lost Woods!" Malon exclaimed, hobbling on her seat until it almost tipped over.

Rebby stilled her with a hand to her shoulder before Malon fell to the crumb-littered floor. "Right, right. If he is a boy from the mythical paradise from the Lost Woods, where's his legendary fairy partner?" Malon glanced at the Fairy Boy (who was blankly staring at the city) noticing Rebby was right; she didn't see the renowned fairy partner told in so many stories. Malon felt Rebby's giddiness take flight at her defeat, and then passed each of them a menu, asking for their orders.

"Steak Supreme," Malon mumbled, wondering what she was going to do with Link now. She felt a little foolish for dragging him across Oron City for no good reason.

"Um … the same," Link replied, looking over the menu once before handing it back to Rebby.

The waitress gave him a long "_Aw_," like she was watching an adorable pet. "Honey, you can't read, can you? I'm so sorry! You don't have to pretend you can! I've been working at this joint for five years, and I've gotten pretty good at spotting these things! It's because the king keeps putting our tax rupees into military affairs instead of education! Don't worry about a thing! Our Steak Supreme will have you reading Hylian in a jiffy!" Rebby twirled away, snatching their menus and screaming at one of the cooks to get two Steak Supremes ready.

"You can't read?" Malon asked, wondering if she picked up an illiterate run away with no parents.

"I can!" Link said, sounding highly offended. "I can read Kokiri perfectly well! I'm just not used to these … different words."

He re-sparked Malon's interest. "Kokiri? What's that?"

"Look!" a disembodied voice snickered at him, "I told you I would teach you Hylian, but _no_! You said you wouldn't need it! Look who's regretting now!"

Malon jumped a little in her seat. "Who was that?"

"It's not like I planned on come to this place!" Link protested to the voice. "We came here because _he_ said it was a good place to start!" Then he looked to Malon and said, "Sorry, but I don't know you're name."

"Malon! Malon from Lon Lon Ranch! Who are you talking to? Who?" Malon eagerly demanded, standing on her seat and leaning across the table.

"It's Navi, my—"

"Link!" the voice snapped. "You're not supposed to tell anyone about me!"

"You're the one who started chatting away! Besides, Malon warned me about that giant, Pablo. I trust her!"

"I don't," the voice mumbled. "She's a stranger! We came here to get information, not the other way around! You can't start babbling away about me or the Kokiri Village! What if this girl tells someone else about the village? What're you going to do then?"

"It seems like they know plenty already," Link said. "You heard them talking about fairy partners. It sounds like everyone's heard about the Kokiri Village."

"Who're you talking to?" Malon restlessly repeated, slapping the table to try and get Link's attention.

"They've _heard _about it!" the voice ignored her pleas. "That's not the same as _knowing_ about it! Link, you and I are living proof the Kokiri Village exists! You have no idea how many limbs a fame-mongering fool would sacrifice to find it! The Great Deku Tree is gone! If someone managed to make their way to the village, what do you think will happen to your friends?"

"Then we have to make sure she doesn't tell anyone!" Link turned to Malon. "Can you keep a secret?"

' "Yes!" she said immediately.

"There, you see?" He said to the mystery voice.

"Ugh! Link, you can't trust some random stranger on a whim!"

"It's not a whim," Link countered. "I'm getting a good feeling from her. My gut says we can trust her."

"That doesn't mean—!"

Link swiped his green hood from his head and twisted the open end shut, dampening the ethereal voice into an angry muffle. "Sorry about that," he said, keeping a tight grip on his hood as something bounced and bulged within it. With his hair flowing freely and his sapphire-blue eyes staring to hers, Malon found he was rather cute. "I think we should start from the beginning again. I'm Link from the Kokiri Forest."

"Malon. Lon Lon Ranch. What's the Kokiri Forest?" Malon asked, swiftly cutting to the chase.

"It's the forest where my village is located. It's right over there." Link turned in his seat, pointing in a general-south direction, towards the Lost Woods.

Malon nearly danced on her seat. "You're from the Lost Woods!"

"Lost Woods?" Link repeated, mystified. Then his eyes lit up. "I get it! I call that forest the Kokiri Forest, and you call it the Lost Woods. Different names for the same place. Yes, that's right, I'm from the Lost Woods."

"You're from paradise!" Malon squealed.

"Para-where?"

She almost fainted when another realization struck her. "And that voice! Oh, that voice! The one you were talking to! That was your fairy partner!"

Link nodded. Slowly, he untwisted the top of his struggle hood until the mouth was open and facing Malon. She peered inside and almost cried in joy. Fluttering within the depths of the green hood was a forest fairy. Although she always imagined them to be pretty little people who flew on rainbows, not glowing blue spheres with pixie wings, she was bursting with excitement nonetheless.

"We are so gonna regret this," the fairy moaned, her cerulean glow taking on a dark hue.

"Malon, this is Navi, my fairy partner," Link introduced, ignoring his fairy's complaints.

"I'm so happy to meet you!" Malon piped, pressing her hands against her cheeks as her temperature rose with exhilaration.

"Glad to see one of us is," Navi the fairy grumbled.

"So you really are a Fairy Boy! You're a Fairy Boy!"

Link stared at her blankly. "I'm a what?"

"A Fairy Boy! You came from the Lost Woods! You were born in paradise! You have a fairy partner! You're a Fairy Boy!"

Link leaned down to his hood and whispered, "What does she mean by paradise?"

"I think she's talking about the Kokiri Village," his partner replied.

"So you were, right?" Malon repeated. "You were born in paradise, right?"

This time, there was a sad smile on Link's lips, so fleeting she almost missed it. "Yeah, I was raised in the Kokiri Village, the place you call paradise."

His momentary flux of sorrow gave birth to a question Malon probably should've asked him the moment they met, but before she could speak her mind, Rebby came strolling back to their table with several dishes expertly balanced on her arms.

"Two Steak Supremes and more, incoming!" Rebby hollered, sliding the dishes onto the table. Malon salivated as a juicy slab of tenderly barbecued and seasoned steak, accompanied with a side of baked and buttered potatoes and honeyed apples, stopped in front of her. Link's eyes went wide as Rebby set his own plate in front of him. The waitress placed the remaining platters (steak sauce, lettuce, boiled eggs, and mugs of water) on the table as Malon grabbed a set of silverware from the bin beside her, handing Link a fork and knife before arming herself with the same. "Enjoy!"

"Thank you for the meal!" Malon cheered. She cut herself a large portion of steak and was about to feast until she realized Rebby was still standing at their table. "What's up?"

"C'mon, Mal!" Rebby pleaded, placing her hands together in a pray-like fashion. "A little tip for your favorite waitress? Your dad runs Lon Lon Ranch! He's loaded! He must've given you _some_ rupees?"

"I spent on ice cream," Malon grinned sheepishly.

"What's a tip?" Link asked as he prodded at his steak with his fork.

"Aw, aren't you adorable!" Rebby smiled, poking Link's nose. "A tip is a big reward you give to a really pretty lady! Got anything like that?"

"A big reward? Like what?"

Rebby pretended to ponder the question. "Oh, you know, a really shiny stone, maybe the color blue or red, if you know what I mean. Green is no good."

"Shiny stone? I don't have any that are blue or red, but I have this." Link reacted into his leather pouch and pulled out a hexagonal gem. Rebby froze; Malon dropped her fork. It was a purple rupee, a handheld gem worth a grand total of 50 rupees; Malon could've bought two hundred scoops of ice cream with one of those.

"K-Kid … that's …" Rebby stammered, thrown off balance by the unexpected turn in events.

"I still don't really get what a tip is, but will this do?" Link asked, holding the purple rupee out for Rebby. Several other customers sitting at adjacent tables spotted the fortune he was holding and dropped their jaws.

Rebby swiped the rupee from Link with lightning speed before anyone got any funny ideas. She cuddled the rupee close to her chest and smiled widely at the stunned Fairy Boy. "Now I get why that hard-headed Talon is letting you see his daughter. Ah, if only you were ten years old, I'd snatch you from Malon in a heartbeat."

"Rebby!" Malon shouted, embarrassed by Rebby's continuous belief that Link was her boyfriend.

"Vacation time, here I come!" Rebby whooped, tossing aside her apron and making a break for the exit.

"Link!" Malon yelled, bringing the Fairy Boy's attention back to her. "You gave Rebby a purple rupee as a tip! That's … that's …!"

"Weird," Link finished, watching as Rebby danced out the door. "All I did was give her a rock, so why's she acting like that?"

Malon's incredulity rose. "A purple rupee … is a rock?"

"Isn't it?" He asked, cutting off a small portion of his steak and putting it in his mouth. His expression lit up like a Fire Keese. "This is amazing!"

"Really? Give me some!" Navi chirped from inside Link's hood, which was on the table beside his plate. He cut off another piece of his steak and fed it into the opening of his hood; when he pulled his fork back, the portion was gone, and Navi said, "Wow, that is great! Lemme try another piece!"

While the two of them thoroughly relished their meal, Malon was unable to stop her unbelieving gape. That was it, Link was undoubtedly a Fairy Boy from the Lost Wood's paradise. How else could his sense of currency be so skewed? The legends were right, paradise probably had trees that grew rupees instead of fruits. Malon was willing to bet a year's worth of allowance that Link bathed in orange rupees and used silver rupees as soap. Surrounded by so much wealth, it was no wonder he could so easily give away a purple rupee as a tip.

"Fairy Boy, I've got so many questions!" Malon said, pushing aside her scrumptious meal; her stomach was the very last thing on her mind now.

"Fon mofent!" Link replied as he unceremoniously crammed as much food as he possibly could into his mouth. Even Navi abandoned her secluded attitude and was rapidly buzzing in and out of Fairy Boy's hood to snag pieces of food from his plates without being detected by on-looking eyes.

"Far moo nona neat mat?" he asked the moment his plate was cleared, pointing his knife at Malon's untouched meal.

"Help yourselves," she offered (she was well versed in the mouth-muffled language; her dad often used it when he ate and talked at the same time). Navi zoomed out of Link's hood and pushed the platter towards her partner, allowing them to readily stuff themselves with gusto. In a matter of minutes, every plate was cleared, and the two visitors from the Lost Woods were content.

"Food … I love food," Navi sighed happily, rolling her inflated body across the table and back into Link's hood.

"Dentri and Hapi would love this place," he agreed, wiping the grease from his smile with the napkin Malon passed to him. "So, what'd you say before?"

"I have questions! Lots and lots of questions!" Malon said, trying to stop the excited shiver running down her arms. "Can you answer them?"

"As long as you keep everything I tell you a secret," Link agreed.

"But!" Navi interjected, sticking half her round body out from Fairy Boy's hood. "We've also got a few questions, so let's compromise. You ask something, and then we'll ask something. We'll do this until we're both satisfied!"

"Deal! I'll go first! Is it true the children of paradise—"

"Kokiri," Link interrupted. "The children of the forest are called Kokiri."

"Kokiri," Malon said, letting the word dance on her tongue. "Oh my Goddess, I'm talking to a real Kokiri!" She saw the familiar flicker of gloom weigh on Link's eyes, but he concealed it a lot better than before; she tried not to let it bother her. "So is it true? Are Kokiri immortal children? Do they live forever without ever growing old?"

"Yes, it's true."

"I knew it! I knew it!" Malon squealed. "Your turn!"

"Where are we?" Navi asked. "What's this city called?"

"Oron City, the southern city of commerce!" Malon quickly replied. "Is it true the Kokiri can never die?"

"They can't die from aging, but other than that, I don't know," Link said with a shrug. "Do you know where we can find a Princess of Destiny?"

"Princess of Destiny?" Malon muddled over that one for a bit until a dusty piece of information fluttered its way to the top of her head. "Oh! You mean Princess Zelda! Princess Zelda's other title is the Princess of Destiny!"

"Who's Princess Zelda?"

"Not so fast!" Malon said promptly. "It's my turn! So many people ask this question! It is true Kokiri children poop gold?" Both Link and Navi leaned away from Malon with looks of horror. "I … guess not?"

"That stuff is called gold?" He whispered to his partner. "I thought it was just, you know …"

"It's not gold," Navi snapped back. "That's plain gross! What is wrong with the outside world? Our turn!" The fairy said to Malon. "Like before: Who's Princess Zelda?"

"Everyone knows Princess Zelda, but since you two came from the Lost Woods, it guess it's only natural you've never heard of her. She's the current princess of the Kingdom of Hyrule and the only daughter to our king, King Ceylon. Now, is it true that paradise—"

"Kokiri Village," Link corrected again. "It feels weird for you to call my home paradise. Please call it the Kokiri Village."

"Right, the Kokiri Village. So, is it true there are trees that grow honey from their branches instead of regular stuff like apples?"

"Honey? Well, we've got the honey pear."

"What's that?"

"Not so fast," Navi said smugly. "Now it's our turn. Where can we find Princess Zelda?"

"Where else?" Malon shrugged to the common knowledge. "At Hyrule Castle. King Ceylon is _super_ overprotective of Princess Zelda ever since his wife, the queen, died. He never lets Princess Zelda out of the castle. I kind of feel sorry for her. Now! What are honey pears?"

"They're a type of fruit commonly found in the Kokiri Village. They're basically pears … you do know what pears are, right?" Link asked.

"Of course!"

"Right, sorry. They're basically pears that seep out honey. Here, I have one with me right now," Link said, reaching for his small pouch.

"You do?" Malon exclaimed, watching as he pulled, one, two, three amber-yellow pears from his pouch, placed them on his cleared plate, and pushed them to her. Malon felt like she had a thousand rupees beneath her nose as she gave the honey pears a sniff; a torrent of sweet sensations assaulted her nose, making her mouth water. "Can I?"

"Go ahead, I've got plenty more."

She reached for one of the honey pears, feeling the sugar-coated-surface squish against her fingers. With a tender bite, Malon bit a chunk out of the fruity surface. Sweet flavor exploded against her tongue, making Uncle Gordon's famous sweet toasted apples seem like dried prunes in comparison. Before she knew it, the remaining three honey pears disappeared down her mouth and settled comfortably in her stomach.

"That was amazing!" Malon sang, licking the remaining honey from her fingers. "And you have more? Can I … wait, how do you have more?" She asked, vividly remembering how small Link's little pouch was. In fact, how did three of these honey pears and a purple rupee manage to fit into that diminutive storage bag? "How did you fit all these inside that little thingy of yours?"

"Sorry, it's my turn," Link smiled. "Is there any way to meet Princess Zelda?"

"Nope." Malon said simply. "Now how did you fit so much into your little pouch?"

"Whoa, wait!" Navi snapped. "You can't just say '_nope_' and pretend like that's the end!"

"But it is! No one can see Princess Zelda! King Ceylon makes sure she never leaves Hyrule Castle. Not even members of Hyrule's Royal Council can get a glimpse of her! King Ceylon assigned a small army to be Princess Zelda's personal guard! I don't think the princess has been outside the walls of Hyrule Castle! Meeting her is impossible!"

"You're kidding!" Navi groaned.

"Nope. Now can we talk about your pouch?"

Link sighed as his chance to meet the Princess of Hyrule (for whatever reason he had) was shot down. He unbuckled his leather pouch from the back of his belt and set it on the middle of the table. Despite Malon's deep scrutiny, she couldn't find anything unnatural about it.

"Did you really keep three honey pears in this?" Malon asked, prodding the pouch with her pinky. "You didn't actually keep them … somewhere weird, did you?"

Link laughed. "Don't fret it. This pouch is special. It was made and given to me by a friend, and she is calls it the Pouch."

"Very original," Malon nodded.

"Now watch." Link flipped open the top of the pouch and turned the opening towards Malon. "Do you see anything?"

She bent down and took a peek inside; there was nothing. She could easily see the bottom of Fairy Boy's "special" pouch. "Nope."

"Now stick your hand inside," he said; Malon did, brushing the leather bottom with her fingertips. "Imagine a honey pear, like the one you ate." That part was easy. She happily lapse back into her memories, recalling the honey pears down to the last detail. All of a sudden, her fingers automatically wrapped themselves around a slippery surface; she yanked her hand out of the pouch and found another honey pear in her hand.

"H-H-H-How?"

Link was enjoying her flabbergasted expression. "The Pouch is special. It can hold almost anything I want, as much as I want. I place whatever I need inside the Pouch and it's perfectly preserved for as long as I want. If I need to get anything back, I stick my hand inside, form the image in my head, and bam, it's back."

"That's amazing!" Malon cheered, gladly nibbling at the honey pear in her hand down to the core (she removed the seeds and placed them in her dress's pockets, hoping to grow her own patch of honey pear trees back home). "It's magic! It's real magic! Your friend, the one who made your pouch! She can use magic!"

"My friend didn't make it," Link laughed along, yet giving his pouch an odd, sorrowful glance. "She said she received it from … someone else."

"Your friend, were you two close? Close friends? Best Friends? Girlfriend?" Malon asked, catching onto the sense of longing coming from Fairy Boy.

"It's our turn, let us talk," Navi said.

"If meeting Princess Zelda is impossible, can you tell us where Hyrule Castle is?" Link asked.

"That way," Malon pointed north. "Keep going that way and you'll reach Hyrule Castle eventually."

"How long is eventually?"

"My turn!" She claimed. Link let out a resigned sigh but allowed her to continue. Although she was rather curious about the female friend, Malon could tell the subject was still a sore spot for Fairy Boy, so she promptly went to her next burning question. "Do fairies really taste like sugar and candy when they're licked?"

Link's face went blank. "Uh, to be honest, I don't really know." He looked down to Navi, still cuddled in his hood, with a sly smile.

"What? No! In the Great Deku Tree's name, NO!" Navi vehemently denied, shuffling herself and the hood away from Link. "What fool came up with that rumor?"

"Are you sure?" Link asked. "You were—how'd you say it— reborn, not too long ago, right? How do you know fairies _don't_ taste like sugar?"

"I … uh … that's … I just know!" Navi declared.

"Malon," Link grinned. "Would you like to try?"

"Can I?" she asked enthusiastically.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Navi roared. Link fell back laughing, and Malon succumbed to his contagious mirth. "Link, this is so not funny! You even _try_ to put your tongue anyways near me, and I will smack you back to the sky!"

"Lighten up, Navi," Link chuckled. "It's only a joke!"

"Right up until some curious bystander starts chewing me up into a spitball," Navi huffed and puffed.

"Your turn!" Malon said as soon as she got her giggles under control. This time, Link gave himself some time to think up a topic.

Finally, he asked, "What are parents?"

"Ah, that's right! You don't have stuff like parents in parad—the Kokiri Village!" Malon corrected herself. "Parents are like a mom and dad, adults that look after us, the children!"

"Adults? You mean the giants?" Link asked, looking towards the streets of Oron City at the lumbering grown-ups. "Is Pablo an adult?"

Malon propped her elbows on the table and rest in chin on her cupped hands. "I guess?"

"But if adults look after children, why was he picking on me?"

"Well …" Malon wasn't exactly sure how to explain all this, but did her best anyways. "When a man and woman loves each other very much, they get babies, and then they become parents, you know? The babies grow into children, and their parents look after them until the child becomes an adult!"

Link's eyes were wide. "A child becomes an adult?" He looked back at the city's grownups. "You mean I'll—I mean—you'll end up looking like one of them someday?"

Malon giggled at Fairy Boy's reaction. "I'll get taller, but I won't look _exactly_ like that. My dad always says no two people are ever born the same! No one else can look like me, and I'll never look like anyone else."

"But in the Kokiri Village, there are lots of kids who look like one another!"

"Oh! Do you mean twins?"

Link nodded, relieved that she knew what he meant. "Exactly like twins! Do you mean that never happens out here, outside the Kokiri Village?"

"No, sometimes parents can get twins. I don't get how it really works, but twins are supposed to look exactly the same. If you see someone who looks exactly like you, you're probably twins, meaning you have the same parents! You're really curious about all this parent and family stuff."

"A little, yeah," Link shrugged.

"So tell me something! How are Kokiri born if you don't have any parents?"

"We have … had, a protector of sorts," Fairy Boy said; Malon could tell he was struggling to keep his voice steady as he recalled something he truly didn't want to talk about. She was about to say she didn't really need to know, that Link didn't have to say anything he didn't want, but Fairy Boy pressed on. "He was called the Great Deku Tree, the protector and father of the Kokiri. He would sing us into existence with his magic. You can say we were grown from his roots, from the earth."

"That's amazing," Malon breathed, stunned by such incredible information but humbled by Fairy Boy's darkening mood. Still, she dared to ask, "Did something happen? I can tell the Great Deku Tree means a lot to you, but you talk about him with so much ... nah, forget me!" Malon cut herself off. "I'm sorry for butting into your business, it was really rude of me!"

"What? No!" Link hastily assured her. "It wasn't wrong of you to ask! You're right, something did happen. The Kokiri Village isn't the … paradise it used to be. Our father, the Great Deku Tree, passed away recently."

"I'm sorry," Malon said with absolute sincerity.

Link accepted her apology with a nod. "The Great Deku Tree's death is the reason why I left the Kokiri Village. Malon, how many forest children have you seen before me?"

"None. Why?"

"Makes sense, since none have ever dared to leave the village before me. The Great Deku Tree was murdered, and I left the village to find the person responsible. Have you heard of the man from the desert?"

"Sorry, I can't say I have. What'll you do when you find him?"

"Kill him," Link growled, speaking with so much venom and hate Malon barely recognized the boy sitting across from her. The way he scowled, the way his arms twitched for the sword on his back; they screamed of Fairy Boy's feelings of hate and revenge. He was treading on a path of rage, fueling each step he took with the desire to end the one responsible for his pain. Malon knew exactly what Link was going through, because his expression, each emotion he felt, every dark scowl he made, reminded Malon of herself when her mom was killed. She managed to overcome herself thanks to a certain someone's help, but now Link was tormenting himself with the same pain, yet without the help of another to aid him off the road of vengeance.

But maybe she could.

"Let me help you!" Malon shouted, slapping the table and startling Link out of his dark grimace.

"Help me? Help me with what? You're not going to chase down the man from the desert with me, are you?"

Malon waved her finger at him. "No, silly. I'm a peace loving girl, I'd never do something like that."

"Then, what?"

"I'll help you get to Princess Zelda!"

Link narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "I thought you said it was impossible."

"It is! But getting to Hyrule Castle, where Princess Zelda lives, isn't! You're going to need a ride, and I can give you one!" Malon clarified.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Link politely declined. "I don't want to involve you with my problems. I'm grateful enough for everything you've already done for me, but I can't ask you to do more."

"Really?" Malon said with mischievous dejection. "Well, if you say no, it's not like I can force you. If you start walking now, you'll probably reach Hyrule Castle in three months."

That got his attention.

"Three months?" Link gagged, returning all his focus to her. "You can't be serious!"

"Maybe four," Malon sighed, exaggerating a shrug. "But you know what? My dad is the owner of Lon Lon Ranch, home to the finest milk and mead in all of Hyrule! We make weekly trips to Hyrule Market, which is _right_ in front of Hyrule Castle. Come with us, and we can get you to Hyrule Castle in a day!"

Malon watched as Link fumbled for a proper answer. It was no wonder Kokiri had fairy partners, because it was Navi who finally stated the obvious. "Look Link, Malon is offering to take us to Hyrule Castle. Traveling there is pretty much a daily routine for her and her family, so having us tag along doesn't inconvenience them in any way. We get a free ride and a friend to tag along! What wrong with that?"

Navi's acceptance towards Malon caught her and Link off guard.

"Friend?" Malon repeat, just to make sure she was hearing the fairy right; she was pretty sure she recalled Navi being opposed to Link's frankness towards her.

"Navi, are you sure?" Link asked.

"Hey, as much as I know how badly you want to chase down the man from the desert like a lone avenger, we need help. We're strangers in a new world, so having friends can't hurt."

Malon noted the small tug at Fairy Boy's lips. "Friends? When we first met, you called Malon a stranger."

"And then we all sat down and had a nice chat. You're right, I think we can trust her." Navi turned to Malon; if the fairy had eyes, she was sure they'd be drilling into her. "Can we?"

Malon smiled, tickling the fairy's inexplicably smooth body. "Absolutely."

"Thank you, Malon," Link said gratefully, scooping Navi and his hood from the table and placing them back on his head. "I'm glad you're my first friend outside the Kokiri Forest."

"I'm happy I was able to meet you!" Malon replied merrily, pushing herself off her chair. "Let's go! I need to tell my dad all about you two!" She caught herself on her slight slip of tongue.

Link and Navi stared at her questionably.

"You're sure we can trust her?" Fairy Boy whispered to his partner.

"It's your gut. I'm only tagging along," the fairy murmured back.

"I'm kidding! Don't worry!" Malon hastily rectified. "I promised I'd get you two to Hyrule Castle, and I will! If dad asks to know more about you two, I'll make something up! And Link?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I call you … Fairy Boy?"

He gave her a quizzical look. "Mind telling me why?"

"It's a habit of mine," she confessed with a timid giggle. "I like to give my friends nicknames. But I won't if you don't like it!"

Link beamed as he hopped down from his seat. "I guess that makes me the Fairy Boy from the Lost Woods. Lead the way, Malon."

* * *

It all sounded fine at first, but the more Malon thought about it, the more she uneasy she felt. She promised to take Fairy Boy to Hyrule Castle, but her true purpose ran deeper than that; she wanted to help Fairy Boy with his deep rooted hate, because she had first-hand experience on how deadly a poison it was. If she couldn't cure Fairy Boy before they reached Hyrule Castle, she planned on sticking by his side even if he ended up on the top of Death Mountain or at the bottom of Lake Hylia. Then again, she was troubled by the fact that she didn't know how to help Fairy Boy. The only details she remembered about her own "rehabilitation" were the slow music, pleasant food, and crying. Regardless, even if she didn't know what she was doing, that didn't mean she planned on leaving Fairy Boy on his own. It only meant she'd be making up a lot of stuff as she went along, which was fine with her as long as everything worked out in the end.

Malon left Fairy Boy and Navi on a bench on an opposite street from the Gourmet Crusade. Though the pair of them asked to accompany her as she tracked down her dad, Malon insisted they stay behind. If the Gourmet Crusade was the light of Oron, then the place she was headed could be considered the shadows of the city, a dirty, smelly, moldy shadow. If possible, she didn't want Fairy Boy to see the more disgusting parts of Oron.

She steeled her resolve and bolted down the streets, following her nose rather than her memories. She could tell she was approaching her destination and the jam-packed streets began to clear out as a pungent reek permeated the air. After a few more steps, Malon was standing on an empty road while a thunderous racket boomed from right around the next street corner. Swallowing the last gulp of fresh air she'd savor in a while, Malon steeled herself and turned the corner.

The stench hit her harder than the noise. Her nostrils burned with the rancid stench of stale alcohol, rotting meat, and sweaty bodies. The endless hullabaloo consisted of lots of banging, belching, shouting, bad singing, and farting (much to her chagrin). She plugged her nose and stared at the unwelcome sight of Ale Galore, a shabby one-floor parlor with termite ridden floors, creaking support beams, and a collapsing roof that was more mold than wood. All the windows were shattered, the entrance stairs were ruined, and the ground around Ale Galore was littered with empty mugs and unconscious drunks.

Malon reeled; she was still pretty far away from the sappy-drinkers, yet the malodorous smell of their breath and slimy armpits still reached her. Ale Galore's popularity rivaled Uncle Gordon's Gourmet Crusade, but for all the wrong reasons. While people flocked to Gourmet Crusade to celebrate their cheerfulness with good food, just as many people lumbered to Ale Galore to sink their worries with bad drinks. The puke covered walls and broken mugs of ale portrayed the raging misery and forfeited hopes that pulsated from this place. Ale Galore was never empty, always filled with someone who needed to drown their sorrows at the bottom of a beer barrel.

Knowing how much she'd regret this, Malon vigilantly made her way through the maze of unconscious bodies piled around the infamous parlor. She scampered over the splintered stairs and edged past the unhinged front doors. Inside the Ale Galore, there wasn't a square inch of moveable space. The place was filled with large, moist, ale slobbered bodies, each tightly pressed against one another. In the corner of the parlor was a small band, incoherently smashing out an unfathomable tune with deformed pieces of metal that were probably once instruments. Zombie maids and undead waitresses (at least they looked at way) were doing their best to serve drinks to their edgy clients, only to end up being fondled by their depressed customers.

Malon almost cried as she squeezed her away into the swaying bodies and showers of mead. Several times, she got stuck between body parts she didn't want to identify; just once, a hand slipped out of nowhere and started stroking her hair. She chomped on the assaulting fingers, driving the sneaky hand into a retreat with a dull yelp. She thought she heard thunder bellowing in the sky, but passed it off as the band's horrid performance; as if there could be thunder and lightning in the middle of a cloudless day.

After what seemed like months and years of pointless struggling (it was more like thirty minutes), Malon found it smarter and more hazardous to get on all fours and crawl through a jungle of hairy legs and stinky feet. She painstakingly recalled the first time she came to Ale Galore to find her dad (still moping over her mom, months after Malon recovered from her death); she passed out the moment she crossed the doorstep. To her great mortification, she grew accustomed to the smell over the years. It still stunk to the high heavens, but at least she no longer had to wade through a puddle of her own tears.

With great effort and self-control, she reached her destination: The front counter. She spotted her loving dad, a plump belly-bulging man with a bald top and tussles of dark brown hair growing around the sides of his head. He was whistling tunelessly as he counted several plump bags of rupees; it looked like his haggling, along with the well-time opportunity, went well. He twiddled his mustache and scratched his round nose, dropping his earnings into his blue overalls atop of his wide red shirt. Malon tried shouting her dad's name to get his attention, but when her voice got lost in the braying jargon of the alcohol bar, she resorted to grabbing the small ponytail on the back of her dad's head.

"What in Din's blazes?" Her dad bellowed, wheeling around with rage on his face. But when he saw Malon was the culprit, his mask of fury gave way to his wide smile. "Malon! What are you doing here, my girl? You hate this place!" Her dad exclaimed, picking her off the ground and giving her a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

"I've got a favor to ask!" Malon shouted over the clamor as her dad put her down on the counter.

"Speak, my girl!" Her dad laughed, his naturally loud voice screening over the senseless commotion erupting from the rest of Ale Galore.

"I … um … found a Fairy Boy! Can I keep him?"

Her dad's smile dropped. "Erm … a Fairy Boy? Did you … uh … ask the Fairy Boy's parents if he spend the night with us?"

Malon realized it was going to take some time convincing her dad to let Fairy Boy tag along with them to Lon Lon Ranch and then to Hyrule Castle. The truth wasn't going to work, obviously, and her unpracticed lies were not at all convincing.

But she didn't have time to make up a believable story, not when a single word sliced clean across the unending yammering of Ale Galore, dampening the parlor in perpetual silence; it was a task no one had ever achieved before. The only reason this one word accomplished this impossible feat was because it was driven by maddening panic and chaos: "GERUDOS!"

The silence didn't affect just Ale Galore, it enveloped all of Oron. For a tense moment, Malon felt nothing. The happiness was gone. The sadness was gone. The complaining was gone. Everything was gone. A blank sheet was all that remained.

Then unfiltered fear ruptured the silent pane, spurring a chain reaction of dread seeping into every corner of the city faster than a dry prairie fire. The drunks abandoned their mugs while scrambling for the door. The unconscious awoke to the overwrought atmosphere and were swept into the panic. Everyone was in a mass of hysteria.

Malon's dad grabbed her off the counter, his hairy arms tightening as he pulled her into his chest. The moment he was sure she wasn't going anywhere, he plowed through anything and anyone that stood between her and safety. He trampled over a sloppy drunk staggering to his feet, charged through the vomit-ridden walls (the entrance was sealed shut with frantic fatties trying to flee all at once), and mercilessly stepped on the drunks crawling on the ground, traveling in a straight line rather than zigzag around them

The open streets of Oron City were in a greater state of chaos. Travelers were frantically grabbing for their belongings, parents were fighting to find their children, wannabe warriors were screaming at one other to do something, and the city guards reacted to the pandemonium with lost expressions. No matter where Malon looked, all she saw was fear, hammering at her body like a thousand mallets.

Her dad barreled straight for Oron City's stables, where their horses and wagon were kept during their stay. He took the most direct route, barging into houses and kicking down doors to pass through. After the tragedy with her mom, Malon's dad wouldn't risk any harm or danger befalling upon her.

"Dad! What about Fairy Boy? We can't leave him!" Malon protested, trying to struggle against her dad's arms. No use; right now, they were bars of steel.

"I've no time for your imaginary friends, Malon!" Her dad barked, kicking over a blank-faced soldier that stumbled into his way. "Out of my way, useless waste of armor! Malon, you're my first and only priority right now!"

Her dad got them to Oron's stables despite her constant protests. A hysterically impatient Mr. Ingo was waiting for them; he had already harnessed their four horses to the front of the wagon and was gripping the horse-whip in his quivering lanky arms. His round belly was rumbling with nervous fright beneath his pink overalls, and his bulging brown eyes darted from side to side below his oversized eyebrows.

"Tha hell took ya'll so long, Talon?" Mr. Ingo shrieked, vainly attempting to appear calm by stroking his large moustache and short brown hair. "Didn't ya'll hear? We got a damned Gerudo infestation!"

"I heard, fool!" Malon's dad roared back, tossing her onto the wagon before hauling himself into the front seats. "Since you've made your point, get us the hell out of here!"

"Ya don't hafta tell me twice!" Mr. Ingo cracked his whip, searing a line of red into the hides of each horse. Reacting to the pain, their steeds spurred forward into a gallop. Malon didn't always agree with Mr. Ingo's treatment towards their horses, but there was no denying his handling skill. As their horses galloped down the rapidly depopulating roads of Oron, he steered the wagon down every turn and corner with outstanding skill and precision. The wagon veered to the point of tipping over on several occasions, but with a proper pull from the reins and crack from his whip, Mr. Ingo had it straightened out.

Still, Malon could tell Mr. Ingo was desperate, more so than usual. He needlessly lashed their poor horses more than necessary, tormenting them to the point of drawing blood. Their steeds shrilled at the agony inflicted, and Malon shrunk at their pained cries; their whining only incited Mr. Ingo to swing his whip with more savagery than ever. She wanted to reproach Mr. Ingo for his merciless treatment, but with the wagon bouncing and turning so often, she feared she might bite her tongue if she opened her mouth.

Taking no more than a minute, Mr. Ingo stopped their wagon to the home-stretch: A straight pathway of road which would take the horses five seconds to cross before exiting Oron City's open gate. Mr. Ingo raised his whip to spur the horses back into a gallop, but when his arm suddenly petrified half-raised, Malon gazed past his statue to see what was wrong.

Her heart pumped ice throughout her body.

Eleven armed Gerudos stood in their way. Each of the desert pirates had dark brown skin, tanned from the relentless sunlight of the Hylian Desert, and their blazing red hair was wrapped into a bundle behind their heads. Ten of the Gerudos wore matching uniforms: Scanty purple clothing covered by thin layers of leather padding, leaving their stomachs and arms exposed. They all had wide twin sabers strapped to their rugged belts, and their fingers were itching towards the hilts.

The eleventh Gerudo, who stood at the forefront and possessed the air of a leader, wore a different array of armor. She donned a thin breastplate of iron, along with a set of metal gauntlets and greaves. Her hair was not bundled up, but rather cut short and left to flow around her shoulders. Instead of two sabers, this Gerudo was equipped with a collection of daggers hoisted at her belt and a single long sword strapped to her back.

Regardless of their differences in status and appearance, all eleven Gerudos held one thing in common: Their swelling bloodlust and nauseating thirst for death. They held their bodies like weapons, ready to strike and kill without a second of hesitation. Every moment Malon and her family stood before the Gerudos, their lives were at risk.

"Clear a path!" Talon shouted at the desert pirates, who began sauntering towards them. "We have no quarrel with you!"

"Then it's a pity you've caught us on a bad day," the leading Gerudo glowered, stepping towards their horses. She gingerly stroked their lashed skin, almost in a caring manner; despite her soft touch, the horses flinched away from her, reacting as if she were a monster. "I will be quick. Give us your mounts, and I'll let you live. Refuse, and we will take your horses after hanging your corpses from the city gate."

"Dayum witch!" Mr. Ingo sputtered with his stuttering lips. "Them horses are the pride of Lon Lon Ranch, raise with mah blood and sweat! Like hell we'll give them to yall garbage pirates!"

"Shut UP, Ingo!" Her dad barked. "If we give them to you, you'll let us go?"

The Gerudo bared her teeth in a sneer. "I give you my word."

Malon dad's nodded, slowly stepping off the wagon and motioning for her and Mr. Ingo to do the same. Malon obediently climbed down, but Mr. Ingo was nowhere near as compliant.

"Like hell! Burn in Din's fist, Gerudo scum!" Mr. Ingo screamed, raising his whip and snapping it at the lead Gerudo. Malon's dad shouted at him to stop, but it was too late. The Gerudo grabbed her long sword and sliced off the head of Mr. Ingo's whip, moving so fast Malon barely saw any of it happen. As the severed whip thudded against the ground, the Gerudo's hand flashed towards one of the daggers on her belt, sending the blade flying towards Mr. Ingo. Malon looked away before the dagger sunk into Mr. Ingo's shoulder, who shrieked as he fell from the wagon and crashed back-first into uneven road.

"Bloody fool," Talon grimaced before turning to the attacking Gerudo and saying, "Please, the idiot acted on his own! I won't resist! Please take our horses and leave!"

"I know you won't resist, fool," the Gerudo menacingly laughed, swirling her long sword in circles. "Don't worry, I'll keep my promise. I won't harm you or your precious little daughter." Malon's dad slumped his shoulders in relief, but his reprieve was so short lived. "Ladies? If you'd please." All together, the other ten pirates bared their twin sabers and surrounded Malon and her dad.

"You promised!" Her dad roared in outrage, trying to shield Malon in his arms. "You bloody wrenches gave us your word!"

"No, no," the lead Gerudo corrected. "I said _I _wouldn't harm you. I never said I spoke for all of us." The tightening circles of Gerudos around Malon and her dad cackled in ominous harmony. "I can't have you reporting our actions to Hyrule Castle, not when we still have an '_alliance_' with the Hylian King! We need to make sure our ally is ripe for the picking before we thrust our swords of revenge into their backs!"

"You'll never get away with this!" Malon shouted despite herself; the Gerudo's trickery and ruthless actions we too despicable for her to remain silent over. "The whole city knows you're here! Someone will tell King Ceylon, and you'll pay for what you've done!"

"My, my, what a brave little girl," the Gerudo said with mocking admiration. "Perhaps we'll keep you, torture you to teach you some manners, so you'll be our willing little slave."

Malon's dad boiled until his face was red. "You won't lay a hand on my daughter!"

"Don't worry about that, we'll leave that to our branding irons! Kill both the men and bring me the girl. Her screams will make good entertainment as we make our way through the Lost Woods."

A stone dropped in Malon's stomach as the pieces snapped together: The Gerudos were headed for Fairy Boy's village. They wanted the horses to ease their journey. The Fairy Boy talked about the Kokiri Village's protector and his death; without his protection, the Gerudos were headed for a vulnerable village filled with children. She needed to warn Fairy Boy, wherever he was, but how could she do that when she was trapped in a circle of steel sabers?

"P-Please!" Mr. Ingo blubbered. He was still sprawled on the ground with his shoulder bleed abundantly; he needed immediate help. "I dun w-w-wanna die! Lemme live! P-P-Please! I'll s-serve you h-h-however I can! J-Just p-please spare m-me!"

"Disgusting," one of the Gerudos surrounding Malon and her dad spat. "Captain Vandel, what should we do with this male trash?"

Gerudo Vandel, the leader, didn't respond to Mr. Ingo's pleas with words, but with the heel of her boot, smashing it down on his face and knocking him out cold. "Spineless coward. He doesn't even have the decency to die with some dignity."

"Stop it!" Malon shouted, struggling to squirm out of her dad's tight grip around her and bite Vandel's arm. "You didn't have to do that! Mr. Ingo only wanted some help!"

Gerudo Vandel turned to Malon, and this time there was pleasure in her eyes. "Yes, females _always_ show the most bravery, so unlike these squabbling men. I will have fun hearing you beg, little girl!"

"I kill you first!" Malon's dad bellowed, releasing his hold on her and charging at Vandel. He didn't get far; the Gerudo standing between him and Vandel struck her dad across the head with the hilt of her saber and knocking him on his back.

"Finish him." Vandel ordered. The Gerudo who struck her dad obeyed, raising her saber to decapitate him in a single blow.

"Don't!" Malon ran between the raised blade and her dad, standing between the killing blow and her father with unflinching determination.

"I'm liking you more and more!" Vandel snickered, "But we have a schedule to keep." She snapped her fingers, and the Gerudo behind Malon's dad raised her sword to plunge it into his back. Malon spun around in time to see the blade start its fall, steadily aimed at her dad; there was nothing she could do.

Then the impossible happened.

A bolt of lightning shot from the sky and struck the Gerudo's blade and blasted the pirate into the air with a resounding crackle of electricity. Everyone was stunned beyond words. The Gerudos step away from their charred comrade and Vandel nearly dropped her sword in surprise. Malon, still immensely relieved her dad was still alive, almost gave her thanks to the Goddesses for their divine intervention; she soon realized it wasn't them she needed to thank.

"That's the father of my first friend outside the Kokiri Village! I'd appreciate it if you left them both alone!"

Fairy Boy. The boy warrior was bruised and battered, like he'd been the welcome rug to a store with a clearance sale, yet stood on the rooftop of the adjacent two-story building with his little sword and wooden shield in his hands, his glare hard and unrelenting.

"A brat from the Lost Woods!" Vandel scowled, recovering from her shock. "What are you doing here, forest brat? Your pathetic kind should've been wiped out as soon as our King's beast tore its way out of your precious guardian! Or maybe you're an only survivor? Maybe you ran from your village like a coward as the rest of your little friends became food for the Parasitic Armored Arachnid! Tell me, little boy! What're you doing so far from home?"

"I'm here to send a message," Fairy Boy shouted, "A message for the man from the desert!"

Vandel's sneer darkened with spite. "Do not refer to our king with such impudence!" She threw a dagger at Fairy Boy's head; he effortlessly knocked it aside with his short sword, giving Vandel a momentary pause of surprise. "So the kitty thinks it's a tiger! But your antics end here! What can you do, all by yourself, against all of us!"

"Let's find out," Fairy Boy taunted, beckoning at Vandel with one finger.

Vandel shouted a battle cry as she grabbed her daggers one after another and flung them towards Fairy Boy in a storm of steel. Fairy Boy was unfazed as he smacked the sharpened projectiles from the air with his shield; to Malon's unending surprise, his wooden shield didn't receive a single dent or chip on its seemingly fragile surface.

In an impossible display of dexterity, Fairy Boy sheathed his own sword and snatched Vandel's final danger out of the air in the blink of an eye. Malon did know who was more astonished, her or the Gerudos. Then, he threw the dagger back at the bewildered Vandel, who couldn't move as the small blade drew a line of blood on her cheek and embedded itself in the ground behind her.

"Gohma was faster than you," Fairy Boy scorned. Again, that name: Gohma. It meant nothing to Malon, but it rendered the listening Gerudos speechless.

Before Vandel could retort, Fairy Boy leapt from the building rooftop and landed on the road below, lithely surviving the drop with an expertly executed roll. The moment he was on his feet, he dashed at the Gerudo with crazy speed, pulling out his sword in a flash and opening a gaping wound across her stomach. The Gerudo grit her teeth and swung her long sword at Fairy Boy's neck; he ducked beneath the attack and sliced at Vandel's sword arm at the same time, cutting her wrist and sending her weapon tumbling from her slackened hand. Faster than Vandel could recover, Fairy Boy slammed his wooden shield in her bleeding stomach wound, aggravating the already-serious injury and dropping her on her knees.

Fairy Boy stood as Vandel knelt, glaring at her eye-to-eye. "Compared to Armored Arachnid, you're nothing." The pirate shrieked in rage, punching her uninjured arm at his face, but Fairy Boy was faster. His right foot shot up and crashed upward into the Gerudo's chin. Vandel spat out one last curse before falling on her back, out cold.

It was the most amazing display of fighting prowess Malon had seen. Not even the Hylian Knights, who constantly showed off their skills at yearly tournaments, could compare to what she just saw.

"Suvica!" Fairy Boy called out as the remaining ten Gerudos broke away from Malon and her dad to circle him. "Your turn!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" It was Fairy Boy's voice, jeering from above. Yet Fairy Boy's mouth didn't move, and the voice came from a completely different direction. Malon turned her head, staring at the rooftop of the clothing store on the opposite side of the street. Her mouth dropped.

There was another Fairy Boy, mockingly snickering at the Gerudos. He had Fairy Boy's face, his voice, stature, hair style, everything; he was Fairy Boy's twin in almost every way. There were only a few minor dissimilarities between the two of them; this new Fairy Boy had night-black hair and cruel gold eyes. He was dressed in long jeans, sandals, fingerless gloves, and a short-sleeved shirt with a thin vest over it; all of his clothes were black. But there was one major difference between them: While Fairy Boy stood with unyielding confidence, the other Fairy Boy made rude finger gestures at the Gerudo while sneering at them with scornful superiority.

Malon wasn't aware Fairy Boy had a twin, and was pretty sure he would've told her if he did. From the way, Fairy Boy and Fairy Boy-2 exchanged glances, she was certain they both hadn't known about the other until today. Not only that, Fairy Boy had called him Suvica, meaning this Fairy-Boy-lookalike was actually the elusive leader of the child bandit gang, the Thunder Wings.

"Thunder Wings!" Suvica roared with impossible intensity (it sounded more like a roar from a dragon) as he punched the air. At his command, children (spanning between the ages five and sixteen) appeared atop of all the stores, homes, and buildings surrounding the Gerudos. All of them were dressed in sets of black clothes with a poorly sewn lightning bolt on their garments; they were all members of the Thunder Wings. "ATTACK!"

The downpour began. The Thunder Wings pellet the Gerudos with rocks, rooftop tiles, beer mugs, empty barrels, slabs of wood, rupees, and sometimes balls of horse manure (at least she _thought _it was horse dung). The Gerudos huddled together and raised their swords to protect their heads, unable to do much more beneath the onslaught of makeshift projectiles. But they were only biding their time; once the Thunder Wings ran out of random accessories to throw, the bloody, beaten, and smelly Gerudo pirates angrily threw their sabers aside and drew their short bows from their backs. Malon grew cold in horror as the pirates notched their bows with arrows and pointed them at the children above them.

A massacre followed, but not the one Malon had expected. Suvica pounced from his rooftop, diving straight for the huddled Gerudos. As he fell, Malon saw something she'd never be able to forget, no matter how hard she tried. Black scaled wings tore out of Suvica's back, billowing a gust of air as they flapped their ten-foot wingspan. An eight foot tail also sprung out of his body, below his wings, lashing at the air.

The Gerudos fought against their bewildered emotions as they abruptly turned all their arrows towards the descending creature and fired. Suvica didn't bother to dodge. Instead, he let the arrows prick his body like needles in a pin cushion, and all they did was incite a smile.

He plummet into the center of the grouped Gerudos, sending them flying in every direction as his crash cratered the road, upturning slabs of stone and flecks of dirt.

"What's wrong?" Suvica laughed in a very villainous way. "Is this the best the great desert pirates can do? Your king must be one lazy slacker if he can't even train his underlings properly!"

The scattered and dazed Gerudos threw themselves at Suvica for slandering their king's name. They attacked him from all side, but Suvica didn't seem to care. He drew back one wing and swung it outward towards the Gerudos charging at him from the front, sending the front five pirates flying through the air. Then he spun around and faced the remaining five, tossing back his head before spitting out a lightning bolt from his mouth. He blast of electricity blew away three of the Gerudos, but the remaining two kept coming, which was a major mistake. Suvica jumped at the surviving pair, grabbing both their heads in each of his hands and slamming them into the road, shattering the street with a web of cracks and painting them red.

"Thunder Wings!" one of the children perched on the rooftops shouted, quickly followed by an entire chorus of cheers. Suvica's wings and tail disappeared back into his body as he celebrated his victory with another showy flash of lightning from his maw. Yet as the street was filled with Suvica's name, no one but Fairy Boy noticed the looming shadow inching towards Malon.

"Malon! Behind you!" Fairy Boy shouted. She looked behind her to see Vandel, barely conscious, standing over her with her long sword held high.

"Forest brat!" Vandel screamed in blinded rage, plunging her weapon at Malon's heart. Her gratitude towards Fairy Boy's rescue had drained the strength from her legs; she couldn't move, couldn't dodge the incoming weapon.

Suvica came out of nowhere, his fist slamming directly into Vandel's face, crushing her nose as he flung her aside; she skipped twice off the cobble streets before scraping to a stop. In a flicker of déjà vu, an image overlapped Vandel's flying body: Pablo's bashed in face when he tried to scalp her and an unknown someone came to her rescue. Then she remembered something, a minor detail about her savior: A closed fist adorned with a fingerless black glove.

Malon didn't know how to thank Suvica for saving her not once, but twice. She tried a straightforward "Thank you," but stopped herself when her rescuer suddenly began convulsing, grasping at his nose. Just as she started to worry about his wellbeing, a wide grin slipped onto Suvica's face as he howled like a baby who rediscovered something of great value.

"My scent! I can smell again!" He cheered, slamming his two fists together and creating a small shockwave. "Another part of the witch's curse! Gone! I knew that hag's magic couldn't hold me forever! Is that all I have to do? Beat the snot out of Gerudos? Wait, no. That's not how I got my other stuff back. Damn it! If only I could get my claws around that witch's throat!" Then he abruptly stopped his monologue as he looked at Malon and whispered, "Strawberries."

"Sorry?"

"Huh? No! Nothing!"

"Malon!" Fairy Boy was at her side, looking relieved. "Are you okay?" He asked as he tossed his sword and shield onto the wagon and helped her to her feet.

Malon's concern immediately shifted to her wounded dad and Mr. Ingo. "I'm okay, but my dad and Mr. Ingo need help!"

"Your dad? The fatty?" Suvica asked.

"Hey! That's my dad!" Malon snapped, rushing to her dad. The side of his head was still bleeding from where the Gerudo had struck him, but otherwise, he seemed sound.

"Ugh, my head," her dad moaned as he braced himself against the wagon and stood.

"Meh, he'll be fine," Suvica yawned after a single glance. "If humans could be killed that easily, my kind would've won the war a long time ago."

"Save the bragging for later and get that other adult on board," Fairy Boy ordered, pulling himself aboard the wagon. "I've had more than my share of this city, thanks to you."

"Don't tell me what do to," Suvica growled, sparks of lightning crackled from between his teeth; Malon slightly leaned away.

"Shut up and do it," Link said, unmoved.

"I am so looking forward to round two, Forest Boy," Suvica scowled, but surprisingly did what he was told. He plucked the dagger out of Mr. Ingo's shoulder, causing him to walk up screaming. "Oh, shut up!" Suvica sighed, dropping his fist in Mr. Ingo's face and throwing his unconscious body into the wagon as if Mr. Ingo weighed next to nothing. "Humans cry about _everything_! So annoying!"

"Malon, can you drive this thing?" Fairy Boy asked, gesturing at the horses.

"Leave it to me," she assured, allowing Suvica to pick up her dad by the end of his trousers and haul him on aboard. Before she took the front seat, she calmly ran her hands against the horses to sooth them. Once they were settled, she took her place, kicked aside Mr. Ingo's broken horse whip, and grabbed the reins. "Let's go!"

"Wait!" Fairy Boy said at the last moment. "Give me a second." He stood at the end of the wagon and shouted at the Gerudos who were still barely conscious. "I've got a message for the man from the desert, and you're going to give it to him! Tell him this!" Fairy Boy shoved his hand into his magical pouch and pulled out a jewel that made the kingdom's royal treasures look like overpriced trinkets. The emerald Fairy Boy held went beyond beauty, turning words like "splendor" and "priceless" meaningless beneath its lush color. The on-looking Gerudos were equally stun-bound, dropping their jaws. "Tell him Link from the Kokiri Village has the Kokiri Emerald, and I'm going to find him to make him pay for what he did to the Great Deku Tree!"

"T-that's the Spiritual Stone of the Forest!" one of the Gerudos sputtered. "But if y-you have that … you s-s-slew the Parasitic Armored Arachnid?"

"I did say you were nothing compared to Gohma, didn't I?" Link spat. Malon saw his arms trembling with the desire to slay the Gerudos right here, right now, but his titan willpower stopped him from brashly attacking. "I'm going to take your king's head, and if he wants the Kokiri Emerald, he'd better come at me to take it! Malon, go!"

Malon snapped out of her stupor, giving the reins a small urge to spur her four horses forward, hauling the wagon out of Oron City's gates and into the boundless fiends of Hyrule.


	6. Chapter 6, Fear the Thunder Dragon

**Chapter 6**

**Fear the Thunder Dragon**

Link poured his concentration into breathing, driving his chest to rise and fall as he struggled to keep his body under his control. His mind told him this was a victory, that finding a squad of Gerudos, the man from the desert's underlings, and flaunting the Kokiri Emerald and his triumph over Gohma was victory enough. His heart said otherwise, screaming at him to jump off the back of the rapidly moving wagon and teach the Gerudos the meaning of pain. He wanted to hack them apart, to make them suffer as the Great Deku Tree suffered, one agonizing second after another. He could hear his Kokiri Sword begging for more blood, for death, and he was all too eager to obey.

But he couldn't do that; he didn't want to become a monster no different from the beasts in the Kokiri Forest, killing on instinct and pleasure. He had a reason for leaving those Gerudos alive: So they could limp back to the man from the desert and inform him that Link was the bearer of the Kokiri Emerald. Once they did, the man from the desert would have no reason to invade the Kokiri Village, ensuring the village's safety. His rational analysis subdued his hate, defogging the blood-haze shrouding his eyes.

Rage. This raw feeling of black hate had been building up inside of him ever since he left the village. Every day his spent thinking of the Great Deku Tree's death, every night he remembered Saria's heartbreaking tears, was another day his loathing towards the man from the desert grew. Navi always did her best to ease his mind and feelings; if it wasn't for her, Link knew he would've arrived at Oron City as a monster driven by nothing more than instinctual hate.

He sat down on the wagon floor as it traced the traveler-worn trail running across the fields of Hyrule. The four horses galloped together in ideal unison, causing no delays or lack of speed. Malon was very talented when it came to these animals, but her extraordinary ability to read his every emotion just be looking at his body language was rather unnerving. Regardless of her keen hindsight, Link was glad she was tagging along. She was energetic and eager to help, but she was also his first friend beyond the safety of the Kokiri Village. He liked her company, and was comforted knowing she'd be sticking with him.

Suvica, on the other hand, was another matter entirely. While his instincts told him Malon was a friend to be trusted, his gut said Suvica was a monster he shouldn't approach without a ten foot stick. Suvica was currently leaning on the end of the wagon, staring at the cloudless sky with a mixture of boredom and longing. The dragon already told Link quite a bit about himself, and he was thankful for the somewhat straightforward answers, but he wasn't about to trust him so readily.

"So you're the Fairy Boy Malon was talking about," Malon's dad, Talon, chuckled. He was sitting near the front of the wagon with the unconscious Ingo beside him. The difference between him and Malon was amazing; there was no resemblance between them that told Link these two were father and daughter. Maybe that was how this whole "parenting" thing worked. "Never thought I'd get saved by Malon's imaginary friend! Ha! Today is full of surprises! Nice to meet you, my boy, I'm Talon, Malon's father." Talon extended one large hand and shook Link's hand.

"I'm Link, Link of the Kokiri Village."

"Kokiri Village?" Talon asked with a keen interest. "So there really is a magical place deep within the Lost Woods filled only with immortal children?"

"Yep."

Navi groaned from within Link's hood. "Great, why don't we hold a banner over our heads telling all of Hyrule our origin? I thought we'd been keeping this a secret, but now who _doesn't_ know about us?"

"What do you mean?" Link asked; he didn't remember telling that many people, only Malon, Suvica, the Thunder Wings, and now Talon.

"Link, the streets might've been empty, but the buildings were jam packed with people, people who heard the Gerudos call you a child of the Lost Woods. No doubt rumors are going to burning like a wild fire, especially after you and Suvica saved the city. By the end of the week, I'm betting all of Hyrule is going to know about you and the existence of the Kokiri Village."

"It couldn't be helped. I needed the Gerudos to know I had the Kokiri Emerald, and shouting it out loud seemed like the fastest way to do it. Besides, even if all of Hyrule knows about the Kokiri Village, they won't be getting there any time soon."

"What do you mean?" Malon asked from up front, taking her eyes off the trial yet keeping the wagon perfectly aligned with the road. "Isn't your protector … gone?"

"Yes," Link nodded; he kept his cool at the mention of the Great Deku Tree's death because Malon meant no harm in asking. "But his curse still exists."

"Curse?" Suvica sat up, suddenly eager. "I love curses!"

"What kind of curse?" Talon asked.

"If an outsider tries to find the Kokiri Village with ill intent and gets lost, the forest will sap away their life and turn them into a Stalfos, an undead monster that'll roam the Kokiri Forest for all eternity," Link explained.

Malon shuddered. "Aw, there goes my vacation plans."

"H-Hey!" Ingo coughed, his body twitching back to life. "L-little help h-here. I t-think I'm dying."

"Don't fuss over a love bite," Suvica snickered. "Lick it and man up, Fugly."

Talon looked at Ingo's shoulder wound and flinched. "As much as I don't like him, I can't let Ingo die on my watch. Lad," he looked to Link, "You wouldn't happen to have any forest magic that can heal something like this, can you?"

"Navi? Pinky?" Link asked.

"Oh, fine! I'm working overtime today," Navi groaned, slipping out from under the rim of his hood.

"_Argue not, young one_," Pinky the Fountain Fairy reproached, almost flying away with Link's hood as she flew towards Ingo. "_Kindness is a magic most rare. We must gratefully spread the seeds of our endeavors to receive the fruits of our labor._"

Malon's blue eyes shone with new excitement as Pinky revealed herself, marveling at her large oval head, two stubby wings, and a small body with miniscule arms and legs. Its whole body was a bit larger than Navi's as a whole, and emitted a soft pink glow while wearing a look of worry on its small face. The two fairies worked together as they hovered over Ingo and sprinkled his knife wound in healing powder. With their combined effort, the wound ceased bleeding and closed in second.

The recovered ranch-worker sprung to his feet and bellowed, "Healed!" Then the wagon bumped over a small rock on the worn trail, nearly tossing him over the wagon's rail.

"That's was amazing," Talon breathed, hauling the squealing Ingo back onto the wagon as he admired Navi and Pinky. "Fairies! My pop told me stories about forest fairies, but I thought they only lived in legends!"

"_I am rather legendary_," Pinky agreed.

"But how come I can understand Navi, but not your pink fairy?" Malon asked, reaching out for Pinky with one hand to pet the Fountain Fairy. Pinky avoided her hand, but flew up to her face and nuzzled against Malon's cheek.

"The pink midget is speaking in some kind of fairy language," Suvica answered while picking his nose. "Anyone can understand the blue imp, cause it's speaking Hylian. Only Forest Boy here knows what the pink midget is saying."

"That's so cool," Malon beamed, eyes shining as Pinky fluttered back to Link.

"Fairies!" Ingo roared, his butt firmly placed on the wagon as he leered at Navi and Pinky with greed. "Talon, don't ya know how much fairies sell fer? We catch those two pixies, stash em in bottles, sell em to tha fattest Noble, and we'll live like kings!"

"Mr. Ingo!" Malon reproached. "They saved your life! You should be grateful, not scheming to kidnap them!"

"What was that about our endeavors bearing fruit?" Navi snickered to Pinky.

"_I wish I lived in the Kokiri Village_," Pinky sighed. "_At least the children there would be as charming and nice as little Link_."

"Let it drop, Ingo," Talon ordered. "We owe these forest twins our lives. We won't be taking their fairies from them."

"Whoa! Wait!" Suvica angrily barked. "Let's get something straight, fat geezer! I am _not_ Forest Boy's twin! Secondly, I don't give a Dodongo's ass about what happens to those two flying pimples!"

"E-Easy there son," Talon said nervously, raising his hands in apology. "I meant no harm."

"See?" Ingo said boastfully. "Them brats don't care bout them fairies either! Gimme them fairies, green boy. Consider it yer payment fer riding with us!" He reached out with his scraggly work-blistered fingers, motioning for Navi and Pinky.

Link grabbed his Kokiri Sword and pointed it at Ingo so the end of his blade was touching the center of his outreached palm. "Try it."

"Please do," Suvica cackled, lightly clapping his hands. "I want to see Forest Boy tear you a new one, Fugly."

"Ain't ya got any manners, brat?" Ingo glared at Link, refusing to pull back his hand. "This how ya treat all yer elders? We helped yall escape from them bloody desert pirates, and this is how yall is gonna repay us? I don't know if ya noticed, but I was beaten them pirates bloody with mah whip until one of em got a luck shot on me! Only reason we be able to escape was cause I wounded em so badly!"

Link cringed at the terrible lies, wondering how information was processed inside Ingo's deranged head.

"This idiot was unconscious the whole time, wasn't he?" Suvica asked, jabbed a thumb at Ingo.

"Means he didn't see what you two did," Navi noted.

"Suvica, mind telling him what he missed?" Link asked, never taking his eyes or sword off Ingo.

"Why not?" The dragon snickered. He leaned his head back and let out blast of electricity from his mouth. Ingo tumbled onto his trembling rear, gasping for air as his lungs constricted in fear.

"W-W-W-Wha tha hell are ya?"

Suvica blew a ring of smoke from his lips. "Wouldn't you love to know?"

"I would!" Malon piped, practically bouncing on her seat as she held Suvica in her eyes with undeniable interest. "Fairy Boy! Fairy Boy! What happened when I left you to look for my dad? How'd you get a new fairy? When'd you bump into the Thunder Wings? How'd you meet Suvica?"  
Link looked to Suvica with a smile. "You want to tell this story?"

"Die," Suvica spat, jutting his head towards the Hylian plains.

"It's a rather long story," Link warned.

Malon grinned. "It's a rather long ride."

Laughing as he brought forth his recent memories, Link got comfortable and started from the beginning, moments after Malon left to find Talon.

* * *

Link kept his eyes on Malon until she disappeared into the crowd of giants and children. She'd asked for him to stay where he was, sitting on a bench right across from the Gourmet Crusade, but his body was too restless for that.

"Navi? How long do you think it'll take for Malon to come back here with her parent?"

"With this crowd? A while."

"Feel like exploring?"

"I feel like puking, but I'll try to hold it in." Link shifted his hood on his head, playfully jostling his fairy partner. "Whoa! Hey! Don't do that!"

"A little exercise would do you some good! you're almost twice you're normal size!"

"I am not fat!"

"I never said you were."

"Shut up and start exploring."

"Yes ma'am."

"Oh, goddess, don't call me ma'am."

Link laughed, getting on his feet and following the closest river of people down the street. "There's still so much you need to tell me about yourself."

"Only thing you'll get out of me at this rate is vomit," Navi groaned; he could feel his fairy partner rolling about in his hair. "I've never eaten so much in my life."

"Before or after you were reborn?"

"Both."

Link followed a muscular giant strapped in metal armor wielding a sword taller than him; he was parting the crowd with his intimidating figure, letting Link walk unhindered right behind him. "Navi, in this other life, what were you to me?"

"We were partners, like we are now."

"That's it?"

"No, we were also lovers, throwing ourselves into each other's embrace while smooching away with fiery passion."

Link nearly tripped on himself. "Wait, seriously?"

It was Navi's turn to laugh. "Of course not, but you believed me, didn't you?"

"W-What? No! I knew you were joking!" He denied, finding a shady spot at the base of what appeared to be a shoe store and taking a seat on the stone pavement.

Navi's laughter doubled; if the city's constant commotion hadn't been so loud, half the city would've heard her. "Oh, if only I could see your face!"

"Navi, be serious!"

"There's a time for serious, and then there's a time for everything else," Navi sighed, gasping for air after her fit of amusement. "We know who the Princess of Destiny is, we know where she is, and we've got a ride to get there. Let's relax a little, okay?"

"I don't know if I can. I mean, how can I relax? The Great Deku Tree was murdered, and I'm trying to track down his killer with barely the slightest idea about what I'm doing! I feel like I should be pushing myself hard, tracking down the desert man faster! I can't be slacking off at a time like this!"

"Oh wow, isn't the sky so great?"

Link paused at the random change in topic. "Huh?"

"Look up," Navi urged.

"At what?"

"Just look up at the sky, will you?"

He decided to appease his bossy partner. He saw the sky, a continual forest of blue that blanketed the world. It was a sight that was impossible to find in the Kokiri Village, and it was: "Beautiful."

"Isn't it?"

The longer he looked, the more he wanted to see. It boggled his mind. How could there by an entire world right above his head, untouched, unmarked, untainted? How come he never appreciated its azure luster until now?

"It's because you're always looking at the ground," Navi answered his silent question.

"Mind reader," he teasingly accused.

"Let me finish. You weigh yourself down with burdens, tasks, and obligations that you force yourself to move forward, dragging your body across the ground. It's fine you want to do something productive with your hunt, but there's nothing wrong with standing still and forgetting what weighs you done. If you keep pushing yourself, you'll miss the simplest yet most wonderful things in life. It's the little things you've got to learn to enjoy."

Link chuckled. "You sound like a scholar."

"Really?" Navi said, intrigued. "And what do you know about scholars, my dear secluded village boy?"

"Only what I read in the Kokiri Library. You know, the Kokiri Library has so many scrolls and books about the world outside the forest, yet they don't do it justice."

"Naturally," Navi agreed. "Reading about something—"

"—Is different from actually seeing it with your own eyes."

Navi giggled. "Who's the mind reader now?"

"Navi?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks, I needed this."

"I'm your fairy partner. It's all in the job description," Navi chortled. "And you haven't opened up to me that much these past two weeks. I couldn't start a single conversation without you bringing up the man from the desert or the Great Deku Tree's death. Do you know how depressing you were?"

Link breathed out a laugh. "A lot, I'm guessing."

"So come on, let's keep it rolling, partner! What else is on your mind?"

As he watched adults and children alike pass by before him, one particular topic stuck out among the rest. "Me."

"You? What about you?"

"Malon thinks I'm a Kokiri."

"You didn't tell her otherwise."

"But I'm not. The Great Deku Tree said so: I'm not a Kokiri. I wasn't born from his magic, so then what am I? Am I a mistake that wandered into the village? Or … or am I just a kid, like Malon and every other child in this city?"

"What do you think?"

"I think … I think I have parents."

Navi gave herself into silence before saying, "If you're not a Kokiri, then there's nothing else you can be. You probably do have parents."

Link's hands clasped together as his fingers clenched. "Then where are they? Why don't I know them? Malon knows her parent! That kid over there is traveling with his parents! That girl is walk with her parents! Where … where are mine?"

"I don't know. I'm sorry, but I just don't know."

"Why'd they leave me in the Kokiri Village?" Link raged, feeling the blood in his head rise. "Why didn't they want me? Why didn't they care for me? Why—?"

"Link!" Navi's voice rebounded in his mind, slowly clearing away his bleeding desire for answers to his unwanted questions. Once he got his breathing under control, she asked, "Do you want to find your parents?"

"What?"

"Do you want to find them? I know, we've got to deal with the man from the desert and meet the Princess of Destiny and all that, but what about afterwards? What'll you do after you've taken care of the man from the desert? What do you want to do then? Will you go straight back to the Kokiri Village, or will you stay in Hyrule to search for your parents?"

Link mused over the question. Did he want to find his parents? In all honesty: No. Why would he want to track down the people who abandoned him? What would he say? What would he do? They never cared for him, raised him, or loved him. There was only one father figure in Link's life, and that would never change no matter what his true origin was.

"I'll go back to the Kokiri Village, like I promise," Link answered, feeling a sense of peace wash over him. "The Great Deku Tree was my father, not some stranger I've never known before. I don't care if I'm not a Kokiri. I have you, and I have my friends. That won't change."

Navi gave off a merry little ring. "I hope so, Link. I hope so."

"Thanks again Navi. This helped, a lot"

"Don't fret. One of these days, you'll pay me back with interest."

Link smiled, glad that at least some of the dark shadows haunting his every waking steps were dispelled. "We should probably get back to the restaurant and wait for Malon."

"Too bad we can't get some more food."

"I thought you were ready to vomit!"

"My metabolism is other-worldly," Navi snickered.

"If you hadn't been reborn as a fairy, I bet you would've made a very good Deku Baba," Link laughed.

"Don't make me bite you."

"I can't even see your mouth."

"You will soon."

Link froze. A small spark snapped at the base of his neck. After his death-fight with Gohma, he thought his radar for danger had burned out. Now it was back after two weeks. He remained seated, moving his body with exaggerated slowness.

"What's wrong?"

"We're being watched," he whispered through the corner of his lips. "Navi?"

"On it." He felt his partner slip out from the back of his hood before disappearing completely, flying high and fast so her blue body camouflaged against the sky. Link counted the seconds she was gone, keeping his eyes low to avoid alerting whoever or whatever was keeping him under their watch.

Navi slipped back into his hood on the thirty-third second. "You're right, you've got two admirers on the top of the building across from us, one girl and one boy. Think you can find them?"

"Let's find out." Link got to his feet and pretended to stretch his arms, aiming his eyes at the sky. From the corner of his vision he spotted two kids kneeling on the roof of a two-story blanket store on the opposite side of the street. They ducked their heads the moment he stood, wary of his every move. "Did you hear them say anything?"

"They stayed silent. Think you can pick anything up?"

"Let me try." He folded his hands behind his head, leaned against the wall behind him, and closed his eyes. At first, all he heard was the incoherent blare of Oron City. As his ears grew accustomed to every individual sound, he filtered out the unnecessary yammering of the street's crowd and focused on the two spying on him. Thanks to his intense concentration, he numbed out the surrounding racket until all he could hear was the shuffling bodies of his two onlookers.

Several minutes passed without a single word spoken.

Then: "Look at him, June! He's practically sleeping! Let's just get down there beat some answers out of him!"

The girl retorted: "How dumb can you get, Sagar? He's armed! Can't you see his sword?"

"That thing? Totally a toy! I know a real weapon when I see one! I can take him! I bet the shrimp will wet himself the moment he sees me coming! I'll smack him on the head and drag him over to Pablo!"

"Toy sword? You're sure?"

"Totally!"

"That puts things in our favor, but we should still be careful!"

"June, stop acting like such a wuss! We're the Thunder Wings! If we can handle stupid grownups, then we can more than take care of one kid!" _Smack!_ "Ow! What was that for?"

"Honestly, your idiocy is unbelievable sometimes! Do you even remember why we're tailing him to begin with?"

"No duh! Because he looks exactly like Suv!"

"That's right! So what're you going to do if he's _exactly_ like Suvi?"

"Uh, what?"

The girl started fuming. "I mean, what if he's also a—!"

"—Oh!" All the bravado left the boy's voice. "You mean he might be a …?"

"Exactly! What're you going to do if you start recklessly picking a fight with him and he tears you in half and eats your guts?"

"Holy Goddess, I'm glad you're here, June."

"I'm not. We should be reporting to Suvi, not spying on his lookalike!"

"Well, we've got to be sure, right?"

"Ugh! Sometimes I hate hanging out with you!"

"Aw, don't be _blah blah blah blah blah_ …"

The voices drowned back into the sound of the city as Link released his concentration and opened his eyes. His heart raced in an odd sort of excitement: Someone in this very city looked exactly like him. That someone might be family, his twin.

He had to find out.

"Navi, I need a distraction."

"What do you need me to do?"

Link reached on hand into the Pouch and brought out a Deku Nut. His partner wriggled out the back of his hood, dropped down his back and lifted the Deku Nut from his hand. He closed his eyes and waited. After six seconds, light exploded above the street, sending the whole area into a mass of panic. He opened his eyes and charged, side stepping tripping adults, jumping over rolling children, and sliding between tall legs. He dashed into the baffled blanket store, located the stairs, and made his way for the roof. In a matter of seconds, he was standing behind June and Sagar, who were both clasping their eyes while moaning in pain. As soon as their vision recovered, he introduced himself.

"Hi."

The two children almost scampered off the roof in surprise. June was shorter than Link previously estimated, with unnaturally pale skin covered by her black one-piece dress. Her shortly chopped black hair was a messy tangle, but somewhat resembled his own hair style. Sagar was several inches taller than Link, with lightly tanned skin and buzz-cut brown hair. He wore baggy pants, a shirt a few sizes too small with a large vest over that; like June, his clothes were all black. Both of them wore headbands with a sloppily sewn lightning bolt on the front; while Sagar wore his around the front of his head, June had hers wrapped around her arm.

"H-How'd you get up here?" June demanded, sounding braver than she actually looked. "Did you f-fly?"

"You're free to guess," Link replied; flying was the last method of transportation on his mind, so why'd June jump to such an outlandish conclusion?

"Don't eat me!" Sagar cried, trying to hide his large burly frame behind June's petite body.

"Why would I eat you?"

"What do you want?" June cut in, spreading her arms like she was shielding Sagar; a rather strange exchange of roles.

"I want to meet the one you call Suvi," Link pointed to June, "and the one he calls Suv," He pointed to Sagar. "I'm guessing he's the same guy, just with different names."

"Why do you want to meet our leader?" June demanded.

"H-H-He'll beat you up, no matter what you are!" Sagar weakly added.

"I heard you two talking," Link explained. "You said your leader looks exactly like me. I want to know why."  
June's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You heard us? When?"

"When I was sitting down there, and you two were up here, saying how I similar I was to your leader."

"You're lying! No one's hearing is that good!" June objected.

Link sighed. " '_June, stop acting like such a wuss! We're the Thunder Wings! If we can handle stupid grownups, then we can more than take care of one kid!_ _Ow! What was that for?_ _Honestly, your idiocy is unbelievable sometimes! Do you even remember why we're tailing him to begin with?_' There, now do you believe me?" He asked after reciting a small portion of their conversation.

June and Sagar looked all the more terrified; Sagar in particular looked like he wanted to jump off the store in order to run away.

"Y-You're a monster!" June shouted. "Leave us alone, or Suvi will make you pay!"

"Monster? That's a little rude. I only want to meet your leader. I don't want to hurt either of you!"

Sagar peeked at Link over June's shoulder. "Y-You don't? B-But you aren't human, right?"

"I am!" Link sighed. "What did you think I was?"

June's guard relaxed. "You're … human?"

"Yes! Why is that so surprising?"

"Scumbag!" Sagar roared, shoving June aside and stomping towards Link while cracking his knuckles. "Now I see your master plan! You're trying to get famous by stealing _our_ leader's face! You're the lowest of the low! The scum of Oron! You don't deserve to meet Suv! I'm going to mess up your face so badly no one will confuse the two of you again!"

"Wait, I'm not here to fight!" Link protested, taking a step back.

"I know, because you're too much of a wuss for that!" Sagar shouted, dashing at him with his fists raised. "Feel the fury of the Thunder Wings!"

Sagar punched at his face, and Link's body reacted automatically. He ducked beneath the fist and kicked Sagar's ankle, toppling the old boy over and face-planting him into the roof's wooden paneling. Sagar stoop back up immediately with a bleeding nose, lifting his fists for another bout; Link didn't let him, bringing up his right foot and kicking him across the face. Sagar's head snapped to the side from the impact, but there was still a glint of fight left in his eyes. Link finished him off by drawing a deku stick from his Pouch, slamming the six-foot long rod across the older boy's face. The deku stick snapped in half upon collision, but the force it delivered knocked Sagar out stone cold.

"You next?" Link asked, tossing aside the broken half of his deku stick as he turned to June.

June was having trouble finding her words. "How … how … that stick, from your … your …"

"It's magical," Link explained shortly.

"What are you? Don't lie to me this time! You're not human, you can't be! Human kids can't fight like that, human kids don't have magical items like that!"

"I'm Link, Link of the … Lost Woods." He left out the Kokiri Village, not wanted to repeat the question-and-answer game he had with Malon. June obviously didn't believe him, so he added, "And this is my fairy partner, Navi."

Navi shot out from his hood. "Link! We're supposed to be keeping this a secret!"

June shrieked at Navi's appearance. "A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A!"

"What's her problem?"

"She just doesn't like fairies, I'm guess," Link shrugged. "Let's let her calm down a bit."

"Y-You're really an immortal child from the Lost Woods?" June asked.

"That's where I'm from," Link nodded, trying to stop the twinges of guilt prodded at his heart whenever someone asked if he was a Kokiri. "I'll say it again: I don't want to hurt you or your leader. I only want to meet him."

June kept him under suspicious scrutiny.

"Fine, if you don't want to answer that, can you at least tell me about your leader?"

June nodded slowly. "His name is Suvica, and he's the leader of our gang, the Thunder Wings. Everyone calls us thieves and kid bandits, but all we're trying to do is stick together in order to survive. If it weren't for Suvica, many members of the Thunder Wings wouldn't be alive today."

"He sounds like a nice guy," Navi noted.

June almost laughed. "Nice? Hardly. But he's direct and straightforward, and that's why we trust him."

"Is there anything else you can tell me about him? Where he's from? Who his parents are?" Link continued, hoping for answers to his own questions.

"You … you really don't know anything about Suvica, do you?"

"That's why I'm asking you."

June chewed on her lips. "I don't know anything about Suvica's past, I just know what he is, and that's always been enough for me."

Link frowned. "What do you mean '_what he is_'?"

June stayed silent, so he went for a different question.

"Do you at least know why he looks like me?"

"I … I don't know. Truth be told, that's been bugging me as well. It's the reason why Sagar and I have been following you."

"Do you think," Link hesitated, but swallowed his anxiety, "Do you think there's a change Suvica and I are twins?"

"Not at all," June immediately replied.

"Well that was quick," Navi noted.

"Why?" Link demanded, unsatisfied by June's complete rejection.

"Because you're an immortal child of the Lost Woods, and Suvica is a real monster." June said simply. "I don't know why you two look alike, but now I know for a fact you're not related in any way."

Link's spirits sunk. "You're sure?"

"Absolutely."

He groaned, rubbing the sides of his head. Suvica wasn't related to him; June didn't seem to be lying and spoke was undeniable certainty. But still, he couldn't shake off the feeling that there was some sort of connection between him and the leader of the Thunder Wings. It might not have been the connection he imagined, but it existed all the same. He had to get to the bottom of it.

"Please, let's me see Suvica for myself!" Link asked. "I'm not here to fight him. I only want to know why he looks like me!"

June hesitated. "Only Thunder Wing members are allowed to know what Suvica looks like, so unless you plan on signing up, the answer is no."

"I don't get it! Why won't you let me meet him?"

"Because you're strong!" June shouted, slapping her small fists against her knees. "I saw what you did to Sagar! You beat up a kid twice your size without even breaking a sweat! I don't know why you carry around that toy sword when you're that good at fighting, but—!"

"This is a real sword," Link interrupted, drawing his Kokiri Sword an inch from its sheath so the bare metal reflected into June's eyes.

"Stupid, _stupid_, Sagar," she growled. "Then that only makes things worse! I know you're strong, and I can tell you've got combat experience!"

"But I'm _not_ going to fight anyone!"

"But Suvica will!" June shouted. "When I said Suvica was a monster, I didn't mean it figuratively. He's a _real_ monster, and like a monster, he fights anything he thinks is strong enough to be a worthy challenge. If I thought you were a weakling, I'd bring you to Suvica and let him snap you in half any day of the week."

"Gee, thanks."

"But you're not weak at all! You're strong, and Suvica's strong! If the two of you fight, I know something bad is going to happen. There's always collateral damage like that!"

Link had to admit, although he was put off by June's constant refusals, he admired her intelligence. She was thinking several steps ahead, calculating what would happen in every worst case scenario. First there was Malon with her third eye, and then June with her deductive prowess; were all girls outside the Kokiri Village so smart?

Still, it did little to solve his current predicament. "So you won't take me to Suvica?"

"Never!" June refused adamantly.

"Tickle her," Navi suggested. "Tickling is the ultimate form of painless torture. You'll have her singing in no time." June immediately shoved her hands into her armpits.

As tempting as Navi's idea sounded, Link tried a different approach. "What if I searched for Suvica on my own? He's somewhere in Oron City, right?"

June laughed, her expression loosening in relief. "I don't care what kind of super hearing you've got, but you'll never find Suvi like that."

"And what about Pablo?" Link continued. "Your sleeping friend said he'd smack me on the head and drag me over to Pablo. Does that mean the Thunder Wings work for him?"

June took his question as a grave insult. "Us? Suvi? The Thunder Wings? We'd never willingly work for that dirt bag! He's the worst type of scum there is! Sure, we'll do his chores every now and then, but that's only because we owe him! That's the only reason! Don't call us Pablo's lackeys when you know nothing about us!"

"Owe him? For what? Does he give you food, clothes, or maybe a home?" Link asked, egging June on so she would keep talking.

June jabbed a finger at Link's face, letting revulsion smolder her voice. "Don't insult us! Yeah, he gave us stuff, but that's not what we owe him for! The '_home'_ he forced on us was nothing more than a sewage pipe beneath Oron City's dumpsite! The food he shoved down our throats was moldy bread and rotten cheese! The scraps he threw in our faces wouldn't make decent clothes for a rat! Suvi was the one who gave us an awesome new hideout, a new home! He always gets us good food and clothes! If we're indebted to anyone, it's Suvi! Not Pablo!"

That was all Link needed to hear, grinning as the pieces came together. "You obviously hate Pablo. You don't owe him anything obvious, like food or clothes, yet you still do as he says. Tell me, the entrance to your current hideout, does Pablo have something to do with it?"

June froze. "N-N-No!"

"Perhaps," Link continued, carefully monitoring her expressions, "The entrance to your hideout is in Pablo's Pawn Shop?" June's pale face grew whiter. "So that's why you listen to Pablo. If you don't, he can refuse you entrance to his shop, preventing you from accessing your hideout. Thanks, that's all I needed to know. Let's go, Navi!" His partner slipped into his hood, and Link darted past June before she could stop him, taking a single step off the rooftop and allowing himself to drop two stories to the ground. He angled his body mid-fall, comfortably landing back-flat into a passing wagon stacked with hay; strands flew in a small tempest upon his landing. Still safe and sound, Link got into his feet and ran out of sight before an angry owner could properly identify and punish him for his little stunt.

Link accurately navigated his way back to Pablo's Pawn Shop. After his first encounter with the greedy owner, it was the last place he wanted to been in Oron. Still his desire to meet the leader of the Thunder Wings brushed aside the unwanted cobwebs of his reluctance. However, the moment he reached the shop's golden front door, June and Sagar came charging towards him, only stopping after they stood between him and the Pawn Shop's entrance.

"They're persistent," Navi murmured.

"Or really loyal," Link shrugged as the two Thunder Wings blocked his way.

"Stop! We … _pant _… can't let you meet Suvi!" June declared, pushing against Link's chest to stop him from taking another step forward.

Sagar planted himself directly behind Link, arms crossed but cautious; at least he learned his lesson. "You're good, scrub. I'll give you that much. But you need to kill me if you want to keep me down for good!" Link grabbed the hilt of his Kokiri Sword, and Sagar stumbled back squealing; he couldn't resist a smile.

"Sorry June, but this is something I've got to do for myself," Link said, locking his eyes onto her onyx pupils.

June only fixated her feet firmly onto the cobble street. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you. You're dangerous. It's not how you fight or the fact that you carry a sword. There's just something about you that makes my skin crawl, something that makes me want to run away from you as fast as I can. I can't let you meet Suvi. You'll do something I can't stand, and I won't be able to forgive myself for not stopping you."

The two of them were trapped in a deadlock; Link could easily push his way past June, but he knew she'd put her life on the line to stop him. He didn't want to hurt her, because something about her desperation rooted him to where he stood. Yet their stalemate was broken by an unlikely source.

"Let him," Sagar declared. "Let him meet Suv."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, June! If this kid wants to meet Suv so badly, let him! If a fight breaks out, good! Suv is our invincible leader! There's no way he'd lose in a fight!"

"Sagar! Wait, you don't under—!"

"Stop being a wuss!" He interrupted, using his muscular arms to pick June up by the back of her dress. "C'mon, kid," Sagar beckoned to Link, stepping towards the overly polished silver door handle. "You want to meet Suv? You got it."

"No! Stop, Sagar!" June protested, wildly flailing her arms, unable to do anything with her feet two feet off the ground.

Sagar ignored her objections, turning the handle and pushing the golden door open. "After you, scrub."

"Don't mind if I do," Link said.

The inside of the Pawn Shop was luxurious, to say the least. Link couldn't even see the walls because of the numerous rows of item-stock shelves and layers upon layers of portraits and paintings. A gem-incrusted desk was posted at the rear of the spacious room, yet remained oddly barren. The shop was lit by sunlight and a bronze chandelier holding forty-six candles in the center ceiling. Pablo was at the foot of the empty black desk, wading in a pile of those sparkling stones Malon called rupees. As the door slammed shut behind Sagar and June, the foul merchant looked up from his swimming session, his makeup-pale appearance shifting from delight to outright rage when he saw Link.

"Good job, brats!" Pablo yelled, hobbling to his feet and brushing off handfuls of rupees from his white silk pajamas. Link wondered why was he was wearing night-underwear when the day was still young. "You found me the arrogant green twerp! You did your job, now get lost while I teach this damn brat how to respect his elders!"

"I'm not here for you," Link said, impatiently waving Pablo away like he was an intruding fly in the room. "I'm here for—" June's hands sealed his mouth before he could speak of the hideout entrance located in the Pawn Shop.

"Please!" June begged, keeping a tight hold on his mouth. "Pablo doesn't know about our secret hideout! He still thinks we're living in the sewage pipe he gave us! Please, don't tell him about our real home, please!"

Link nodded. She cautiously removed her hands from his mouth, and he said, "On second thought, I am here to meet you. You've were mean to me, so now I'm here to return the favor. I'll teach _you_ a lesson."

Pablo barked in hysteria. "You? A street brat? Teach the mighty me a lesson? Don't get spunky with me, brat!" He dug through his pile of rupees and pulled out a shiny scepter; its blunt edges made it a deadly golden club. "Brats like you can act tough as much as you want, but in the end, it's the grown-ups who make the rules!" Pablo directed his raspy tone at June and Sagar. "Sewage rats! Hurry the hell up and get out of here! Crawl into that stupid dump you rot in and get lost!"

June pretended to appear meek and subjugated in front of Pablo, but Sagar angrily burst out, "Why don't you shut up, Frosty Face! The Thunder Wings aren't garbage rats! We don't live in that stupid place anymore! Suv got us a totally sweet home! We left your stupid pipe a long time ago!"

June face-palmed.

"I thought you said it was a secret," Link asked her.

Pablo's livid face wrinkled into an insatiable sneer. "A new place? That explains why you rats are so well dressed and fed! I guess your leader isn't incompetent after all! Since you brats _clearly _have more spoils than you're actually letting on, I think we should change the terms of our agreement! Instead of 15%, I want half of all your earnings!"

June dropped her mask of shame and shattered it beneath the heel of her foot. "Not on your life! The only reason we paid your stupid fee was because we still needed to use your ugly store to get to our hideout, like a passage fee! We can lower ourselves to accepting 15%, but never 50%! If you try to impose your stupid rules on us any further, Suvi will deal with you personally!"

Pablo laughed off her threats, feeling no weight behind her words. "Works for me, brat! I've always wanted to meet your precious leader and put him in his place! He's acting all high and mighty from the shadows of your skirts, but he doesn't know the fear an adult can brand into his heart! Come on! Let me meet him! I'll welcome him with open arms and a golden mace!"

Link stepped aside, giving Pablo and June plenty of room to leer at one another. He knew their dispute wouldn't resolve peacefully and frankly didn't care. Their arguments had nothing to do with him; all he wanted was to meet with Suvica, ask him a few questions, and then head for Hyrule Castle. He tried edging away from the quarrel, skirting around the shop's perimeter to search for any hidden entrances, but Pablo caught him sneaking away.

"Where do you think you're going, brat?" Pablo screamed, flailing his gold club at him. Link tiptoed out of the way, avoiding his scepter with ease. "You think I forgot about you? Guess again! You can't run from me! No one can run from me! I'll beat you brainless and then deal with the sewage rats!" Pablo flopped towards Link, shaking the scepter over his head.

Long since tired with Pablo's condescending behavior, Link yanked another deku stick the Pouch. The greedy merchant's tightened eyes peeled open as he magically summoned the deku stick from seemingly nowhere. Before Pablo could recover from his surprise, Link grasped the end of the deku stick with both hands and smacked Pablo across the face. A satisfying _thwack_ sent Pablo's crashing into the shelves lining the walls; hundreds of delicate gold and silver artifacts were smashed into smithereens as they were crushed beneath Pablo's unconscious body.

"Finally," Link breathed in satisfaction, tossing the now-broken deku stick at Pablo's behind, which stuck out of a pile of his costly items. "Now that he's out of the way, can you show me the secret entrance to your hideout?"  
June was initially alarmed at Link's actions, but hastily put on a mask of solemn scrutiny. Sagar, on the other hand, gave him a happy high-five, shoved two of his fingers up Pablo's exposed rear, and waltzed over to the lone desk in the room. With apparent ease, he moved the desk to the side to reveal a formerly concealed stone staircase leading down into a lightless underground passageway.

"Ta-da!" Sagar said with obvious pride, as if he'd built the hidden staircase himself. "Our secret entrance! Cool, right?"

"Fascinating," Link assured the excitable boy. Sagar hopped down two stairs at a time, urging for Link to follow. He did, and June stuck to his back harder than honey-glue.

Much to Link's surprise, the subterranean passageway was neatly constructed; he hadn't expected such craftsmanship from children, or perhaps this tunnel already existed before the Thunder Wings were formed and they were merely using it for their convenience. The stairs and walls were aligned and spaced without a centimeter of deviation from one another. Forty steps down and the stairs ended, straightening out into a flat underground lane. The walls, ceiling, and floor were composed of stones with varying shapes and sizes, yet fitted together to make a faultless surface, similar to a completed jigsaw puzzle. Darkness would have pervaded the tunnel if not for the glass bottles hanging from the ceiling every ten feet, each containing a flickering ball of blue flame.

"We call it Eternal Fire," June explained, catching Link's frequent glances at the flame storing bottles. "It's a fire that never burns out as long as the bottle's cork isn't opened. Don't ask how we got them, since that's our trade secret."

"Actually, it's called Blue Fire," Navi corrected, loud enough for all of them to hear (Sagar jumped, demanding to know where the ghost was). "It's a type of flame harvested by the Zoras of Lake Hylia. Blue Fire is a precious flame that can melt any substance, but it also serves as a handy lantern since it'll never burn out as long as the bottle containing it remains intact."

"These belonged to the Zoras? Oops," June muttered. "I guess Suvi shouldn't have raided that caravan. Oh well, who cares?"

A hundred and four steps later, the underground passage ended with a vertical vent leading hundreds of feet up, illuminated by several dozen more Blue Fire bottles. A shoddy staircase circled alongside the looming structure, following the walls and leading towards the faraway top. June bounced up the stairs without a moment of doubt, but Link was a tad more cautious; the crude flight of steps looked like it could fall apart at any moment.

"Keep moving, scrub," Sagar ordered, lightly pushing Link's back. Regardless of his concerns, the stairs were still the only way up. Thankfully, they all reached the top without incident

Once they reached the end, June pressed her hands against the wooden panels above them, revealing a hidden hatchway that let in a stream of sunlight. June disappeared into the square opening, and Link followed her lead, climbing the last six steps. His sight was stolen from him for a brief moment by the sudden contrast in brightness as he entered the hidden den of the Thunder Wings, but his ears functioned fine, buffeted by a growing ripple of stunned murmurs.

"S-Suvi? Is that Suvi?"

"No way, Suv is right there!"

"Then who's that?"  
"There's a Suv here and a Suv there!"

"Holy waffle batter, what's going on?"

As Link's eyes readjusted to the sunlit land, he was able to get a better look at where he was. He was standing in the center of a large ring of Thunder Wing members, all of whom wore black, both boys and girls, all of varying ages. The youngest was about as tall as Link's chest, while the oldest was two heads taller than Sagar.

Where was he? Judging from the staircase climb and the strong wind, Link estimated he was about a hundred feet above ground level. He moved towards the perimeter of the platform he stood upon, parting the circle Thunder Wings as they scuttled away from him as he moved. Once he reached the edge, he understood where he was. The Thunder Wings hideout was located atop of a tower-like structure smack-dead in the middle of Oron City, with the bustling streets roughly (as he guessed) a hundred feet below them. He leaned against the hastily assembled railing spanning the circumference of the base, preventing anyone from tumbling off the edge to their deaths. The hideout was well shaded from the sun thanks to a blue tarp about fifteen feet above them, support by four posts stations at the four different corners of the square-shaped hideaway. It could be considered the perfect hiding place, as none of the unsuspecting citizens below bothered to look up to find the Thunder Wing bandits.

Link took his eyes off the splendid view of Oron's large city and the vast stretches of green beyond its shabby city walls, turning his attention to the base itself. Many of the Thunder Wings flinched as his eyes passed over them as he counted their numbers: There were twenty-nine of them in total, including June and Sagar. He guesstimated their hideout was thirty-be-thirty feet large, fully stashed with clothes, provisions, mattresses, blankets, pillows, and everything else twenty-nine children would need to survive on their own. Link noticed the occasional riches (small piles of rupees, gold items, and bottled insects), but clearly the Thunder Wings weren't nearly as interested in shiny objects as Pablo was.

Then: "Who the hell are you?"

Link swallowed his nervous excitement; it sounded strange to hear his voice come from somewhere other than his own mouth. He turned to the source, and his chest tightened as he saw an exact replica of himself.

This was Suvica, a boy with Link's face and body. He felt an unexpected sense of vertigo looking at himself. How did the Triplet's handle it, seeing themselves outside of a mirror? Link could barely contain his own baffled feelings. Yet there were differences between him and Suvica, outside of their clothes. The first and most evident was Suvica's night-black hair, though it retained the same style as Link's. The second was his thunderous yellow eyes. As for his clothes, he wore a set of baggy pants and a sleeveless tunic covered by a thin leather vest. Everything he wore was black, including his open-toe sandals. He noticed Suvica was dressed rather like Sagar, only his clothes actually fit him. Then he knew it was the other way around; Sagar had been trying to dress like Suvica. But while every member of the Thunder Wings had a sash depicting a sloppy lightning bolt somewhere on their body, Suvica wore nothing resembling that.

"I asked you a question," Suvica repeated in Link's voice. "Who the hell do you think you are?" That was when Link spotted another startling difference, something he would've caught onto if he hadn't been busy gawking at Suvica's physical features. While they shared the same face, Suvica kept his in a constant scowl (Link hoped he didn't look like that when he spoke). His held his body like the world and all its inhabitants were beneath him, crossing his arms in a clear gesture of superiority.

Link was starting to feverishly hope they weren't related; a pissy sibling who acted like Mido was the last thing he wanted.

"That amazing," Navi breathed in his hood. "The world really is a big place."

"My name is Link, Link of the Lost Woods!"

"Oh, sure! Announce it to everyone you meet!" Navi grumbled as the Thunder Wings gawked at him with renewed attention.

Suvica showed a bit of surprise. "An immortal brat from the forest? Prove it, Forest Boy."  
"It's true!" June shouted, running to Suvica's side. "He has a fairy partner! Look!"

"Navi? That's your cue."  
"Oh, I hate all this," Navi muttered, flying out from his hood and hovering over his head in clear sight. The Thunder Wings withdrew into thrilled chatters, pointing animated fingers at Link and Navi.

"Shut UP!" Suvica barked. His voice carried unnaturally well, speaking with a level of intensity Link never thought was possible with their small bodies. The Thunder Wings were silenced instantly and obediently. Link imagined Suvica ending a food fight in the Kokiri Village with those two words; the idea was humorous but unlikely. "A forest boy from the Lost Woods? You don't seem like one."  
Link tensed; could Suvica tell he wasn't a Kokiri? "Have you met other forest children before?"

"No."

"Then what makes you so sure?"

"Because you don't seem like someone who came from the legendary paradise. No, you're like me, pissed off and annoyed with the world. You've got your own monster hidden in that meat shell, don't you?" All at once, the Thunder Wings stepped as far away from Link as possible, pressed their terrified bodies against the fragile fencing.

"I don't get what you mean," Link said sharply, ignoring the tremble in his gut.

"Doesn't matter," Suvica shrugged. "Just tell me one thing. Did you meet her? Did you see the witch? Is that the reason why you look like that?"

Link was bewildered, having no idea what Suvica was going on about. "I was born like this, I wasn't created by any witch."

Suvica looked disappointed. "Really? Too bad."

"But tell me one thing: Why do we look alike? Why are we practically twins?" Link demanded. Their audience stopped panicking, keen on hearing the answer to the mystery on everyone's mind.

"Doesn't matter," Suvica laughed, blowing the question aside. "If you never met the witch, then there's nothing to talk about. It's a freak coincidence."

"Freak coincidence?"

"Those ears on your head for show?" Suvica spat. "If you never met the witch, then I don't know and don't give a damn why we look alike. Satisfied?"

Link bit back his frustration; Suvica was as dead end. If there was nothing linking the two together, then there was no point in staying. Plus, Suvica's attitude was starting to annoy him. "Satisfied. Let's go, Navi."

"Are you sure?" His partner asked, hovering close to his ear so their conversation wouldn't be overheard. "I know this Suvica fellow says otherwise, but the two of you are way too similar for it to be a coincidence! What about the witch he keeps talking about? Won't you ask about her?"

"No," Link whispered. "Suvica knows nothing, and I doubt his witch has anything to do with me either. Besides, we've got to get back to Malon. She's probably found her father by now."  
"Good point."

"I'll be going," Link said aloud. "You don't know why we look alike, and neither do I. There's no point in me staying."

"Going already?" Suvica asked, laughing haughtily. "Why so soon? Stay a while. It's not every day I meet my meat-suit's doppelganger. Besides, I'm a little curious about the immortal children from the Lost Woods."

"Me too!" one shouted.

"And me!"

"So am I!"

"Stay a while!"

Link was quickly enveloped in a torrent of pleads for him to stay. He looked to the hatchway leading back down the hollow stone tower they stood upon, only to find Sagar standing atop of it, sealing his only exit route.

"Fine!" He shouted, changing the raging pleas into joyous cheering. "What do you want to know?" An onslaught of inquiries came at him all at once, erupting so loud and fast that even he could barely make out the individual questions.

"Quiet! Quiet!" June screamed. Her intervention was nowhere near as efficient as Suvica's "_Shut up_," but she managed to settle everyone down after a few minutes. "Let's do with proficiently! Link, I'm sure you've still got questions of your own, even if you won't say them, so let's do this: Suvi will pick someone at random, and they'll get to ask one question. After that, Link can ask whatever he wants. How's that?" Link was having a major feeling of déjà vu, but when he saw the thankful smile June gave him, he understood she was trying to do him a favor for not picking a fight, like she feared.

Only Suvica was against the idea. "What? Why do I have to pick? Can't you lazy punks do _anything_ by yourselves with having me to wipe your asses?"

"You're the leader!" June snapped. "Act like one! So who wants to go first?

Everyone raised their hands as they looked to their leader with pleading eyes.

"Gah! Fine!" Suvica shouted in exasperation, throwing his arms in the air. He pointed at one of the smaller male members. "Jack, go."

Thunder Wing member Jack gave Link a wide toothy smile and asked, "Is it true the kids of paradise poop gold?"

"False." Link snapped, and then asked Suvica. "Who's the witch you were talking about before?"

"None of your concern. Vela!" Suvica yawned, lazily gesturing at an older female member.

"Is it true fairies taste like candy when licked?" the copper-haired girl giddily asked.

"False!" Navi screamed, shocking the girl into prolonged silence.

"What is this place?" Link asked. "Not your hideout, but the tower itself. Why is it here? I doubt you built it."  
"Remember when I said Pablo gave us a sewage pipe to live in?" June said. "Well we discovered it still connected to the Chimney; that's what this tower is called. Way back when, Oron City's sewage and trash would collect at the Chimney before it was burned. Obviously, they had to stop when the Chimney started … how to say this—"

"—When it started raining poop on everyone!" someone called out.

June made a sour face. "I would've put it a bit more delicately, but yes. So the Chimney and the old sewage system were abandoned. We discovered the Chimney and decided to make it our new home."

"Sewage system? Is that what the underground tunnel we walked through was?"

"No, no." June shook her head. "We renovated."

" '_We_'?" Suvica laughed. "More like June drew up some pretty pictures and left all the heavy lifting to me."

"You made that tunnel by yourself?" Link asked skeptically. "How long did it take you? A year?"

"A day," Suvica snickered.

"Next question!" June cut in, trying to avert the flow of the conversation. But Link was already developing a sneaking suspicion towards Suvica. The way everyone reacted around him, the reason why June and Sagar were initially frightful towards Link, the response of the Thunder Wings when Suvica spoke of a "_meat suit_." Slowly but surely, a pit formed in his stomach as he made a deduction about Suvica's true nature. It was outlandish, somewhat insane, and definitely impossible, but it was the only thing that made sense.

"Matt," Suvica aimlessly selected, not bothering to mask his boredom.

"Yush!" the small boy, barely above the age of a toddler, cheered. "Is it true you have magical powers?"

"Half," Link replied, feeling about as fed up as Suvica looked. "Sometimes some of us Koki—forest children are grown with magic, but not all of us. A few of my friends back at my village can use forest magic, but not me." He took another look around at the Thunder Wings base as he answered, hoping to find something to hold his interest.

He did. He spotted a corked glass bottle half-buried beneath a stash of rupees and dirty clothes, but there was no mistaking its contents.

"My turn," Link snarled, visibly startling everyone with his venomous tone. He stomped towards the bottle, causing every Thunder Wing member in his path to scramble out of his way. He picked it up, and when he confirmed what was inside, his fury skyrocketed. "_Why_ is this here?"  
Navi took a peek at what Link held and paled. "Oh my Goddess."

It was a Fountain Fairy, a magical protector of its fountain (a magical den of power) and land. The small pink fairy was struggling within its glass prison, sobbing for help with its oval head and face. Her miniscule body and small flailing limbs fought and pressed against the container, voicelessly screaming for release. The two stubby wings atop of her head meekly twitched and flap, speaking of her dying desire to fly free in the skies once more.

This was an outrage. Fountain Fairies were sacred beings who protected and watched over their Fairy Fountains and neighboring lands. They were creatures of peace. How could someone take a selfless defender and imprison her with such thoughtless malice? Link haze of rage burned his body, twisting his face into a scowl. The wrath he fanned to life was barely a candle compared to the hatred he harbored towards the man from the desert, but it was hatred nonetheless.

Link threateningly turned to Suvica, who was now smirking at him with newfound interest. "Answer me, Suvica! Why is this Fountain Fairy here?"

"Wait, Link!" June stepped forward, standing between him and Suvica. "I can explain! We—!"

"I saw the little midget fluttering around my city like a lost little Cucco," Suvica laughed, overriding June's voice. "Do you know how valuable your little pets are? You can sell a fairy to fat, greedy human for quite the price. What sucks, though, is that all the buyers here are pretty much third-rate slave traders. I couldn't even get a tenth of the price I wanted from them! So I decided to hold onto the pinky runt until someone rich came along? Got a problem with that?"

"I'm taking her with me," Link growled, clutching the imprisoned Fountain Fairy in his hand. "And you're going to let me!"

A few of the taller Thunder Wings members started to move towards Link, knuckles cracking, but Suvica held up a hand and waved for them to step back. "You want that Fountain Fairy? You've got to prove you can take it!"

"Wait! Please, wait!" June begged, stepping in front of Suvica and fruitlessly attempting to push him back. "There's no need to fight! We can all talk this out!"

"So if I beat you up, I can take the Fountain Fairy?" Link confirmed. All of the Thunder Wings began laughing, as if mocking the idea he could defeat their leader. All of them except for June.

"Link, you said you wouldn't fight!" June screamed accusingly, trying to keep herself between him and Suvica as the two of them walked towards one another.

"Exactly," Suvica laughed, continuing to stride towards him as if June wasn't there. "Beat me, you get to keep the pinky midget. Lose, and I get to keep your head!"

The two of them stopped with barely a foot of space between them. Sagar had stepped forward and dragged June away so she wouldn't get caught in the fight.

"Calm down, wuss," Sagar said as he wrapped his arms around June's waist and carried her away. "This is what I wanted to see, payback! Suv is going to teach that scrub a lesson the Thunder Wing way!"

"No!" June screamed, fighting to make herself heard over the constant cheering and applauding coming from the rest of the Thunder Wings. "You can't let them fight! You can't! He's not normal! He's a monster, a vicious beast of the Evil King!"

"Well, Forest Boy?" Suvica sneered, breathing his ash-scented breath into Link's face. "Some me what you got! You've got that toothpick on your back, so show me you can use it! Some me you've got the stones to—!"

Link drew the Kokiri Sword in a flash, wrenching the blade from its sheath and swinging it at Suvica. It sunk into Suvica's right shoulder and sliced open a line of blood, stopping at his waist. As the first drop of red touched the ground, the cheering stopped. From the corner of his eyes, Link saw dozen of pale faces as the Thunder Wings watched their leader bleed.

He didn't stop. Left, right, up, down; Link slashed and hacked at Suvica, who made no attempt to move or defend himself. Blood flew as his sword cut across Suvica's chest, stomach, arms, legs, and face. As a finale, he executed a jumping backspin kick, slamming his left foot into Suvica's face and knocking him back.

But Suvica didn't fall. Instead, the leader of the Thunder Wings readjusted his stance to calmly straighten himself. He stood there, dripping blood while rubbing his kicked chin.

"Not bad," Suvica said despite the gash on his cheek; his body trembled and his chest began to heave. At first, Link mistook it for fear, hoping his arrogant double would quickly conceded. Instead, Suvica burst into maniacal laughter, howling in savage pleasure with a widening sneer. "Not bad at all, FOREST BOY!"

It hit Link like a roar of thunder; his instincts sent a storm of danger screaming through his body, forcing him to jump four steps back to put more distance between him and the cackling monster. Even the members of the Thunder Wings scooted away from Suvica as far as they could. The last time Link received such a powerful jolt of peril, he was fighting for his life again the Parasitic Armored Arachnid. Now a similar, if not stronger, monster was before him, a menace that was maddeningly hollering in sheer delight.

"That was great!" Suvica lauded as, right before Link's eyes, his lacerations ceased to bleed and sealed, recovering as if some invisible fairy was tending to his wounds. His larger lesions, like the first slash Link inflicted, took longer to close, but Suvica merely smeared a bit of saliva onto his rapidly healing injury. In a matter of seconds, he was perfectly whole, with only his torn clothes and the blood stained floor to tell the tale of his fleeting injuries. "So many humans call themselves warriors, but those pathetic ground-lovers are nothing more than cocky bags of air! Even the barely competent fighters hardly pose a threat to me! But you! You're different! You cut me without hesitation! You slashed at me with the intent to kill! Finally, I meet someone worth fighting!"

Link mimicked Suvica's grin, but struggled against the knot in his stomach as he equipped his Deku Shield to his right arm. "No wonder June calls you a monster."

"Monster?" Suvica laughed. "You haven't seen anything yet!"

He lunged at Link with insane speed, but he was prepared for it. He brought up his shield as Suvica threw a punch at his face. The moment Suvica's knuckle grazed against the surface of his Deku Shield, Link knew he was outmatched. He hastily braced his shoulder against the back of his shield as the full force of Suvica's fist crashed against it; in terms of raw strength, Suvica's impossible power outstripped Link's by a mile. His shoulder jarred as he was pushed back by Suvica's blow, the soles of his boots skidding against the floor.

Link grimly lowered his Deku Shield to see Suvica's surprise. "I meant to punch a hole through your wimpy looking shield. The hell is that thing made of?"

"It's enchanted to be unbreakable," Link said past clenched teeth.

Suvica only appeared to relish the information. "Then let's test it out!" He charged, holding a clenched fist above his head. Link stood his ground, adapting to the situation. He already had plenty of experience fighting against enemies who surpassed him in brute force, but the Arachnid Queen had something Suvica didn't: Defense.

Suvica descended upon Link and brought his fist down on his Deku Shield. He didn't bother trying to defend against the attack; instead, he dodged to the side while simultaneously slashing Suvica's chest, cutting open his flesh with a timely counter. Suvica was undeterred, throwing blow after blow only to strike air again and again as Link swayed and sidestepped each attack while slashing Suvica with every opportunity. Eventually, he threw a punch with an over-exaggerated wide swing; Link saw the attack coming from a mile away, ducking beneath the overpowered fist and striking Suvica across the chin with his Deku Shield. Suvica staggered, a chance Link refused to squander.

He went on the offensive, letting the Kokiri Sword dance in every maneuver he could possibly imagine; each time his blade struck, a new wound painted his opponent's body. Whenever he could, Link mixed up his combinations, following a slice from his blade with a bash from his Deku Shield. Suvica tried grabbing him, but Link retaliated by ducking beneath Suvica's grasp and high-kicking him in the chin. But with each hack, smash, kick, and punch, Link began to notice his own fatal flaw; he couldn't deal a decisive blow. Every time he tried to pierce Suvica's chest, his blade struck underlying layers of bone. Each time he slashed at Suvica's throat, his wound closed in a matter of seconds. He even tried stabbed his Kokiri Sword into Suvica's eye, but the battle-mad beast prevented that by clamping his teeth down on Link's blade and wrenching the Kokiri Sword from his hand, letting it clatter to the floor; Link had to roll beneath another one of Suvica's wide punches to close in on his sword and gather it form the ground.

He couldn't kill Suvica, not like this.

Sidetracked by the split-second realization, Link barely managed to intercept a right punch, catching Suvica's fist with the Deku Shield. The attack was destructive, tossing his Deku Shield and his right arm backwards until his whole arm was nearly torn from his shoulder. Suvica's left fist swooped in while Link's balance was still toppled; all he could do was turn his head with the direction of the attack, letting the clenched fist sink into his cheek and hammered his face. The damage was minimal thanks to his last-second evasion, but it was overwhelming all the same. Immediately, his vision flickered black and white, his face burned with a crater of fire, and his knees rocked beneath his body. It took all his residual concentration to stay on upright and look forward, just in time to see Suvica's exposed forehead flood his eyes. The head-butt smashed into Link's head, breaking the skin and streaming fresh blood from his bruising forehead.

That wasn't the end. As a final feat to demonstrate his monstrous strength, Suvica made a giant leap backwards, gliding over the heads of his cheering Thunder Wings and landing near one of the hideout's four corners. He burrowed his fingers into the solid lumber post and broke it off at the base before hurling the fifteen foot log, as if it were a pebble, directly at Link. He caught the brunt of the attack with his barely-moving Deku Shield. The overall momentum of the oversized lance bashed the Deku Shield into Link's chest, causing his ribs to creak and his flesh to blaze. Utilizing his waning strength, Link twisted his body to the left, letting the rest of the wood-lance dart past him and fly off the top of the Chimney tower; it smashed into a building, a very particular Pawn Shop, below them.

Link heaved his chest, letting stale air gush out of his mouth. With Suvica's advantage of physical strength, he was out-matched; he was wounded and barely standing while Suvica's superficial injuries were all but gone. He looked a little pleased to see Link standing and was already striding towards him while swinging his arms. The Thunder Wings directed jeering boos at Link while encouraging their leader to end the battle once and for all.

With the odds stacked against him, Link did the most natural thing to do: He grinned. His smile stretched across his face as his blood pumped harder and faster in his veins, sending him an adrenaline rush greater than the one Gohma induced in him. Suvica faltered at Link's perpetuating smile, and some of the Thunder Wings stopped screaming insults.

"What's so funny, Forest Boy?" Suvica scowled, noticeably unaccustomed to his opponents grinning before his might.

"Funny? Nothing's funny," Link laughed, straightening his back and stretching his battered limbs; a gale of pain resonated in his body, yet it only served to sharpen his concentration and solidify his resolve. He was still fighting for the Fountain Fairy's sake, he was still fighting to teach Suvica a lesson in humility, and he was still fighting for his life. But beneath all those rational reasons for battle, there was a primitive, more instinctual reason behind his smile.

He wanted to win! He could run anytime he wanted; the trapdoor to the stairs below was unwatched and unguarded. No one asked him to rescue the Fountain Fairy. No one ordered him to fight this monster. Yet here he was, still standing, still fighting, bolstered by his own desire for victory, his own thrill for battle.

"You were right, Navi," Link said to his partner, who was watching the fight with a fearful pale body. "It's the little things you've got to enjoy. You want to know why I'm smiling, Suvica? Well how can I not? How can I not smile … WHEN I'M HAVING THIS MUCH FUN!"

Link dash towards Suvica, who, after one stunned moment, charged forward, meeting his grin with a pleased smile of his own. Instead of lifting their arms to execute an attack, the two of them rammed heads together, producing a painful _crack_ that made everyone shudder. Link's blood was pumping too hard for him to feel pain, and he knew Suvica was too hard-headed to feel anything with his head. The beast shot a left fist at Link's gut, but he avoided the punch and rammed his Deku Shield's unbreakable edge into Suvica's face.

Suvica's head snapped to the side from the attack, but he still retaliated with a right punch aimed at Link's throat, who ducked and slashed at Suvica's waist. Before he could recover from the deep wound, Link spun in a low circle and back-kicked Suvica's new injury before it could properly heal. His foe tottered on the balls of his feet. Link abused him further by punching Suvica's face with his left hand, back fisting his nose with his shield's surface, and finally bending low to connect his Deku Shield to Suvica's chin with an uppercut.

Suvica's face bend backward, but immediately plummet forward towards Link for another rock-shattering head-butt. Link tightened his fingers around the Kokiri Sword's handle and swung his blade in a decapitating slash aimed at Suvica's neck. Instead of cutting through flesh, Suvica jammed the blade between his teeth again, trapping the sword.

He spun his body, swinging the Kokiri Sword in his mouth and Link (who refused to release his blade a second time) in a full circle. Then he opened his clenched jaw, launching Link over the heads of the spectating Thunder Wings and off the tower. Link quickly extended his right arm and grabbed one of the three remaining log posts at the corners of the tower, swung in a U-Turn, and flung himself back at Suvica. He tried returning with a midair kick, but Suvica caught his foot with one hand and swung him over his head and towards at the floor. Link spared himself a brutal crash landing by slashing the hand clasped around his foot, releasing Suvica's hold so that Link could soften his landing with a roll. Suvica's hand bled profusely for two seconds before stitching itself closed into a fading scar. The two of them resumed their death match in a split second.

Their unyielding desire for victory continued for a whole minute straight. It was a long sixty seconds, especially when one or both of them wounded the other every other second. Suvica's punches were so vicious they punctured the air, yet were sloppy and predictable once examined. Link dodged what he could and struck back in the same instant with a sword slash or shield bash. The punches he couldn't avoid he recoiled against, turning his head or bending his body in the appropriate direction to lessen the overall damage.

At the end of the prolonged minute, Link and Suvica detached from one another, putting a good amount of distance between the two of them. Link's injuries were starting to resemble those he received from Gohma, and his Kokiri Sword was stuck in Suvica's right shoulder, entwined in his ridiculously thick muscles. Suvica was bruised from head to toe and covered with numerous pink lines and several deep red gashes that required minutes instead of seconds to heal. They smiled at one another; Link's was a solid grin while Suvica wore a hard sneer.

Suvica grasped the Kokiri Sword's blade with his left hand and ripped it out of his shoulder before tossing it aside. A few of the Thunder Wings inched forward to swipe Link's sword with lusting eyes, but Suvica snarled at those who dared to interfere with his fight. Link would've saluted Suvica's sportsmanship if he wasn't trying to kill him.

"SUVICA!" Link roared, leaning forward and putting what strength he could spare into his next attack.

"FOREST BOY!" Suvica howled, bending his fingers into claws as he stampeded forward to meet him head-on.

His right hand reached for Link's head, an obvious attempt to seize his face and crush his skull between his fingers. Link focused on his sword-less left hand, balling it into a fist and directing it at Suvica's chin. If the two of them continued with their plotted attack course, a simultaneous strike was inevitable.

Link lurched forward, narrowly avoiding a direct assault as Suvica's thumbnail graze his cheek. He navigated his fist towards Suvica's face, bending forward and putting all his weight behind this one punch. He slammed his knuckles into Suvica's cheek and pushed. The wooden planks beneath his boots cracked as his feet fought against them; his knees wailed at the strain placed upon them as his left fist bellowed in triumph as it buried itself deeper into Suvica's exposed face. Link's punch picked Suvica off his feet, snapping his head to the side while his body flew in spirals. With the addition of Suvica's own force added to Link's all-or-nothing punch, the damage inflicted by the cross counter was terrifying. Suvica soared backwards until he struck the ground like a crumbling mountain, while Link stood tall above his motionless body, his left fist pulsating from the power it released.

Silence invaded the hideout of the Thunder Wings, assisted by the astonished expressions and disbelieving faces. No one dared to step forward to help their fallen leader up, and those within Link's field of vision squirmed beneath his wandering gaze. Navi added a whoop of joy to his victory. Only June wore a contradictory look: Instead of concern, she grimaced. There was no worry for her favored leader's defeat, only the look of a girl who knew the true battle, the very thing she'd hoped to avoid, had only just begun.

A laugh raided the silence. It took Link a moment to comprehend that Suvica was the source of the mirthful tempest, shuddering his fallen body with rackets of joy.

"You're good, Forest Boy … no, Link! You're right! This is FUN! This is GREAT!" Suvica screamed, raising one foot and slamming it into the floor to stand up; an expanding cobweb of cracks deformed the wooden surface they stood upon. There was a look of indescribable satisfaction deforming Suvica's face. "This is awesome! I've been trapped in this pathetic form for four years! I've fought and beaten countless humans to vent my anger, all of them boasting strength with big mouths yet lacking actual steel and spine beneath their flesh! I thought I'd rot away in this wretched husk with no one worthy to fight, and then you come along! An admirable foe! A challenge! A prey I've got no choice but to fight against WITH ALL MY STRENGTH!" The sound of ripping fabric replaced Suvica's jubilant declaration, and Link watched with awe as the skin beneath Suvica's black clothes swelled and deformed.

What happened next, Link could have never anticipated. A pair of black scaled wings shredded through the back of Suvica's clothes, followed by a lashing tail of equally dark luster. The wings had a span of ten feet each, and the tail was at least eight feet in length. Link could see the veins surging inside the leathery membrane of Suvica's wings, and his tail whipped back and forth with anticipation.

"Oh my Goddess," Navi gasped. "Wings, a tail, and those black scales … he's a Thunder Dragon!"

"Damn straight!" Suvica roared. He threw back his head and fired a ray of yellow lightning into the sky above. If there were any clouds in this peerless blue day, Link held no doubt Suvica's lighting would've pierced a hole in them.

The Thunder Wings didn't shy away from their leader's transformation. Instead, their cheering was revived and doubled in intensity. Link's prior theory, his sneaking suspicion, about Suvica's true nature, had been accurate all along. Suvica was a dragon trapped inside a human body. It explained why June and Sagar acted so frightfully towards him when they first met; they thought he was another dragon like Suvica. However, Link was, to his disdainful knowledge, a human. The beast before him, on the other hand, was a mythical monster of old, told only in the Great Deku Tree's most ancient of stories. Although Link was curious as to why there was a Thunder Dragon with a human body resembling his own, he could save that question for a later.

Right now, his arms quaked and his knees knocked.

"Scared?" Suvica scorned, taking one booming step at a time towards Link while spread his wings wide. "Will you run, Link? Will you flee? Scream for mercy? Beg for forgiveness?"

"… Perfect …"

"Huh? What was that?" Suvica sneered.

"This is perfect!" Link laughed, gripping his Deku Shield with renewed strength as the thrill quivering in his body nearly knocked him off his feet. He could barely contain the excitement radiating off his body. "I was expecting a lot from you, but not nearly so much! This makes our fight that much more interesting! Bring it on! Show me what you've got, Thunder Dragon of the Skies!"

The Thunder Wing members were slack-jaw stunned, but Suvica was howling in uncontrollable glee, his tail bickering back and forth, sending stray items and belongings flying. "BRING IT ON, LINK!" He raised his wings and flapped them downwards, using them to accelerate towards Link with a gust of air that nearly blew four of the Thunder Wings off the base.

Link's discarded Kokiri Sword was behind the low flying Thunder Dragon, so he made its retrieval his first priority. He pulled a deku stick from the Pouch, slid beneath the gliding dragon, and whacked the makeshift weapon into Suvica's face. The deku stick broke after its single swing and put a tiny falter in Suvica's glide, but inflicted no lasting harm as the Thunder Dragon flew away from the Chimney tower and circled back around for another headlong attack.

Link ran for his Kokiri Sword while he had the chance, but one of the taller Thunder Wings stepped in his way, chest puffed out, and smirking as he stood in his way.

"What'cha gonna do?" He taunted. Without a moment to lose, Link threw the broken half of his deku stick at the boy's face, who shielded his head with his arms to defend against the feeble projectile. Link jumped, slamming his right knee into the boy's jaw and knocking him down without a fuss. Link stepped over the temporary obstacle, jumped for his Kokiri Sword and snatched it with his left hand before rolling back to his feet. He spun around and thrust his weapon forward, expecting it to pierce the incoming Thunder Dragon.

Suvica flew in low, inches above the flooring, avoiding the blade by centimeters. He rammed into Link's chest, wrapped his mighty arms around Link's waist, and pushed him off the edge of the hideout. Empty air blew beneath his feet as the two of them shot off the tower like a thrown spear, crossing the skies above the city. Link couldn't squirm his way out of Suvica's undeniable grip, so he reversed his hold on his Kokiri Sword and stabbed it into the Thunder Dragon's back, into the space between the wings. Suvica roared, but continued to flap his wings harder and faster, making it near-impossible to breathe at the speed was he was flying at.

The moment Link pulled his Kokiri Sword out of the Thunder Dragon's back to plunge it in again, Suvica sharply angled his flight straight up. The two of them gained altitude at a frightful rate, and Link watched as Oron City gradually became nothing more than a speck in the faraway distance. The world began to curve from their vertical climb, and at last, Suvica released his hold on Link, but didn't let him fall just yet. The Thunder Dragon wrapped his tail around Link's left foot, spun him in two nauseating circles, and then launched him higher towards the heavens. Link's head felt light as the air thinned and his body was crushed against a thick blanket of pressure.

For three seconds, and at the peak of his ascension, Link floated. He was motionless in the heavens, looking down at Hyrule, at the earth, with a Goddess's point of view. The land was nothing but an indistinguishable plot of green, where details were lost to distance. It was gorgeous, a sight so rare he forgot about everything else that mattered.

Then he began to fall. Wind and gravity pulled his body downward as he plummeted, starting the countdown to his crash landing and death. He didn't know how far away the earth was, but had plenty of time to search for a method of survival. He kept a firm handle on his sword and shield, stretching out his arms and laying face down on a layer of air to prolong his impending demise. Oddly enough, rather than fret about his seemingly-unavoidable death, Link felt more obliged to enjoy every last second of freefall he had.

From the corner of his wind-swept eyes, he spotted a blotch of black rapidly soaring towards him from the left, becoming larger as it approached him. Link braced his Deku Shield against his chest and turned his body on its side to take in the impact of Suvica's flying right punch. The shattering attack sent Link falling in a diagonal slant towards the earth.

Link kept his eyes targeted on Suvica's flying figure, turning his back to the ground and ignoring the expanding mass of land that would be his doom. Suvica flew directly above him before folding his wings and shooting towards him as a spike of black death. The Thunder Dragon's left fist smashed into Link's shield, pushing him downward and accelerating his fall. Link forced himself to think past the pounding sensation fogging his mind, calmly slashing his Kokiri Sword across Suvica's chest when the Thunder Dragon closed in on him, letting flecks of blood rain down on Oron City.

Suvica broke off, kicking Link's Deku Shield and executing a flying backwards summersault before bending his flight path back towards him. This time, Suvica extended his open right hand, ready to tear Link's throat out. He took a casual peek over his shoulder, estimating the earth was seconds away from embracing him, forever. Betting everything on this last attack, Link spread out his arms and legs and allowed Suvica's hand to close around his neck. The crushing vice grip nearly sent Link's spiraling consciousness towards the earth sooner than his body, but he endured. Seizing this last opportunity, Link buried his Kokiri Sword into Suvica's back. The Thunder Dragon grinded his teeth together to carve a deep rooted scowl on his face; he let go of Link's throat, expecting him fall the rest of the way to ground.

He failed; Link held on tight to his Kokiri Sword lodged in Suvica's back. With excellent handling, he steered himself over Suvica's flying body and landed on his back. The Thunder Dragon roared in outrage, letting a lightning bolt color the sky in front of them. He barrel-rolled in tight circles to throw Link off, but both Link and his Kokiri Sword remained fixed to Suvica's back.

Oron City was widening below them, so Link had to act fast. He wrapped his legs around Suvica's waist and yanking his Kokiri Sword from the Thunder Dragon's flesh. With his glistening blade, Link slashed apart the leathery membrane of Suvica's black wings, turning them into bloody ribbons so the two dropped towards the city. Not keen on crashing a dragon, who looked exactly like him, into some poor chap's shop, Link thrust his Kokiri Sword into the base of Suvica's tail and took control of the Thunder Dragon's steering rig. Wildly navigating Suvica's descending flight path by twisting his sword deeper into the Thunder Dragon's tail to control its motion, Link redirected them both to the top of the Chimney Tower.

They crashed with a bone-snapping force.

Layers of wooden flooring was upturned and tossed into the air as Suvica crashed into the floor of the Thunder Dragon's base; Link was mercifully padded by Suvica's body and managed to fall off the Thunder Dragon's back with slightly less damage. He fell face flat on the floor and remained still for a few seconds, the warm wood feeling far too comfortable beneath his awkwardly bent body. Then he gathered himself together and staggered to his feet, putting a few more steps between him and the wooden crater where Suvica was buried. His felt like Gohma had repeatedly sat on him, but was immensely pleased with the knowledge that Suvica would be worse off. Link caught the flabbergasted faces of the Thunder Wing members crowding around the farthest edges of their hideout.

Navi swooped in on him, shrilling in his face. "Link! By my master's name, you scared the second life out of me! First Gohma, and then a dragon? Please tell me you're not making it a habit to engage in death-fights with mythical monsters!"

Link suppressed a chuckle, knowing how badly it would hurt. "I do my best."

"Forest … BOY!" Suvica tore his way out of the self-made basin, tripping on upturned pieces of wood and spitting splinters out of his mouth. Both his wings were tattered, and his left was bent in the wrong direction. His tail was bleeding from the spot where Link had stabbed it, and the whole front of his body and clothes was ragged and torn in too many places to describe.

"You won't … _pant_ … stand down?" Link asked, cautiously placing some weight on his right foot. From the flare of pain that followed, Link guessed that his foot was facing a direction that wasn't meant to be; he tried not to look at it.

"I … _cough_ …NEVER lose!" Suvica howled, spattering out globs of blood, spit, and wood chips. He shuffled towards Link inch by inch, withdrawing his wings and tail into his body one agonizing crack at a time until he appeared fully human once more. "I'm … the strongest! No one can beat me, NO ONE! I kill you! I'll kill you right now!" Suvica drew his head back, expanded his ragged torso, and took in a deep breath crackling with electricity.

Link's gut jump as it alerted him to the pending danger. He leapt forward with his left foot alone, leaning back and connecting the same foot into Suvica's open jaw. The Thunder Dragon's mouth was slammed closed the same moment he released his dragon lightning, producing a miniature explosion in his throat. His cheeks puffed outward like balloons while Link landed hard on his back, aggravating all his wounds.

Suvica hack, coughed, and wheezed, grasping at his throat while plumes of dark smoke streamed from his mouth and nose. "Forest… _cough, hack, sputter_ …Boy! I'll …_ hack_ … kill …_ cough_ … you!" Link held back a yelp as he used both his feet to stand back up, hobbling off his right foot once he did.

"Surrender?" Link asked nicely.

"Never … _cough!_" Suvica exhaled the largest cloud of smoke yet. "Never! I'll never lose! Not to anyone!"

Before they could start tearing at each other's throats, a group of Thunder Wings gathered near the hidden entrance yelped. Both Link and Suvica took their eyes off each other to see Pablo, shaken and rattled from having his Pawn Shop destroyed, appear from the trapdoor.

"Look at this here! I was going to slaughter all you brats to expel my justifiable anger, but I think I might've changed my mind!" Pablo squealed, scurrying up the steps and standing within the Thunder Wings hideout. He swaggered to the edge so that the city was in full view and held out his arms, as if to embrace all of Oron City.

"The hell do you want?" Suvica spat.

"I'm here to kill you, oh mighty Suvica!" Pablo laughed, his back still turned to both Link and Suvica. "I'll kill you and make myself the leader of the Thunder Wings! That way, this place will belong to me, the fabulous Pablo!" Link saw the familiar gold scepter stashed beneath Pablo's jewel encrusted belt. Then he turned around and brandished his golden weapon, and his face drained at the sight of Link and Suvica together.

"Problem?" Link asked.

"What … in the Goddess's name … is this?" He pointed his scepter at Link, then at Suvica, and back to Link. "Twins? Can't be … no, this doesn't make any sense! Why the hell do you look the same? Are you Suvica?" Pablo pointed at Link. "Or are you Suvica?" Then he pointed at Suvica. "Or are you both Suvica? Argh! What the hell!"

"Leave this instant, Pablo! You've no place here!" June openly declared, approaching the club-wielding adult so she was between them and Pablo.

That was when Pablo noticed how badly Link and Suvica were wounded, and a murderous grin slithered onto his face. "A family feud, boys? Heck! If the two of you wanted to die, you should've come to me first! I'm always happy to oblige!" Pablo shoved June aside and danced towards them, his gold club raised above his gleeful sneer.

Beneath his surface pain, Link felt a spark of infinite irritation and Suvica mirrored his fuming frustration.

"GET OUT OF OUR WAY!" the two of them screamed. Link drove his Kokiri Sword into Pablo's stomach with all his weight behind the stab. Suvica flew towards Pablo with an inhuman jump and bashed his right fist across the Pawn Shop owner's face, nearly twisted Pablo's head in a complete circle. The near-death Pawn Shop owner was flung to the rim of the hideout, where his body crashed against the fencing and tilted insecurely over the edge.

No one bothered to help him. Many laughed.

"How can an adult be such a pain?" Link groaned, seriously annoyed with Pablo's untimely appearance.

"Damned human," Suvica agreed, jerking his head in a nod.

Then, with a startled response, the two of them noticed they were only inches apart from each other. Suvica recovered from his surprise first, roaring in victory as he took another great swallow of air and tried to blast Link with a bolt of lightning.

All that emerged was a patch of smog.

"Sucks for you!" Link laughed, desperately taking hold of this once in a lifetime opportunity. He dropped his sword and shield and shoved Suvica's shoulder so that the Thunder-less Dragon spun around with his back facing Link. He bent down, wrapped both his arms around Suvica's waist, and lifted. Taxing his lingering strength to the limit, Link hauled Suvica off his feet and jumped, bending backwards in mid-jump and arching Suvica overhead, slamming the Thunder-less Dragon headfirst into the creaking oak flooring with a perfectly executed suplex.

Gasping for air, Link pushed himself back onto his left foot, shuffling away to observe his actions. Suvica was buried waist-up into the floor, with only his legs and feet left to dangle towards the sky.

It was over.

Link had won

Knowing the folly yet divulging himself in the glory anyways, Link used the last of his air to scream in celebration of his victory with a raw-throated howl that lasted until the last vestiges of oxygen left his lungs. When he was finished, the last of his strength left him and he collapsed onto his back. Navi was at his side in moments, pestering him to know if he was alright.

The Thunder Wings had watched their leader, whom they all believed to be undefeatable, suffer a loss before their very eyes. For the following eight seconds, none of them dared to move. Each individual twitch they made redefined the loss before them, something none of them wanted to believe.

June was the first to come to terms with what happened, scrambling towards Suvica and grabbing one of his legs. "What are you idiots waiting for? Help me!" Her words were the last redefining hammer that smashed their crumbling reality, and the Thunder Wings all scrambled forward at once with panicked words and frightened gestures. Some went to aid June in recovering Suvica while others surrounded Link and Navi with hard glares.

. "Holy waffles! Holy waffles! Suvi lost! Suvi actually lost!"

"There's no way that's possible! Suv's a dragon! A dang dragon!"

"Oh my, oh my, oh my, oh my! Do we need a doctor? Is Suvi alright?"

"Shut up a minute! Let's get Suv out first!"

"It was him! He did this to Suv!"

"You're right! He's strong, but he's also wiped out!"

"We can totally, like, kick his butt now!"

"Yeah! Let's get him for beating up Suvi!"

"Teach him what it means to mess with the Thunder Wings!"

Link didn't like where the situation was heading. The Thunder Wings closed in around him, leering at him with disgust, hate, and a bit of fear.

"Get back!" Navi shouted, whizzing into faces and battering back the Thunder Wings who got too close with small fairy-tackles. "Stay away from Link, or I'll show you what a fairy can really do!" One of the Thunder Wings swatted Navi like a fly, and she thumped to a rolling stop next to Link; if he had an ounce of strength left, he would've killed that fairy-assaulting brat right then and there. As he was now, all he could do was glare.

"Let's teach this punk a lesson!"

"DON'T TOUCH HIM, YOU DAMNED IDIOTS!" Suvica rage-filled orders froze all the Thunder Wings, as if they'd been shocked by his lightning. Link lifted his head an inch to see Suvica was on his feet and was receiving the sorrowing concerns of his Thunder Wings as he approached.

"B-But Suv! He hurt you! He has to be punished!" The Thunder Wing speaking glared at Link as he grabbed Pablo's fallen scepter. "This is for the honor of the Thunder Wings!" He swung the golden club at Link's skull.

Suvica's right fist punched the boy across the face before the scepter came close (Link could tell Suvica held back a lot). Everyone gasped as the kid dropped the scepter and hit the ground with a swelling face. The struck boy looked up with betrayed eyes. Suvica picked up the golden club and broke it in half with his hands, lobbing the pieces over his shoulders.

"Don't SCREW with me, Jack! Don't even TRY to bring up your human crap about honor!" Suvica howled, glaring down at anyone who dared defy him. Tired, Link let his head _thump_ against the floorboards, allowing his ears do the listening and his eyes do the sleeping after asking Navi if she was alright. His fairy partner said she was.

"Suv! W-What was that for? This kid deserves it! He beat you up! All of us know how much you hate losing!"

"YEAH!" Suvica screamed so loudly Link felt his eardrums vibrate. "I hate losing! I hate it more than weaklings, more than starving, and WAY more than dying! I have pride in being the strongest, but I LOST! That's the damn truth! I hate this so much I want to burn this disgusting city to the ground!" Link felt the wooden panels beneath his body tremble as everyone shuddered. "But now you IDIOTS want to break my pride even more by beating up the one who beat me when he can't fight back? I HATE ARROGANT HUMANS LIKE YOU! What are you trying to prove, HUH? That you're better than me by beating the one who beat me? That you're tough? That you're strong by picking on those who can't fight back? HUH? HURRY UP AND TELL ME, JACK!"

The scolded boy, Jack, stuttered, "N-N-N-N-N-No! I'd n-n-n-n-never!"

"Then suck it up! It's not like it was your ass that got handed to you! I lost! I was beat! There's no changing that! He was stronger than me! I'll admit to that! But your damn smucking around DOESN'T HELP AT ALL! DON'T GET SO COCKY WITH ME, HUMAN!" Properly reprimanded, Jack weakly whimpered and skulked behind the other Thunder Wings. Suvica walked to and glared down at Link. "You're good, Link. I'll give you that." He heard Suvica shuffle around some of the belongings of the Thunder Wings. "Here, drink this." A bottle was tossed onto Link's chest, which he caught before it bounced off and rolled away. There was a collective of gasps as he observed the red liquid inside.

"Suvi! You can't be serious!" June cried, stepping past Link to confront Suvica. "You're giving Link one of our Red Potions?"

"Yeah, I am! Hurry up and drink it, Forest Boy!" Suvica ordered. He was also holding a bottle containing a similar liquid, which he uncorked and readily consumed the contents of in two long draughts. His healing accelerated, entering the realm of impossibility as severe cuts and gashes closed up and purple bruises faded into shades of light pink. Suvica opened his mouth and tested his lightning once more; sparks flew, and he looked satisfied. "It's a Red Potion, rare and hard to come by. Drink it and you'll feel better in no time."

Link briefly wondered if his bottle contained poison instead of medicine; the thought was easily discarded after hearing Suvica's impressive lecture. He bit off the cork with his teeth, spilling a few drops onto his tunic, but poured the rest down his throat. As the Red Potion settled in his stomach, his body heated up. The temperature fixated itself at a comfortable degree as his bruises faded and disappeared. His broken right foot, on the other hand, snapped back into place, luring out a hiss from between his clenched teeth. After a few more seconds, Link got back up; few bruises remained, causing minor discomfort, but that was all

"Thanks, Suvica," Link said, tossing the empty bottle back to the Thunder Dragon. He then gently scooped Navi up and protectively placed her back inside his hood. Suvica caught the empty bottle with one hand and shattered it into pieces in his fingers.

"I don't want your thanks. I only need you in working condition so you can protect yourself from these stupid humans," Suvica spat, tossing his own drained bottle at the ground and smashing it beneath his foot.

Link shrugged, glad to be whole one way or the other. He walked over to the Thunder Wing member holding the bottled Fountain Fairy and plucked it from her trembling fingers. With a refreshing _pop_, he yanked out the cork and set the Fountain Fairy free.

"_Oh! Oh! Oh!_" the Fountain Fairy chirped, darting out of the bottle and zooming through the skies with undeniable happiness. "_I'm free! Finally, I can feel the wind beneath my wings!_" The Fountain Fairy zoomed back to Link, fondly rubbing his cheek with hers. "_I'm eternally grateful for your help, child! You fought for my sake and freedom, and I shall never forget this debt of gratitude!_"

"You're welcome. I'm glad I was able to help you."

"He speaks fairy?" a Thunder Wing behind Link muttered.

"_Oh! You can understand my words!_" The Fountain Fairy exclaimed joyously. "_Are you, by any chance, a child of the Lost Woods, a Kokiri of the Great Deku Tree?_"

Again, Link felt a little troubled with the secrets, seeing how he wasn't truly a Kokiri. Nonetheless, he replied: "Yes, I am."

"_How wonderful! I never knew a Kokiri child could cross the sacred boundaries of the Lost Woods! No matter! Tell me, young Kokiri, how fares the Great Deku Tree?_"

Prior sorrow and regret filled Link's chest, darkening his recent victory. "He died, two weeks ago."

The Fountain Fairy, abashed, stopped nuzzling herself against him, letting a mournful toll come from her minuscule mouth. "_I'm so sorry to hear that. Then it pains me greatly to selfishly ask this of you during your time of mourning, but I have a request. I was kidnapped from my fountain in Hyrule Castle and brought to this noisy city, where that cruel child who resembles you captured me. If you would be so kind, can you return me to my sisters, to my Fairy Fountain, at Hyrule Castle? I would be ever so grateful._"

"It would be my pleasure," Link assured the Fountain Fairy. Hyrule Castle was his destination, aligning her objective with his own, so it worked out well. Regardless, even if this Fountain Fairy lived on the opposite side of Hyrule, away from Hyrule Castle, Link would still find the time to deliver her to her sisters.

The Fountain Fairy jingled in joy. "_Thank you young Kokiri! The Great Deku Tree has taught you well! My name is Pinky, and I'm very pleased to meet you._"

"I'm Link of the Kokiri Village," Link returned. With Navi's grudging permission, Pinky the Fountain Fairy fit herself inside his green hood, crowding up the extra and remaining space. Link hoped his hood wasn't became a fairy resort.

"Forest Boy!" Suvica barked. "Tell me something. Did you fight me for fun, or for the pink imp's sake?"

Link was still rather put off by Suvica's cruelty towards fairy life, so he kept it sort: "Both."

"You didn't do it for the reward?"

"Reward?"

"Yeah. Being a kid from the Lost Woods, you must've heard the legends and rumors. Help a fairy, and they'll bless you with all sorts of nice stuff, like eternal life, endless riches, so on and so forth, that kind of gibberish. I'll let you know right now you can help thousands of fairies if you're feeling like a wishful saint, but they'll never help you in return. I've seen hundreds of humans track down fairies, place them in harmful situations, and then bust in like the fake hero they are to save the fairies for these mythical rewards. Meh, the only reward they got was a '_Thank You_' and '_Goodbye'_."

Link actually hadn't known about that; the Great Deku Tree never gave mention to it before. "What's your point?"

"My point is if you helped that pink midget because you're hoping for some legendary and magical reward, give it up. The only thing you're going to get is a '_Thank You'_, and you'll never see that oversized firefly again. You might as well sell it for a reward instead." Inside Link's hood, Pinky shuddered at the mention of "sell it," but Navi was there to calm the Fountain Fairy down.

"Then let me inform you, Suvica. I didn't free Pinky the Fountain Fairy because I'm looking for a reward, I freed her because it was the right thing to do. I never knew about any reward and I still don't care. I rescued Pinky to make sure she didn't come to harm. That's all."

Suvica blinked twice. "Seriously? That's it? You helped that pink midget because you're a fairy hugger? You fought a dragon because your hobby is kissing fairy ass?"

Link frowned as he picked up his discarded Kokiri Sword and Deku Shield, fighting down the growing urge re-engage in battle with the foulmouthed Thunder Dragon. "Yeah, that's it."

Unexpectedly, Suvica began hollering, binding his sides with his arms as his breathing grew ragged with overused laughter. Link, unable to determine what Suvica found so hilarious, waited two minutes for the giggling Thunder Dragon to explain himself. "Ah …_ha ha_ …I get it. You're a nice guy. You love being a '_real'_ hero, fighting the impossible for the sake of others while getting a thrill out of the battles along the way, right? Always spouting stinking heaps of nonsense about justice and whatnot, right?" Link opened his mouth to deny this (he hardly felt like a "Nice-Guy"), but Suvica cut him off. "Admit it! The proof is right there, in that sock on your head! You fought for that pink midget for no other reason than to save it, and that makes you a Mr. Nice Guy! HA!"

"Something wrong with that?" Link sighed, realizing it would be futile to try and argue with the stubborn dragon.

"Nothing at all! I love guys like you!" The Thunder Dragon exclaimed, gathering disbelieving looks from his own members. "Want to know why?"

Before Link could respond, he was interrupted for a second time, only this time, it wasn't by Suvica or any of his Thunder Wings. It was a voice coming from the city below, amplified by fear and carried across the wind.

"GERUDOS!"

Link had no idea what "Gerudos" were, but the city sure did. For a small instant in time, the boisterous city lapsed into grave-silence. The next, people were screaming in panic, fighting to run away to anywhere but here.

Link looked to the Thunder Wings and knew they were well aware of what a Gerudo was. They fidgeted about like the frightened children they were, arguing with one another about what to do.

"EVERYONE SHUT UP!" Suvica roared, halting all motion in the hideout. "Before you all start stinking up the place by pissing your pants and dumping in your underwear, get to the tunnel below."

"Why?" Sagar moaned. "Can't we stay up here? They'll never find us!"

"Don't be stupid!" June scolded, seeing events unfold two steps ahead of the rest. "What do you think will happen to us if we stay up here and the Gerudos decide burn the city to the ground? The tower will fall, and we'll all die, hidden or not! Suvi won't be able to carry us all out! It'll be safer for us to stay hidden underground. Now move already!" All the Thunder Wings turned to Suvica, requiring a confirmation from their leader.

"The hell are you all looking at? Get going already!" He barked. The base was abandoned in less than a minute, leaving only Link, Navi, Suvica, and June.

"You two coming?" June demanded, with one foot already on the steps leading below. "We can't stay up here forever!"

"Give me a sec, looks like Forest Boy has a question," Suvica noted.

Link nodded. "What are Gerudos? Why's everyone so afraid of them?"

Suvica snickered. "Figures you wouldn't know. You really are from the Lost Woods, seeing how blissfully ignorant you are. Gerudos are female pirates that mess around with the cities and villages of Hyrule. They loot, kill, and do all kinds of fun stuff. They come from the Gerudo Desert, a very hot and large bath of sand and bones. They've got some sort of big shot leader, and they say he's the only male amongst the Gerudos, who all are supposed to be female."

Link's head exploded with reignited hatred. Gerudos. Female pirates. Leader. Only male. _The man from the desert_. There wasn't a shred of mercy or doubt in his mind: The Gerudos worked for the man from the desert. It took Link a good while to fight down his increasing bloodlust, since there were questions that still required asking. "Do Gerudos come to this city often?"

Suvica noticed hints of Link's propagating hate, but answered, "No, they never do. Oron is a boring city that barely ever attracts pirates or thieves, lame as that is. I don't know why they're here, but their arrival is bad news for the city all the same. At least I might get some fun knocking them around."

Link knew exactly why the Gerudos were here. Oron was the closest city to the Kokiri Forest, to the Kokiri Village. The Gerudos were only stopping by to restock before raiding the forest. He couldn't let them do that. His mind wandered to his Kokiri Sword, and he imagined the Gerudos dying at his feet, bleeding from wounds that could never be healed.

But a small piece of rationalization fought against his illogical craving. Killing the Gerudos was what Link wanted, but not what he needed. He had been wondering how he was going to get the man from the desert's attention, to lure him away from the Kokiri Village, and this was his answer. He could attack the Gerudos, leave some alive, and announce his possession of the Kokiri Emerald and victory over Gohma to them. That way, they would sulk back to the man from the desert and inform him of the Kokiri Emerald's new whereabouts.

That was the plan.

"Suvica, I need your help."

* * *

"What happens next, you know as well as I do. Suvica put on a fresh set of clothes, rallied his Thunder Wings, and we fought the Gerudos." Link finished his retelling, enjoying Malon purely excited expression. Talon and Ingo, on the other hand, looked like they were going to be sick they gave Suvica many fearful glances.

"Suvi! Are you really a dragon?" Malon asked, still letting her eyes wander off the road yet somehow keeping the wagon flawlessly aligned with the pathway.

Suvica coughed out a shoddy ring of smoke. "S-Suvi? You called me Suvi? Only the Thunder Wings call me that! You've got no reason to call me Suvi!"

"Aw, but it's so cute!" Malon giggled, making him burn with such a powerful red glow it could've changed his scales from black to red. "So you're really a dragon?"

"Yeah, I'm a dragon. You scared?"

"Nope! I think it's really cool!"

"C-Cool? Volvagia's great name, I'm a damn dragon for crying out loud! I'm one of those large monsters that steps on villages, eats livestock, craps on humans, pisses in lakes, and burns castles to the ground for the fun of it! Why aren't you kicking me off this wagon right now while running away, screaming?"

"But you helped save my dad!" Malon protested, looking hurt at the mere suggestion of abandoning Suvica on the side of the road like an unwanted pet. "You must be a nice dragon, right?"

Suvica mumbled a line too low for Malon to hear, "Nice dragon, smice dragon," and went back to blowing rings of smoke from his mouth and nostrils.

"And Fairy Boy!" Malon turned to Link. "You went flying? That's sound like so much fun! Is the world really round?"

"Sure looked like it," Link laughed, wondering if she forgot about the part where he was falling to his death.

"But dad! You said the world was flat!"

Talon coughed uncomfortably. "O-Of course it's flat! It's flat when you walk on it, but round when you fly over it! See?"

"Not really. So, Suvi! How'd you start the Thunder Wings? I always wanted to know that!" Malon asked, leading the wagon down a slight curve in the road without looking forward once.

"Meh, it's no big deal. I came to Oron a year ago, following a familiar trail, and saw some humans picking on a little brat. They thought kicking around a kid made them tough. Cocky humans. I beat them with just an inch of their lives left and hung them off Oron City's gate naked. Ha! But then the kid I saved turned out to be June, and she started stalking me ever since. She wanted me to '_save all the helpless child of Oron'_ because I was strong. I said no, but she pestered me for for a whole week! Couldn't raise a finger against her!"

"Really?" Link asked, stupefied. "I thought you would've eaten her."

"I only pick on weaklings who have it coming," Suvica scowled. "Everyone else is a waste of time. In the end, I had nothing better to do and thought it could be a good way to waste time, so I formed the Thunder Wings. I recruited the city's midgets and gave them food and clothes so my manual labor wouldn't die on me. That's all."

"You started the Thunder Wings for fun?" Malon pouted; perhaps she'd been hoping for a more dramatic reason, Link couldn't tell. "But now you're coming with us. Why? Won't your Thunder Wings be lost without you?" Link was also interested in hearing Suvica's reasoning for joining them. After recruiting Suvica to help him face the Gerudo, the Thunder Dragon asked what Link was planning to do. When he told Suvica he was going to kill the man from the desert, Suvica said he was tagging along.

"I'm following him," Suvica replied, jerking his chin at Link. "I like nice guys like Forest Boy here. As for the Thunder Wings, I left June in charge. She dumped the responsibility of being a leader on me, so I dumped it all back onto her. She's got a good head, so and as long as she doesn't stick it where it doesn't belong, the Thunder Wings will live."

June. As the name slipped into Link's ears, he recalled the hurt expression she made when Suvica said he was leaving and wondered if that was the face Saria made when he left the Kokiri Village. However, it was June's seething glare of blame she shackled to Link that stuck in his mind the most.

"So where are we heading now?" Link asked, trying to shake the image of June's tearful eyes from his mind.

"To Lon Lon Ranch!" Malon cheered, facing forward and giving the four horses a small urge; they eagerly complied with a faster gallop. "And then from there, Hyrule Castle!"

* * *

EDIT: I've reread this chapter and made the necessary spelling and grammar corrections. In addition to that, I've changed the fight between Link and Suvica a bit and added a bit of information about Suvica at the end. I've also changed a few of his previous lines to better fit his character. There may still be errors in the chapter, but I will find them all eventually. Thank you.

EDIT: My deepest apologiest for making this chapter so ridiculously long. (7/4/12)


	7. Chapter 7, Pancakes in the Market

**Chapter 7**

**Pancakes in the Market**

Suvica flew out of bed as a paranormal screech wormed its way into his head. The awful racket bordered the line between the sound of a dying Wallmaster and the sharting groans of a constipated Like Like; believe it, since Suvica had heard, killed, ate, and smelled his fair share of Hylian monsters when he was still a dragon (Like Likes tasted as bad as they smelled).

His head burned like his old-dragon-pops had breathed fire into it. His tongue tasted of raw vinegar and his annoying human body felt like a ton bricks. All in all, Suvica really didn't feel like getting out of bed. There were only a few instances in his past when he felt this bad. The first was when his pops accidentally took a dump on him when he was a year old. The second was after the witch used her accursed magic to trap his grand dragon form inside a human's meek shell of flesh. The third happened after he drank his way through fifty barrels of mead and ale the night before.

_Mead and ale?_ Suvica wondered, pulling a blanket over his head. It reminded him of something, yet he couldn't recall what. The previous night was all blur, and Suvica had no desire to remember. If his brain was too stupid to recall what happened, why bother trying? Actually, he couldn't even tell where he was or how he'd gotten there. In his flounder of displeasure, Suvica squeezed his thin eyelids shut as he tried to get some more sleep.

The droning groan of a farting Like Like continued to persist, jabbing needles in his ears and bringing about a more bothersome headache. That was it; he was going to rip apart and eat the source of the hullabaloo for breakfast and then go back to sleep. He gingerly sat up and opened his eyes, always sighing at the odd colors humans saw with their terrible eyesight.

He was inside a small room with a single window, two beds, and a bunch more other human belongings he couldn't bring himself to care about. He took a deep inhale of air with his nostrils, thankful that his sharp dragon scent had returned; smelling the world with a human's snot-clogged nostrils was bad enough.

Strawberries. Oddly enough, the bed Suvica sat on had a fragrance of strawberries. The aroma prodded at his lumbering brain, but when the memory failed to present itself, he cast aside his attempts to retrieve it. He lumbered out of bed, rolled his body across the rug-covered floor, and stood up once he was at the window.

He pushed open the glass paned window and hung his head outside to sniff in the morning air. He detected plenty of livestock, an abundance of droppings, whiffs of hay, and gallons of mead. Now he remembered where he was: Lon Lon Ranch. The noisy squeals of a perishing Wallmaster intensified, so he steered his heavy eyes downward at the source; he grimaced.

It was Link the Forest Boy, trying to play a small pink instrument called an ocarina and failing miserably. Suvica bet he could play a better tune by passing gas. Forest Boy was squatting with his back against a human building opposite from the one Suvica was in. From the smell of it, he could tell it was a barn. Malon sat next to Forest Boy in a futile effort to teach him how to play properly. She, at least, seemed undisturbed by the terrible noise Forest Boy was producing. His fairies, Blue Imp and Pink Fuzzy, were wrapping themselves in Malon's lush long red hair, trembling as Link's butt-wiping song slowly but surely killed them. There was also a cheery-red baby horse at their feet, snickering uncomfortably to Link's reaper tune.

Link was definitely an interesting human. He claimed to be from the Lost Woods, yet his body odor was unmistakably human (or maybe they all smelled the same, who cares). Suvica didn't dig into it; Forest Boy had his own circumstances, human problems he cared nothing for. He said he enjoyed Link's "nice guy" act back at Oron City, and that was no lie. Suvica absolutely loved those righteous-type humans, always spewing "justice" from their rears and pissing "righteous causes" onto everything they touched. He loved them because they were outright hilarious once they broke, once they realized how fragile their "justice" was beneath cruel heel of human nature. That was why Suvica was traveling with Link, because he wanted to be there when Forest Boy's moral broke beneath the weight of the world. He grinned as he fantasized about that day, the day he would kill Forest Boy the moment he hit rock bottom.

Malon was … different. He couldn't place a claw on it, yet there was something about her that deeply intrigued him. She was unlike any human he'd ever met. At first glance, she was spirited to the point of naivety, yet on the inside, she protected her heart in steel so hard Suvica doubted any traumatic affair could dent it. She saw the best and worst in people, reading them like predictable prey. Her kindness and desire to help others, despite the costs to herself, made her an object of fascination to Suvica. He'd never met a human much like her. Every time Malon visited Oron with her boulder-round old man and slug-stinking helper, he found himself staring at her, observing her every move. June called him a stalker whenever he did.

"Stop, Fairy Boy, stop!" Malon pleaded, snatching Link's ocarina from his fingers and bringing relief to all listeners. "You didn't listen to a word I said, did you? You need to play with your heart! Your feelings! Don't force the music, guide it!"

"What does that mean?" Link demanded. Suvica could taste his exasperation; it tickled his tongue. "Don't you have some sort of scroll or manual, any advice that actually makes since?"

"Why don't you give up playing all together?" Blue Imp requested, poking out of Malon's apple-red hair. "I'm sure Hyrule will be spared if you did."

Suvica leaned against the window, cringing as Link's new fairy, Pinky Fuzzy, started making jingling sounds that gave him the mysterious impulse to punch a human baby.

Link, at least, could understand Pink Fuzzy's nonsense. "You too, Pinky?"

Pinky Fuzzy tinkled some more.

"I'm not that terrible!" He protested, something Suvica whole-hearted denied. "I'm getting better aren't I?" That statement actually made Suvica cringe; if this was Link's improved performance, he didn't even want to dream about how bad his music sounded when he started. "Look! I played Epona's Song well enough! Epona likes me too now!"

Link held out his hand to the young horse at his feet, and the pony nuzzled his hand affectionately. Suvica couldn't understand human attraction to animals; everything was basically food to him. Now that he checked, the young horse looked awfully tasty.

"Sorry Fairy Boy, but I'm really tempted to call your one time performance a miracle. Here! I'll show you how you play with your heart!" Malon announced, standing straight and gulping down small bits of air. "Listen and listen well!"

She sang, and Suvica was instantly captivated. As a dragon, he used to scorn and make fun of musical and all other human works of art. Music was nothing more than a fancy way to get someone's attention without talking, and art was a human's past time when they had nothing better to do other than eat and sleep. Malon's singing was different from all other meaningless clatters humans produced. Her voice was pure and strong, emoting boundless compassion that almost touched Suvica's black hearts. Each completed verse made him yearn to hear more, and when Malon finished, he physically fought to stop himself from demanding an encore.

Suvica grinded his knuckles into his head: What was wrong with him? Why was this little human influencing him so much? He never used to act this way, before _and_ after he was forced to become a human. It had to be the witch's fault. She must've done something to his brain. It explained why he was feeling disgustingly human. The next time he met that witch, he'd torture her to the brink of death, make her release the curse on his body, and then eat her before vomiting up her corpse into Death Mountain.

Link and his fairy pets gave Malon a round of applause.

"See!" she said proudly, dancing on the tips of her toes; Suvica watched every swish of her hair and white dress. "Just like that! Play like that, and you'll be as good as me!"

Blue Imp giggled, mischievously bouncing on the top of Link's head. "I think this young man needs at least a few years of intense training before he becomes that good."

Pink Fuzzy added a remark, reviving Suvica's desire to punch babies. These things Link called Fountain Fairies were plain weird; what sort of creature produced a sound that made someone want to hit human babies?

Link was still complaining. "You make it sound so easy! Are you sure there isn't a manual titled '_How to Sing with Your Heart_'?"

Malon's giggle played its way into Suvica's head. "Of course not, silly! If there was, everyone in Hyrule would be an amazing musician! Here, I'll give you a hint! Fairy Boy, who do you think about when you play?"

Link paused, and Suvica was equally confused. "No one, really. I'm mostly concentrating on my fingers and my Fairy Ocarina." He replied, retaking his instrument.

"That's why you're making bad progress!" Malon chided, wiggling a finger in front of his eyes. "I know concentrating on the song you're playing is important, but who you're playing for is just as vital!" Another one of those confusing human psycho questions that played with the mind; Suvica groaned.

"Who I'm playing for?" Link repeated, taking Malon seriously.

"Yep! Thinking of someone super important to you, and play for that person! Play for that person with all your heart, and you'll get better! By the way, it's okay to think of me when you play!" Malon teased. Suvica felt an uncomfortable squeeze in his chest, which mysteriously eased away when Link said it wasn't necessary.

Suvica plugged his ears with his fingers in preparation for Link's next concert of the damned; but unplugged them after him continued to stare at the pink ocarina in his hands. Heck, if Link didn't want to play anymore, it only meant the world was spared.

"Who are you thinking about?" Malon asked, leaning against Link's shoulder.

"A friend, someone I left behind," he said so quietly Suvica had to strain his annoying human ears to hear him. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"I know," Malon nodded. "But I'll be here when you want to." The strange fist in Suvica's chest reemerged as Malon talked buddy-buddy with Link; he didn't know why, but it was annoying him. "So, Fairy Boy, how do you like Hyrule so far?"

Link chuckled, putting his ocarina away. "I don't know. First city I find, and I'm fighting evil store owners, Thunder Dragons, and fending off Gerudos. Can't say it's been all too pleasant."

"Don't worry, I'll help change all that!" Malon giggled, dancing back to her feet. "Say, what do you do for fun?"

"He fights giant monsters for fun," Blue Imp sighed.

"Really?"

"No! Of course not!" Link denied, laying flat on the ground so he stared into the morning sky. "Fighting Gohma had to be one of the worst moments of my life. How can you say I had fun?"

"Gohma? What's a Gohma?"

"A big monster," he replied, making wide gestures with his hands. "I managed to kill it, but not without consequences. You don't want to know about it."

Suvica was mildly impressed. He heard short stories about the few Gohma Queens cropping up throughout history and knew enough about them to know they were a pain to kill. If Link really did kill a Gohma all on his own, then that made Suvica's defeat a little (just a little) less sour.

"And what about Suvica?" Blue Imp asked, causing Suvica's ears to perk up at the mention of his name. "He beat you black and blue and then flew you so high you saw the curvature of the earth, but you still smiled like you were having the time of your life. How was that fun?"

This time, Link mulled over the question for a while. "I don't really know, but when I fought with him, I couldn't help but feel excited, like … like he was a challenge I couldn't refuse turning down."

Pink Fuzzy made more jingling noises.

"Of course I still fought him for your sake," Link assured the glowing midget, "I just had fun pushing myself while I did."

So Link was a Nice-Guy and a battle junkie? Suvica was learning more and more every day. Still, Link's fierce desire for victory would make taking him down in the future that much harder, yet so much sweeter.

"Do you like doing anything else besides fighting big monsters?" Malon asked.

"Of course! I like adventuring, tasty food, learning new things, games, challenges, and teasing Navi! There's nothing wrong with that!" Link exclaimed

"It's wrong if you challenge yourself by picking a fight with a dragon," Blue Imp mumbled. "Speaking of which, we going to talk about that?"

"About what?"

"About Suvica! Are we really going to let him come with us? He's a dragon, for crying out loud! He's part of a vicious race that loves chaos, death, and destruction! Wouldn't it have been better if we left him back at Oron?"

"We're in a strange new world," Link said with an odd level of mirth. "Having friends can't hurt, you said so yourself. Besides, having a dragon watch our backs is kind of comforting."

Blue Imp fell into hysterics. "Ugh! Why do you keep using my exact words while twisting their actual meaning? Link, I don't know if you remember, but Suvica's the monster that tried to kill you! Aren't you afraid he'll rip your heart out when your back is turned?"  
"Not really. Sure, we fought with our lives on the line at first, but that was yesterday. Today's different. If Suvica wanted to kill me that badly, he would've done it back at Oron, when I was a crippled mess. Now he's following us, and I think he's waiting for the right opportunity, the right moment, to strike. Until then, I'm sure he's got our backs." Link's uncanny precision to put a finger on Suvica's ulterior motives was slightly irritating, but he was right; until Forest Boy hit rock bottom, Suvica was going to make damn sure he kept his prey fresh and alive.

"But it's a real pity you came to Oron City on such a bad day," Malon pouted. "The city is normally a nice and peaceful place, most of the time. Oron has never had a Gerudo attack before. Say, Fairy Boy! What was it like for you, visiting Oron after leaving the Lost Woods?"

"It was weird. When Navi and I first saw Oron from a distance, I thought it was a giant stone monster. If she hadn't told me otherwise, I would've run into Oron with my sword drawn and ready for battle. But really, things only got stranger when I step into the city. Seeing all those giants, those adults, made me feeling incredibly small. And the trees! When I couldn't find a single tree in all of Oron, I was about to pass out. Oron City is just too different from the Kokiri Village. I suppose it was a nice place for a while, but I prefer the Kokiri Village."

"Oh! Tell me more about the Kokiri Village! Dad's still passed out, so we've got time! Tell me about—!"

Suvica was immediately bored once Link and Malon fell into idle chatter, so he slumped away from the window and kicked open the door in the cramped room. He trudged down the stairs that followed, entering a living room with oak floors, one table, a stove fire in the corner, and many other human belongings. What really caught his attention was the cloudy reek of stale beer fogging the air, along with the fatty unconscious on the floor, using a mug as a pillow. The drunkard was surrounded by stacks of empty beer-barrels, each with the lingering scent of mead. A herd of Cuccos scavenged the crumbs on the floor, hobbling atop of rolling barrels and bouncing of the fatty's protruding belly. Suvica licked his lips as he drooled; raw Cucco meat was one of his favorite meals as a dragon. The human concept of cooking was ludicrous, a pathetic endeavor which showed how weak they truly were. They couldn't eat anything without burning off some of the most delectable parts of their food with a fire.

Suvica reached the bottom of the stairs and kicked one of the barrels out of the way; he hit it a little too hard, breaking the wooden cask into a storm of splinters. The small explosion of wood chips awoke the drunk in the middle of the room, who turned out to be Malon's old man. Deep inside his brain, Suvica wondered how such a drunk fatty could ever get married, laid, and end up with such a pretty daughter. The answer was simple: Adoption.

"Ah! The mighty drinker awakes!" Malon's old man, Fatty, chuckled.

"The what?"

"Don't tell me you forgot! Well, I don't blame you! You drank and emptied pretty much all these here mugs and barrels!" Fatty laughed, lifting a vacant cup to his lips and looking disappointed to see it was empty.

Fatty's words started luring out Suvica's evasive memories. He could finally recollect the previous night, after they left Oron City and spent the rest of the day heading towards Lon Lon Ranch (the horses of Lon Lon Ranch really were powerful; a normal set of horses would've taken weeks to travel the same distance). Link pulled some food out of his butt (or that weird pouch of his, Suvica couldn't remember which) whenever they got hungry. After the moon showed its ugly face, Suvica passed the time fending off and eating the skeletal undead that appeared from the ground to attack the wagon; it was a seriously boring night. They arrived at Lon Lon Ranch a few hours later, galloping through the front gate and bolting it shut behind them. Everyone celebrated their arrival by breaking out the meat and mead. Suvica remembered drinking his thirty-eighth barrel of the greatest beer he'd ever tasted before losing count. At least he thought it was thirty-eight … thirty-eight came after ninety-one, right?

"I'll be darned, sonny!" Malon's old man snickered beneath his quibbling mustache, hiccupping between words. "You've got a stomach of steel! Where'd all that ale go, in that tiny little body of yours? Nah, better yet! Tell me how you're such a mighty drinker!"

"You humans have weak stomachs, that's all. Besides, I've got four stomachs, so I've got plenty of room to spare." Suvica replied, kicking past the last of the empty barrels until he reached the door leading outside.

"You and your dragon gutlets!" Fatty laughed; he was pretty daring at the moment, considering how scared stiff he'd been in Suvica's presence yesterday. He wondered if he should reignite the meaning of terror inside Fatty, but passed it off as a waste of time.

Before Suvica could open the front door, he couldn't help but ask: "Fatty, are you really Malon's dad?"

Fatty hiccupped. "What do you mean? Why'd you think otherwise?"

"She's pretty and you're ugly, that's way."

He burst out laughing, kicking his chubby legs until he couldn't move anymore. "Ah, I like you kid. You're blunt and honest! I'm always surrounded by asses trying to kiss up to me from a free cup of ale. Nice to hear some honesty!"

"Answer the damn question."

"She's my flesh and blood, no doubt!" Fatty laughed, booming with pride. "She's got her mother's beauty and my … my …? Ah, never mind."

"How'd you manage to get married, looking like that?"

"Looks are deceiving my boy! Come here! Let me show you something!" Fatty flapped his huge arms, beckoning for Suvica to come closer. His curiosity was the only thing compelling him to comply.

"Well, what is it?"

Fatty reached into his sagging overalls and pulled out a picture, waving it in Suvica's face for him to see. Suvica was halfway tempted to burn the handheld portrait to cinders with a spark of lightning, but what he saw clamped his mouth shut. The picture showed a young woman who was an adult version of Malon, with waist-long red hair, deep blue eyes, and an attractive face. She was clothed in a one-piece white dress that came down to her ankles and stood beside a decent looking man. The male was lean, muscular, and was flaunting his head of hair to an invisible breeze.

"Is this Malon's mom?"

"That's right," Fatty nodded. "Looks just like my little angel, doesn't she?"  
Suvica didn't reply, but he did agree. If Malon was going to turn out like this in ten years, he might stick around Lon Lon Ranch. "So who's the guy next to her, Malon's real dad?"

Fatty laughed. "That's right, that's me!"

Suvica almost jumped through the house's walls in surprise. "You're kidding!" He snatched the photo from Fatty and held it up so that he could see the young man in the picture and Fatty side by side; there were virtually no similarities. "If this really is you, what the hell happened? She leave you when you got too fat?"

"She died," Fatty sobbed, his sorrow amplified by his sober state. "My dear Cremia died, five years ago, leaving me and my poor baby Malon alone. After that, I—"

Suvica left, heading straight for the door. He'd seen so many sad drunks he could pretty much predict what they were going to do next. He kicked aside the barrels on the floor and shoved the house door open so he stood in a clean breeze of open air.

He also walked in on the middle of Link and Malon's conversation.

"Suvi's awake!" Malon announced for the world to hear. Hearing her call him "Suvi" released a parasitic Biri in his stomach. His female Thunder Wings called him that ridiculous nickname all the time, yet he never felt this way before. He passed it off as the need to take a leak.

"You're up late," Link noted, pointing at the sun directly overhead.

"I woke up because of the racket," Suvica scowled as he summoned his tail, feeling the base of his back prickle as his dragon limb slipped out between the tears of his ripped vest and shirt. He curled his tail into a bundle beneath his feet, forming a makeshift seat for him to sit on. "I thought humans used the concept of music to bring peace, not pain."

"That's what practice is for," Link frowned.

"Suvi!" Malon called, sitting by her horse Epona while stroking the beast's white mane. "I'm sorry to hear about you getting sealed away in a human body for being a naughty dragon. It must've been terrible, being trapped in a body you're not used to."

Suvica sprang right off his tail, alarmed at Malon's psychically divined knowledge of his predicament. "What! I never told you that! How'd you know about my curse? I demand an answer huma—er—Malon!"

Malon titled her head, giving him a worried look as she scrunched her eyebrows. "You told me, Suvi. Don't you remember?"

His tail went slack. "I told you? When?"

"Wow, being drunk is a really frightening thing," Link said. "Navi, please remind me to never consume alcohol in my life, and if I'm ever tempted to do so, bring up Suvica and use him as a reminder."

"Not a problem," Blue Imp giggled, circling Link's head with her glowing round body and flapping pixie wings. Pink Fuzzy also rang out a tone from her body, and Suvica could tell it was laughter; his desire to punch babies changed into the yearning to rip Link's head off.

"Jokes aside," Link chuckled. "You really did tell us about your situation. It was after your … fifty-seventh barrel of mead when you started singing. Stories came from your mouth like a waterfall. That was when you started yapping about leaving your home, parents, and siblings on Ash Mountain, destroying a few cities and villages, and eventually getting stopped by an adult female who sealed you into a human body four years ago."

Suvica sat back down on his tail, disgruntled that he revealed his greatest moment of shame so freely because of a few barrels of mead. Granted, it was very good mead.

"She must have been super strong," Malon said as she rubbed her horse's sides. "It can't be easy to beat a dragon, can it?"

"She was tough, that's for sure," Suvica scowled. Of all his memories, his defeat at the witch's hand was the strongest. He'd never tell anyone, but his battle against the witch was the most horrible moment of his life. He fought against her with all his might, with every tooth and nail he possessed, with all the lightning at his disposal, and it still wasn't enough. The witch defeated him as if he were a toddler in the palms of her hands, and instead of killing him, she shamed him by cursing him to be a human for the rest of his life.

"Do you know where she is now?" Link asked.

"Why do you want to know?" Suvica snapped, letting the taste of ash powder his tongue. "You want to find and gloat to her about how you defeated me too?"

"Hardly. But if she's the one who turned you into a human, then she's the one who made you look like me. I can't lie to myself and say I'm not bothered by your similarity to me."

"Can't you call it a coincidence and let it drop?" Suvica growled, drumming his fingers against his chin. He tried intimidating Link with a small crackle of electricity, but his efforts only rewarded him with a thick plume of smoke from his nostrils. He cursed; he could still use his lightning if he tried hard enough, but when he didn't, all he got hot air. It was all because Forest Boy smacked his mouth shut the same time he tried to breathe lightning; not even the Red Potion he drank could heal all the damage.

"Throat problems?" Link grinned. Suvica considered bashing in Forest Boy's face for getting cocky. "Then I've got just the thing. Wait here and I'll cook you something that'll heal your throat in considerably less time." He stood up and disappeared inside Malon's home, followed by Blue Imp and Pink Fuzzy.

"I hate human cooking!" Suvica called after Forest Boy slammed the door shut behind him. Disgruntled, and pretty sure his cooking was going to result in a vegetarian's meal (Forest Boy didn't seem to have any meat in his pouch), Suvica withdrew his tail back into his body and starting pacing back and forth upon the shortly cut ranch-grass with increasing agitation.

"Something wrong, Suvi?" Malon asked, standing up and letting her horse trot towards the open field of Lon Lon Ranch to rejoin her livestock brothers and sisters. "You passed out after drinking so much yesterday, so we had to make you sleep in my bed. Sorry if it was uncomfortable."

He jolted. Malon's bed? Strawberries.

Again, Suvica's brain kicked into action, bringing forth another memory. The first thing his recovered dragon scent detected back at Oron was Malon's body aroma of strawberries, the very scent draped in the blanket and bed he woke up in this morning. For a very strange and mysterious reason, Suvica felt his face heat up.

"A-Anyways …" Suvica paused; did he just stutter? Since when did he stutter? "ANYWAYS!" He roared, causing Malon to jump. "I heard you sing. It was pretty good."

"Oh," Malon said shyly, drawing circles with her shoes. "You heard that?"

"Yeah, it wasn't too terrible," Suvica lied, trying to sound like a critical and nonchalant stranger scrutinizing her singing. "It was better than the noise Forest Boy was making, that's for sure."

Malon looked all the more flustered by Suvica's meager praise. "R-Really? Nah, you're being modest. M-My singing isn't that great. Be honest, it was really bad, wasn't it?"

"No! Really! It was awesome!" Suvica hurried to correct himself, wondering if he'd hurt any of her feelings. He felt all the more foolish when Malon dropped the act and smiled.

"See! Now you're being honest with yourself!" Malon giggled. She baited him into a truthful confession, like a fish to a Sinking Lure.

"Crafty little thing," Suvica puffed, but with no malice in his voice. Then he heard Malon's old man, Fatty, start belching a tune from inside the house. "I seriously can't believe you're related to that thing."

"Who?"

"That thing you call your dad," Suvica replied, jabbing a thumb at Malon's home. "Your mom must've had some powerful genes, that's for sure. You certain you're not adopted?"

"Totally!" She laughed, making the corner of Suvica's lips unconsciously rise.

"Your old man showed me a picture of your mom and him when he was a hundred pounds lighter. How'd she die, anyways? Disease? Accident?"

Malon shook her head. "Nope. My mom was murdered." Suvica's joints started creaking to a halt as he waited for the dung heap he stepped in to start stinking; accidents and natural causes were one thing, but murder was a whole different pit hole. Instead, Malon neatly folded away the topic of her mom's passing and asked him, "What about your parents? How are they?"

Suvica sniffed at the air to check if Malon was hiding any negative feelings of remorse or regret: There were none. "I don't know," He slowly responded, amazed at how Malon so-perfectly overcame the death of her mom. Many of his Thunder Wings were bratty kids who'd lost their parents to Gerudos or bandits, always wailing and sobbing about them until the late hours of night. Malon was different. "I must've told you this before I was spewing nonsense like an Earth Dragon high on gunpowder. I ditched my parents, siblings, and my home at Ash Mountain five years ago."

"You don't regret leaving them?" Malon asked, staring deeply into Suvica's eyes. She was doing it again, messing with his head and making his stomach spark like a bad case of indigestion.

"No, I don't!" He snarled, trying to break the humane emotions impeding his normal line of dragon-thought. "If there's one thing I regret, it's running into that witch! She held me at her absolute mercy, but when defeat wasn't enough for her, she took pity on me and trapped me in _this_! She should've killed me! The strong eat the weak! That's how it always is!" Suvica punched his right fist into his left palm, making the air tremble at his wrath.

Malon was undisturbed. "I'm glad she changed you."

Suvica jerked his head at her, utterly perplexed. "Why? You barely know me!"

"Because I like you!" She declared, fissuring the earth beneath his feet. "I like you as much as I like Fairy Boy!" The earth patched itself back up, and Suvica sighed. "You're funny, interesting, and can be really nice when you try! I'm glad you're human now, or else I would never have met you!"

"Nice?" Suvica barked, trying to sound insulted. "Exactly how am I nice?"

"You saved me from Pablo, didn't you?"

Headshot. "T-That doesn't prove anything!" Again, Suvica heard himself stutter, disappointing himself with his humanitarian weakness.

"You formed the Thunder Wings and helped all the homeless children of Oron!" Malon added with a hands-on-hip pout.

"That was for fun! It doesn't mean I'm nice! It means I'm evil and manipulative!"

"You changed, thanks to the lady who turned you into a human!"

At that, Suvica became truly angry. His chest rumbled and his eyes went hazy with bloodlust, spurring him to kill Malon. "What makes you say so, human?" He roared, looming over her as he snarled in anger.

Malon didn't balk or blink, displaying a level of courage Suvica had no choice but to admire. "You said so yourself! The lady who sealed you could've killed you if she wanted to, but instead, she made you human so you could understand!"

"Understand what?" Suvica seethed, backing off a little.

"So you could understand the feelings of the people you hurt," Malon stated as if she were pointing out the obvious. "You talk about breaking villages and cities like it's nothing but a past a time, but lots of people get hurt when you do. I'm sure to a big, strong Thunder Dragon, you don't think much about humans like me. We're nothing but small moving dots when you fly over us and destroy the things that matter to us. The lady who made you human did it so you could understand us better, so that the next time you fly over a city, you won't be so tempted to burn it down."

Suvica snorted, firing sparks from his throat. Every bit of nonsense Malon spouted was absurd and ludicrous, unaffecting him in any manner. The witch was nothing more than a cruel and scheming hag who wanted to see Suvica suffer beneath her heel. She dragged him around like a pet at her side for a whole year after making him human, rubbing her superiority up his nose. Soon afterwards, he ditched the witch so he could terrorize Hyrule once more, even if he had been reduced to a human's form. Leaving the witch's side brought him nothing but good fortune, especially when he recovered portions of his dragon powers in Oron City.

But from the traitorous part of his human mind, Suvica considered Malon's words and was forced to see his past from a different angle. He always believed it was his innate strength and will as a dragon that broke off parts of the witch's seal, but what if that wasn't the case? The witch was insanely strong. It made Suvica consider the witch to be the real monster. With such impossible physical might and magical prowess, the witch could've constructed the seal placed on Suvica to be a thousand times more powerful than it already was, and yet he'd already broken a few chains of his prison. What if Malon was right and the witch turned him into a human so he could better understand these land-loving creatures? In truth, Suvica couldn't deny he was changing, and that brought forth a dreadful alternative in his brain: What if the seal upon his body was breaking due to the changes he was experiencing rather than his inner willpower and fortitude?

He vividly remembered the day he regained his wings and tail, an incident which took place soon after he introduced the Thunder Wings to their new base atop of the Chimney. Matt, the youngest and shortest of the members, and Vela, the oldest and tallest, were having an argument. Matt, the nosy one, and Vela, the reclusive girl, were bickering at one another while June tried pulling the two apart. Instead, Matt and Velta shoved June off the edge of the unfenced hideout. The next thing Suvica remembered was leaping off the tower and diving after the falling human girl without a single scale of consideration for his own safety. His wings and tail burst from his back the next moment and he enjoyed his first flight in the longest of times with June in his arms. He regained the ability to breathe lightning after rescuing Malon from getting scalped by Pablo, and his dragon scent by saving the danger-attracting ranch girl from a rage-blinded Gerudo. It was true; Suvica reclaimed all of his dragon abilities by _helping_ humans, something he would've never considered before.

As soon as Suvica's two-timing brain was done mulling over the impossible, he took these fresh ideas, smashed them apart with a mental fist, and discarded the remains out his ears. Ha! Suvica was breaking the witch's seal by _helping_ humans? As if! Her seal was coming apart because he was too powerful to be contained in the first place! His true revival was only a matter of time!

Suvica laughed out loud, amazed by how efficiently Malon was messing with his head. Next thing he knew, he'd start loving human cooking!

Ha, as if!

* * *

Suvica loved Link's cooking!

The Forest Boy presented to Suvica and Malon a strange, meatless dish several stomach growls later. At first glance, he was disgusted to see that Link's "meal" was nothing more than a flat piece of bread with a thick and sticky substance splattered on the top. The only reason Suvica gave Forest Boy's cooking a tentative chew was because Malon tried a piece and almost started shedding tears in delight. Her overreaction prompted Suvica's hunger, and he snatched a piece of the meal before shoving it down his gullet.

Suvica finished the first plate with one bite, but his stomachs voraciously demanded for more. After that, all his focus and attention was diverted and devoured by the fruity-honey bread, which Link formally titled as a "pancake." He let his primal dragon gluttony take over as he crammed pancake after pancake into his mouth, chewing only once or twice before swallowing. His mouth was savoring a flavor it previously condoned, a texture and taste his tongue couldn't identify yet enjoyed nonetheless. He didn't bother to keep count of the number of pancakes he devoured (what was the point?). After he finished the last pancake he could find, he burped an appreciative belch and leaned back to let his belly rumble in contentment. That tasted better than a barbecued Goron.

The earth bounced beneath him, jerking his head upward and slamming it against the ground. Bewildered, he jolted to his feet, almost falling off the wagon as its oiled-wood wheels struck something on the trail.

"How'd I end up here?" Suvica demanded, swinging his head back and forth to find Lon Lon Ranch, a puncture of land sticking out from the earth's skin, far behind them. All around them were open plains, isolated trees, and the occasional waft of dragon droppings (which wasn't him, so don't start pointing fingers).

"You don't remember, Suvi?" Malon asked. She was sitting against a row of large barrels lined up and occupying the back-half of the wagon. Link was sitting atop one of the barrels (a good punch would send him sprawling off the back of the wagon, so tempting), while Blue Imp and Pink Fuzzy were annoyingly buzzing around his head. Fatty and Fugly (the one called Ingo) were at the front, steering the six horses pulling the massive wagon (far larger than the one they used to leave Oron) forward.

"Remember what?" Suvica growled, not bothering to sit back down.

"It was time to leave, but you insisted on eating more pancakes," Link explained, wearing a smug look that sparked a sudden desire to smash Forest Boy's face in. "Since it would've been troublesome for us to drag you to the wagon, and even more bothersome to leave you behind just to let you catch up with a thunderstorm at your tail, we lured you to the wagon instead."

"It was pretty easy!" Blue Imp snickered, darting from Link and circling Suvica's head; he tried to grab the annoying fairy so he could pluck off its wings, but she evaded his honey slathered fingers. "All we had to do was make a trail of pancakes leading up to this wagon. Ha! You gobbled your way through those pancakes and sat yourself down on this wagon without even realizing what was going on? Totally awesome!" Suvica puffed a ball of smoke into Blue imp, satisfied as the pesky fairy started coughing.

Link waved away Suvica's smoke to liberate Blue Imp from the smog. "You're pretty preoccupied when you eat. Is that just you, or is it a dragon thing?"

It was just Suvica, but he wasn't willing to look foolish (in front of Malon). "It's all dragons. When we start eating, it's all we think about."

"Good," he chuckled.

Suvica pulled back his lips to bare his teeth. "Why is that good?"

"Because it means if the two of us start fighting again, all I have to do is toss a pancake in your face and the battle's over. I never knew taming a dragon was so easy." Suvica scowled, not because Link was insulting him, but because Forest Boy's strategy was actually plausible. Suvica's mom always did say he'd have to fix his bad habit of eating without thinking; perhaps now was a good time to start.

"So where are we headed?" Suvica mumbled, sitting down at the head of the wagon. He immediately retreated (because Stinky Helper Ingo was right behind him), and flung himself to the opposite end of the wagon, landing next to Malon. As a dragon and a human, the worst thing Suvica had ever smelled was the Dead Hand he killed as a baby many years back. That putrid moving corpse was bathing in a lake of rotting flesh left to stew beneath the summer sun for a week. Now Suvica found himself a new Number-One for foul stenches: Fugly. How could a human bear to be so smelly? Suvica didn't dare describe the putrid fumes Fugly was emitting. Not only was Fugly hideous to look at with his massive eyebrows and lopsided face, but he stank as well? No way was he getting a mate.

"To Hyrule Market!" Talon shouted from up front, giving the six animals dragging the wagon a crack from his whip. "We've got sales to make and rupees to earn! Mead and milk is coming to Hyrule Market!"

Fugly mumbled something unintelligible behind his moldy mustache, but Suvica was pretty sure it was around the lines of, "Ya mean what's left of our mead, hrmph!"

"We made a killing back at Oron!" Fatty laughed off Fugly's grouching. "Doesn't matter if we leave Hyrule Market with empty wallets, we've still got plenty of rupees stashed away!"

A question came to Suvica. "Malon, why were you guys at Oron yesterday?"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Your family always comes to Oron City on the first day of each new month, but your trip to the city yesterday was totally unexpected. What was up?"

"Suvi, how do you know my dad and I visit Oron once every month?"

Suvica slammed his mouth shut. The truth? It was because the first day of every month was his only chance to see Malon. He always waited by the city gates that day, watching her arrive from a distance and following her until she left. It was why he'd been able to save her from Pablo before, and why he never knew she or Link was in the city yesterday, because she'd already came to Oron on her scheduled visit more than three weeks ago; he hadn't expected to see her again so soon (June constantly told him stalking was _not_ the way to start a relationship, but he ignored her).

"Lon Lon Ranch's mead is famous in Oron, that's why!" Suvica hastily fibbed, hoping Malon wouldn't see right through him. "I love the stuff! That's why I'm always waiting for the new shipment to arrive!"

Malon continued to bore into him. If she could tell whether he was lying or not, she never let it show. Instead, she grinned and said, "We got a letter from the Royal Court of Hyrule Castle, telling us Oron City's stock of beverages had been stolen and they needed another shipment as soon as possible. The mayor of Oron City said he'd pay triple the normal fee if we agreed to deliver another shipment pronto, so my dad and Mr. Ingo jumped at the chance. That's why we were in Oron again."

Stolen stock? Suvica had heard about that back at Oron. Although he'd been a little put off at the ale's disappearance, he didn't put much thought into it. However, if disappearing ale brought Malon and her family back to Oron sooner than expected then maybe, just _maybe_, when all this was over, he could get the Thunder Wings to plunder Oron's mead and get Malon to visit Oron earlier than—

"No Suvi," she giggled. "You can't going stealing Oron's ale just to see me sooner."

He jumped right out of the wagon in surprise (he had to spread his wings and fly to catch back up). "W-Who said anything about seeing you again? Why would I want to see you anyways?" He demanded, wincing at his stutter as he landed back in the wagon.

"Aw, don't you want to?" Malon asked innocently, batting her eyes. Now Suvica _knew_ she was messing with him, yet he couldn't seem to get his hackles up in order to snap back.

Link came to his rescue with a timely question: "Malon, what's the Royal Court? I've never heard of it before." Suvica sagged in relief as she turned to Forest Boy.

"The Royal Court is where all the are rules are made. It's filled with Nobles who decide trading routes, taxes, which supplies go where, and all other kinds of stuff. So if a city like Oron suddenly loses all its ale, the mayor or Noble in charge of Oron can send a notice to the Royal Court by bird to inform them of their problem. That way, the Royal Court can send us, Lon Lon Ranch, a notice and official order to deliver more beverages to Oron ASAP."

"ASAP?"

"As soon as possible."

"Right. So what happens if you ignore the Royal Court?"

"Then they can punish us with imprisonment or worse: Raise our taxes." Malon made a face to that.

"Taxes? Is that some form of torture?" Link, the boy who grew up in a world without currency, asked.

"Definitely!"

"Sounds harsh for disobeying an order."

"I doesn't really matter, because we had no reason to turn down the Royal Court," Malon assured. "Not when Oron's mayor agreed to triple our payment."

"And what's a Noble?" Link continued; sometimes it really astonished Suvica to see how little Forest Boy knew about Hyrule.

"Nobles are humans with their heads stuck up their asses," Suvica filled in for Malon; perhaps it was time to shake Link's moral standing. "They believe the Goddesses have blessed them with inherited wealth and power, making them better than peasants and such."

"Are they?"

"Nah. Nobles keep telling themselves and others that their blood is '_pure_' or something, but they all taste the same. Trust me, I know. Nobles, peasants, they're all human. Only difference is, if you make them both bleed a Noble will squeal like a pansy while a peasant moves on with his day."

Link looked confused. "Then how does a Noble think they're better than others?"

"Arrogance," Suvica shrugged. "Believe me when I say it, but Nobles would marry their own reflections if there was a law that allowed them to. This whole idea of Nobility is only an excuse to step on other people."

"And the Royal Court is run by Nobles? Doesn't that mean the rules they make can be biased?" Link asked.

"They're already biased!" Suvica laughed. "For instance, let's say there's a peasant who's more skilled than a Noble with a sword. No matter how godly that peasant is, he can only sign up to become a lowly soldier. Nobles, on the other hand, automatically get to be Royal Hylian Knights if they chose, warriors boasted to be the most sacred and powerful fight force in all of Hyrule."

"But that doesn't make any sense!"

"It shouldn't, the world is a messed up place. Accept it and move on."

"Are Nobles strong? Can they fight well?" Link asked, still l trying to wrap his head around what Suvica said.

He bawled over in laughter. "Nobles? Strong? Nah, they suck the sack when it comes to fighting! Give a Noble a sword and he automatically things he's a master of combat because the Goddesses blessed him to be. In reality, they can't fight to save their own lives! If a Noble is asked to fight, they throw their personal soldiers at the problem while they sit back and sip wine."

"But if the common soldier really is better than the Noble at fighting, can't they go against the law and prove it?"

"Sure, if they survive their execution for '_disobedience_'," Suvica smirked. "All the laws in Hyrule are made to favor Nobles, because they're the ones making them. Sure, a decent law gets passed now and then, I guess, but that's one in a hundred of prejudice rules."

Link stayed silent, looking deeply troubled by what Suvica said; excellent. This was the problem with Nice Guys. Their morals and ideals of justice _always_ went against the natural ways of the world. Once their faith in Hyrule's code of honor got shaken, it slowly but steadily broke apart. Forest Boy might not be familiar with Hyrule, but as a Nice Guy, there was no way he'd be able to ignore its problems. He'd have to face the malice of the world and get crushed as it rolled over him.

"Well, doesn't matter."

Suvica almost punched Forest Boy in the face. "What do you mean it doesn't matter!"

"I mean it doesn't concern me," he explained. "I'm only here to help my village, and I'm going to do that by taking down the man from the desert. After that, I'm going home. What happens to Hyrule afterwards isn't my concern." Suvica went slack-jawed; something wasn't right here.

Fatty chuckled from the front of the wagon. "Wise choice, my little friend. No one goes against the Royal Court and gets away with it. Play it safe and do what you need to do without stepping on their toes."

Link nodded in agreement, further inciting Suvica's disbelief. This wasn't right, this wasn't right at all. Forest Boy was the kind of kid who fought dragons for the sake of worthless fairies, so how could he turn his back to an entire country without a second thought? How was Suvica supposed to break his spirit now? He'd seen plenty of self-righteous warrior-wannabes, and while simply killing them was good sport, shattering their morals and watching their anguished looks of helpless despair was far more exciting. They were that much more fun to fight when they accused Suvica of showing them the pain of the world and their powerlessness against it, attacking him with reckless abandon. Suvica ruined and killed a number of people this way, yet Link refused to follow the norm.

"You piss me off, you know that?" Suvica snarled, crossing his arms as he rethought his strategy.

"I know," Link said simply.

"So why are you eager to get to Hyrule Market?" Suvica spat. "You think your precious man from the desert is lounging around in one of the shops?"

"I'm headed for Hyrule Castle," Link corrected. "I need to meet with the Princess of Hyrule, Zelda. I was told she could help me."

Suvica's interest was quickly rekindled. "Princess Zelda? You're talking about Princess Zelda of Hyrule Castle, daughter of King Ceylon, right?"

"Is there another?"

"You realize Hyrule's princess never leaves Hyrule Castle. How exactly do you plan on meeting with her? You can't exactly schedule an appointment."

"I might have to sneak in."

Suvica snickered at the naïve idea. "That castle is a fortress. Believe me, I know! I tried to burn it to the ground when I was still a dragon."

Fatty whipped around on his seat and stared at Suvica with pleasantly fearful eyes. "Blistering blazes! The black dragon that attacked Hyrule Castle five years ago was you?"

Malon also looked at Suvica with new eyes, but these only showed concern. "But I heard you failed and an archer managed to shoot an arrow into your—"

"Never mind that!" Suvica hastily cut her off; his butt gave off a ghostly sore as he remembered that moment of shame. "Ancient history. My point is that even I, as a dragon, couldn't get into that castle, so how do you, some kid in green, plan to get inside?"

"I'm sure not going to knock on the front door," Link grinned. "Thanks to you, I know that way won't work."

Suvica could almost feel fumes of irritation smoke from his ears. "Then what is your plan, oh brilliant one?"

"I worry about it when I get there."

"I swear, one day, when all this is over, I'm going to kill you."

"Good luck with that."

"Forest Boy!" Suvica lunged at Link, determined to wrap his hands around his neck and shove some respect down his throat. Link threw a pancake hidden in his pouch off the side of the wagon.

Suvica followed.

* * *

"Fairy Boy! When you go to meet Princess Zelda? Can you bring me with you?" Malon asked eagerly as Suvica huddled himself as close to the back of the wagon as he could get, nibbling shameful on his fetched pancake.

"Oh, no you don't!" Fatty said. "Link, if meeting with our dear Princess of Hyrule is your business here, then I won't get in your way. However, I will not let you drag my daughter into any danger."

"I'll try not to," Forest Boy assured. "Besides, I still don't know how I'm getting in. Suvica, how exactly did you try to bring down Hyrule Castle?"

"Shut up," Suvica mumbled, licking the honey from the pancake off his fingers. While Suvica didn't say it aloud, the scenario ran through his head despite his wishes. Five years ago, a few days after he left his family, he was celebrating his triumphant destruction of his first human city. With his skull bloated with overconfidence, Suvica marked Hyrule Castle as his next target. When the castle was in sight, he attacked the white walls with his fangs, claws, and lightning, completely expecting the stone walls to crumble beneath his might. He didn't leave a dent in the impenetrable castle. He managed to eat a few of the soldiers that arrived to fend him off (they tasted a little like Cuccos), but their annoying armor splintered inside his mouth when he chewed, jabbing pointed metal at his gums and making it a painful meal. Finally, he was driven away by the storm clouds of arrows the Hylian archers fired upon him. Their arrowheads had to be magically enchanted, since they punctured his scales with pride-breaking ease. His life's second-greatest moment of shame was when he retreated and a specific Hylian archer plugged an arrow into his rear with intentional accuracy.

Suvica felt great pain every time he took a dump for the following week.

"It must be really bad if Suvi doesn't want to talk about it. How do you plan on breaking in, Fairy Boy?"

"I want to see Zelda, and doing so doesn't require breaking anything. It'll be best if I manage to find a way to sneak in. I could find a secret passage."

"It must be nice to be so naïve," Suvica mumbled. He heard his fair share of rumors and legends about secret entrances into Hyrule Castle, weaknesses many princess-kidnapping bandits wished to exploit. The truth: These "weaknesses" were nothing more than traps devised by the Princess's personal assassin caretaker, who purposely spread the false information throughout Hyrule to lure in and kill all those who wished to harm the Princess. He heard many famed thieves and escape-artists fell to the assassin's trap and blade, so how did Link expect to achieve a different outcome?

"I think Suvi is still mad about the pancake," Malon whispered.

"Cheer up, Suvica. I only did it to save myself the trouble of wrestling with you again. Why don't you tell us more about yourself?" Link said, suddenly passing the gossip-baton into Suvica's hands. "You were pretty drunk last night, so it was hard to understand everything you were saying. Why don't you tell us more about your miserable defeats?"

"Meh!" Suvica growled, firing a chimney of smoke into the air. "If you want to know so badly, I'll piss my life's story on your grave after the Hylian soldiers protecting Hyrule Castle find and kill you."

"Alright, settle down back there!" Fatty ordered. Unlike Malon, Fatty had to constantly keep his eyes on the road to drive. "Link, I'm sorry to say this but you should give up meeting Princess Zelda, for your own sake. Not even the most powerful aristocrats and Nobles of Hyrule get to see her. Malon, I'll buy you a painting of the Princess of Hyrule if you want to meet her so badly."  
"But those pictures are guesswork!" Malon complained. "No one knows what Princess Zelda really looks like!"

"Suvica!" Fatty continued on without interruption. "Mind your table manners!"

"Table manners? I'm a damn dragon! What kind of dragon has table manners?"

"Your mom?" Navi suggested, a failed attempt at an insult. The "your mom" joke was an old gag Suvica heard far too many times, both from dragon relatives and sneering humans alike. However, he couldn't rebuke it: His mom did have table manners, very awkward ones (she'd ask for her prey's permission before dissecting them with her claws and gobbling them down one organ at a time).

"Talon?" Link asked. "How long do you plan on staying at Hyrule Market?"

"Dunno yet," Fatty shrugged, giving the six horses another whip. "I'm thinking about buy some new tools for the farm along with some more livestock. Might take a while."

"We don't need moar tools!" Fugly sneered through his crooked teeth. "What we need is medicine fer the cows, new shoes fer them horses, and grain fer them Cuccos! Tha damned shed is already burstin with crap we don't use! Why tha hell would you be buying more? An more livestock? We gotta be takin care of the animals we already got, not gettin more of em!"

"Shut up!" Fatty scowled. "The cows are fine, our horse shoes are pristine, and the Cuccos are well fed! We might have a lot of tools, but there's no such thing as '_too many_!' Plus, our animals are lonely! They need more friends! What's wrong with buying them a few more!"

Fugly ripped at his remaining hair. "Friends? _Friends_? Them stupid beasts are gonna be chopped liver this winter! Like hell they need friends! Just cause we caught a luck break with Oron don't mean you should be wastin our rupees however ya please!"

"Our rupees? _Our _rupees? You're forgetting who works for who, Ingo! I'm the owner of Lon Lon Ranch! You only work here! I could have you packing your bags with two words!"

"You send me away an Lon Lon Ranch dies! I know more bout tha ranch than you ever will! I work hard! I feed the animals, milk tha cows, take care of tha horses, and so damn moar! What do you do, fatty? All ya do is sit back an drink all day! I should be tha owner of Lon Lon Ranch, not you!"

Fatty's face went red. "Hold your tongue, Ingo! The only reason you work at _my_ ranch is because Cremia asked me to hire you! I don't care if you were childhood friends with _my_ wife! I will kick you out if you disobey me!"

"Why you—!"

Malon quickly got up and got between Fatty and Fugly, doing her best to calm the quibbling adults. She succeeded with a few soft words of encouragement, and pair of grown men locked their eyes back onto the road.

"I will be tha owner of Lon Lon Ranch!" Fugly snarled. "Just ya wait an see!"

"Not while I'm still around," Fatty huffed.

"Do they always fight like that?" Blue Imp asked Malon as she crawled back to Suvica and Link at the rear of the wagon.

"Yes, a lot," she sighed, sounding rather dejected for the first time. "More so than usual these days."

"Does your dad really not work at all?" Link asked.

"Well … sometimes he does, just not always. Mr. Ingo really does care of everything around the ranch, and I try to help him whenever I can. I'm really good with horses. Dad hasn't been the same since mom died. He's cheered up a bit, but never managed to fully recover."

"I noticed," Suvica said, remembering Fatty's before-and-after image. "So why doesn't Fugly quit?"

"Who's fugly?"

Suvica pointed at Fugly/Ingo's back. "Him."

"Oh, Mr. Ingo. Really, Suvi, you have the meanest nicknames," Malon chided. "It's because Mr. Ingo pretty much grew up at Lon Lon Ranch. He used to live in a small city called Janka, which is about an hour's ride west from our ranch. My mom's parents owned Lon Lon Ranch at the time, and Janka was one of the cities they made deliveries to. My mom met Mr. Ingo for the first time when they were both kids. She was really nice to Mr. Ingo and was the only person who'd talk and play with him."

"I can see why. I wouldn't go near a kid with that kind of face either."

"Suvi! Don't be rude!"

"That's like asking me not to be a dragon."

"What happened next?" Link asked.

Malon gave Suvica a pouty look before continuing. "Mr. Ingo started visiting Lon Lon Ranch, walking from Janka to the ranch all on his own. He visited my mom frequently when she wasn't helping my grandparents make deliveries."

"He was in love, wasn't he?" Navi said.

"Yeah, but my mom already had a first crush. My dad's side of the family was close friend with my mom's. They lived in Hyrule Market, so they couldn't visit that often, but when they did, my dad and mom were all over each other."

"Didn't need to know that part," Suvica gagged. "Skip to the end, will you?"

"The end? Everyone grew up and my mom married my dad. She was the one who convinced him to give Mr. Ingo a job on the ranch."

"I still don't get why Ingo stays," Link said. "If Ingo was in love with your mom, shouldn't he have left when she passed away?"

"Mr. Ingo says Lon Lon Ranch is all he has left. He does his best to keep things running, because he says it's the last thing my mom gave him. It's also why he gets really mad when dad doesn't do anything to help."

Suvica grinned; he absolutely adored love triangles, because someone always ended up dead at the end. He didn't say this aloud, because in this case it was Malon's mom who died. Then he remembered what Malon said before, and asked, "You said your mom was murdered. It wasn't Fugly who did it, was it?"

"Nope."

"Do you know who did?"

Malon leaned towards Suvi; he leaned back. "Do you want to know?"

"Not really?"

"Then it's a secret!" She giggled, sitting back down, watching him intently. "But I'll tell you whenever you want to know!"

"No thanks, I don't like poking my nose in that kind of stuff," Suvica said, turning down her offer. She looked rather disappointed, so she resumed bombarding Link with questions about the Lost Woods. Suvica looked to Fatty and Fugly again to see they were arguing behind Malon's back, this time over how they were going to split their next earnings.

It was always comical to watch humans squabble, argue, fight, and kill over the rocks they used for "currency." Humans loved to tell tales to their friends and children about the horror, brutality, and greed of dragons and other monsters, but from a dragon's perspective, humans outclassed them all in those three categories.

It was funny, sometimes terrifying, to watch the lengths humans would go to in order to have a few more rocks than their next door neighbors. Suvica had seen human aristocrats frame innocent land-lovers for villainous deeds they didn't commit just to take their stones. He watched best friends stab each other in the back, children murder adults, and bandits burn down villages by the dozens for these little inedible rupees. Suvica loved a good slaughter, but he never fought to fill his pockets with rocks he couldn't eat (he did learn the concept of greed after becoming human, but only a little).

There were also many tales and fables about dragons hording rupees and gold in their caves, and most of them were true. However, dragons held absolutely no interest towards things like riches and splendor. The only reason a dragon stole treasure from humans was to stop the battles of greed between the two-legged land walkers. Of course, it would never work. Humans would simply continue accusing one another of theft and slaughter each other to extinction. They called dragons cruel, greedy rupees hoarders? All they had to do was look into a mirror and see the very personification of cruelty and greed.

After Fatty and Fugly ended their heating debate with a fist fight, steering the wagon off the trail and almost crashing it into a tree, Malon scolded them both for acting like children and ordered them to sit at the back of the wagon while she drove. It was fun to see Fatty and Fugly cower in front of a ten-year-old human girl. While the adults skulked near the mead barrels and milk bottles, Malon took her place at the wagon's front seat and scooped the reins into her hands. Forest Boy joined her up front, taking a seat at her right. Because he found the two of them sitting together impossibly irritating, Suvica scuttled to the front at plopped himself down at Malon's empty left. She smiled when he sat beside her, inciting him to ask what she found so funny.

"Because I'm riding into Hyrule Market with two cute boys beside me!"

Suvica shut up after that.

He was the only one, however, as Malon started chatting away at a hundred words per minute. She started by talking about the weather or how much she looked forward to Hyrule Market, but progressively began talking about her likes, dislikes, and asked to know more about Suvica, Link, and Navi. Her cyclone of words swept Link into the storm, followed by Navi, and then Suvica, as the four of them spoke, talked, joked, and laughed like close friends. She was an unbelievably easy human to speak with, and it warmed a soft spot in Suvica's three hearts to be this close to her.

"Suvi, can you tell me who made those sashes for the Thunder Wings? You know, the black ones with a little lightning bolt sewn on front?" Malon asked him after she was done exchanging jokes with Link and Navi.

"June. She thought it would be cool for all the Thunder Wings to have something to represent our little group." Suvica replied. "I said it was a stupid idea and a bother to make so many flimsy decorations and rejected her suggestion. I woke up the next morning to find June standing over me with bleeding fingers and an armful of those crappy headbands. I'll admit, her tenacity was impressive."

"That's so nice! It's like a symbol showing you're all family!"

"She isn't my family," Suvica growled.

"You miss them?" Link asked.

"Like hell I do! They're only human brats I took in for the fun of it! I'm glad I left them behind!"

"June gave me something, in case you wanted to know," Link added, sticking his left hand into his rear (or pouch, whatever!). "She gave it to me when you said you were leaving, asking that I give it to you." He tossed something across Malon's lap, which landed in Suvica's curious hands.

It was a headband with the Thunder Wings symbol on it, along with a few changes from the ones he knew so well. For starters, Suvica could tell this was June's handy work; it had her scent of herbs and dry sand all over it. However, this piece of clothing wasn't sloppily assembled like the others; it was sewn with expert craftsmanship, lacking any signs of clumsy stitching or misplaced knitting. The design was also different. All the other sashes June gauchely put together had the cartoonish stick of lightning stitched somewhere on the fabric; this headband a vertical bolt of lightning on the front with two dragon wings surrounding it.

Suvica tossed the head warmer at Forest Boy's face. "What are you trying to give me? I don't give a flipping dragon's tail about you humans and your fancy symbols and clothing! Why are you trying to push this junk onto me? June tried to give me one before and I turned her down! You thought I'd wear one because it looks nice? Don't make me laugh!" The witch might be affecting Suvica's mind with her damned curse, but there was no way he'd start wearing sappy human memorials. They represented nothing more than humans trying to hold onto things that weren't meant to be. He wasn't going to fall that low.

"What's wrong with it?" Link said, twirling the black headband on his finger. "It looks nice, and it'll help you remember the Thunder Wings."

"I don't want to remember them! They can handle themselves, and I don't need their faces in my head when I've got better things do to!" Suvica snarled, defiantly cracking his knuckles.

Link shrugged, stuffing June's handiwork into his pouch. "If you ever want it, you know where to find it."

"Don't look down on me, Forest Boy!"

"I already am. Get used to it."

"Alright, alright!" Malon interrupted, nudging her elbows into Suvica and Link's sides. It was a good thing she was sitting between them, or else Suvica would've tried starting another fist fight with Forest Boy. "No more fighting! We're here!"

Suvica took his glare off Forest Boy's repugnant mug and looked forward. He'd flown over Hyrule Market twice in the past, but this was his first experience viewing it from the ground. What appeared as a narrow gray arch from the sky was a very tall stone wall, springing up and inward to create a protective dome around Hyrule Market. Archers were posted at the top of the wall, keeping their eyes open for any signs of attack or trouble. The entrance was a drawbridge traversing a deep moat outlining the outer perimeter of the wall. There were soldiers and heavily-armored Hylian Knights on horseback guarding the drawbridge's open pathway, checking everyone who entered and exited the market.

Beyond the stone wall, Suvica could hear the bustling activities of Hyrule Market, smelling the congregated scent of a human settlement. In the past, he wanted to bring his Thunder Wings to Hyrule Market because the pickings were so ripe and easy they could've lived the rest of their lives in comfort. However, transportation was an impossible gate to breach, and there was no way the gate guards would let a small army of children into Hyrule Market without their parents. Suvica laughed internally at the thought of his dragon folks dropping by Hyrule Market and asking the guards, "Excuse me, my dear humans, but we'd like to give our son permission to enter your breeding grounds."

"HALT!" one of the soldiers commanded, walking towards the wagon as they approached the drawbridge. Suvica planned on knocking him off his feet before using his fists to show who he was ordering around, but the soldier's face turned soft and mushy when he saw who they were. "Ah, Malon! It's good to see you, lassie!"

"Hi Jeff!" Malon waved back, smiling with her usually beaming grin.

The soldier chuckled, and his helmet visor rattled. "That's '_Sir Jeff_' to you, missy. I know you're good, Malon, but underage kids aren't allowed to drive until they're at least sixteen. Are you sixteen?"

"Nope!" Malon played along with the soldier's good-natured banter. "Dad, we're here!" She called, exiting the front seats and hopping onto the back of the wagon. Fatty and Fugly were still sulking in the rear corner of their transport, but snapped to attention when she patted their shoulders. Link followed her example and got off the front seat, but Suvica remained where he was. No one told him what to do.

"Hey there, Jeff!" Malon's old man greeted, lumbering to his feet and dropping onto the seat next to Suvica.

"Jeff," Fugly snorted his salutation, waddling forward as he leered at the soldier. Suvica abruptly changed his mind as Fugly approached, darting onto the back of the wagon to put as much space between him and the human-shaped Dead Hand.

"Talon, Ingo," the soldier Jeff returned, recoiling a little when Fugly stuck out his grease-ridden fingers for a handshake; he never got one. "Patrolling the nights of Hyrule Market is going to be a pain now that the two of you are here. This your latest shipment?"

"Aye, that's right." Fatty confirmed.

"Looks to be a little less than usual," the soldier noted.

"There were … circumstances," Fatty vaguely explained, right as a bubble crept its way out of Suvica's mouth as a burp.

The soldier glared suspiciously at Suvica and then at the barrels of mead. "No matter. One way or another, I'm not getting paid to do a thorough check. You can all head on in, since I'm pretty sure you're not the undead or spies. You running a charity now, Talon?" Soldier Jeff motioned his head at Suvica and Link. When Fatty looked lost as to what the soldier meant, Jeff clarified: "You've got twins under your roof now. They look older than Malon, so they must be adopted. Rare to see twins these days."

"Who are you calling adopted, human?" Suvica snarled, ready to pounce and kill the soldier for his insolence.

Link's boot came out of nowhere, slamming into Suvica's face and sending him toppling off the wagon and onto the grass before he could pounce. "Yep, we're twins," Link announced with a fake yet convincing smile. "Our parents died in a Gerudo attack on our village. Talon was kind enough to take us in when we had nowhere else to go."

"Those pirate scumbags," soldier Jeff mumbled, following it up with a low string of curses Suvica found insufficient to his cause. "They claim to have an alliance with us, yet they continue to attack our people without cause or discretion. If only King Ceylon could see the truth of the matter. Mighty noble of you, Talon. I didn't think you'd raise more kids, especially after Cremia died."

"W-Well, you know!" Fatty blubbered, following up with the falsehood. "I couldn't leave them all alone with nowhere else to go. Cremia would've taken them in, so I respected her memory by doing the same. Right, Malon?" Malon's old man turned to her for support.

Malon wrapped her arms around Suvica (who climbed back into the wagon) and Link, hugging them close and nuzzling her cheeks against theirs. Suvica felt his face burn beneath his frail skin. "Yep, they're my new brothers! Fairy—I mean—Link and Suvica!"

The soldier laughed, carelessly bracing his spear against his shoulder. "Green looks good on you sport," he said, nodding approvingly at Link's tunic. Then he inspected Suvica's clothes and noticed the tears on the back of his black shirt and vest, the places where his wings and tail constantly sprouted from. "You'll need to buy this one a new shirt, Talon. He looks like he was tied to one of your cows and dragged along for a joy ride."

"Har. Har. Har. That's exactly what happened," Suvica puffed, impaling each of his words with bitter sarcasm. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Link kicked him, a dragon, in the face without warning. Did the Forest Boy lack any and all concept of fear?

"Well, in you go, Talon. Let them through, boys!" Soldier Jeff shouted over his iron-platted shoulder. The men guarding the drawbridge stepped aside, making space for the wagon to cross. Fatty said his thanks and goodbyes, leading the wagon across the lowered drawbridge and into the boisterous Hyrule Market with a hard flick from the reins.

From high in the skies, Hyrule Market was as unimpressive as every other human city. From the ground, Suvica reluctantly admitted he found the city intriguing. Perhaps it was because he'd been stuck in Oron City for the past year babysitting the Thunder Wings that he found Hyrule Market so much more fascinating. Oron's population could only compensate for a fifth of the populace of Hyrule Market. Streets flowed with humans like water in a rampaging river, while fanciful stores, houses, and Pawn Shops populated the market like stars in the dark sky. The wagon's wheels creaked across the impeccably paved streets, gathering the unwanted attention of every stray eyeball in the immediate vicinity. Many humans started cheering, overjoyed to see the slow-killing-human-poison in the market.

"All right, ya'll!" Fatty turned around from the front seat and tossed Suvica, Malon, and Link each a bag of rupees. "Malon, there's your allowance. Don't spend it all at once! There's a system known as '_savings'_, and it's mighty useful!"

"Unused rupees are the same as none! You get it, you spend it!" Malon declared, surprising Suvica with her gusto for shopping and eagerly counted the number of rupees in her pouch; she looked crestfallen at the diminutive amount. Link didn't bother to open his. The look on his face wasn't one of greed, but one of annoyance. He was probably thinking around the lines of: "What the heck am I going to use all these paperweights for?" Suvica checked his own pouch, then remembered he didn't know how to count (back at Oron, he left that job to June).

"Ingo and I've got business to conduct with Hyrule Market's prospector," Malon's old man continued, shooing the three of them off the side of the wagon. "It'll take us at least an hour to finish haggling prices, so enjoy yourselves until then! Link! If you're really, _really_ going to sneak into Hyrule Castle, please don't get caught, don't involve my daughter, and please don't do something reckless, like kidnap Princess Zelda." Suvica chuckled at the prospect. At least swiping the Princess of Hyrule from her precious castle and having the entire Hylian military chase after them would entertain him for a while.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Link replied, carelessly stashing his bag of rupees into his mysterious fit-it-all pouch.

"Good. Suvica, please don't burn down or try to destroy the market." Fatty pleaded.

Suvica snorted, jetting out a stream of black smog from his nostrils. A few random bystanders demanded to know why a child like him was smoking. "If I wanted to destroy this human frolicking den, I would've done it a long time ago."

Link jabbed Suvica in the ribs with his fist, startling him again with his fearless attitude. Seriously, who punched a dragon over a joke, sealed or otherwise? "Don't worry about Suvica, Talon. I'm betting he can't destroy the market without getting killed in the process."

Link's words didn't reassure Fatty by much, but he seemed to decide it was for the best if he didn't talk too much about it. He gave Malon a kiss on the cheek before barking orders at Ingo to fasten the barrels of ale and jugs of milk before snapping at the horse reins. It only took Fatty and the wagon a few seconds to vanish into the swarm of Hyrule Market's crowd.

"Dad's getting cheaper and cheaper by year," Malon complained, swinging her bag of rupees between her fingers, emphasizing its little value. "Only twenty rupees. How about you two?

"A green rupee is worth one and a blue rupee is worth five, right?" Forest Boy asked.

"That's right."

"Then I've got fifty," he shrugged; he had small fortune, yet he acted like it was no big deal, the typical mindset of a brat who came from a world without currency.

"Fifty rupees for me as well," Suvica lied, desperately hoping Fatty was generous enough to give him and Link an equal share.

"You _just_ became my foster brothers and your allowances are already bigger than mine!" Malon teasingly pouted, putting on another cute act that made Suvica's chest pinch. Then she beamed, saying, "But all together, we've got a hundred and twenty rupees! What do you guys want to do?"

"Get into Hyrule Castle and meet Zelda," Link instantly replied.

"Eat," Suvica said.

Malon frowned, placing her hands on her hips. "You two really don't know how to show a girl a good time, do you?"

"But I came here to meet Zelda!"

"How am I supposed to have a good time when half my stomachs are empty?"

"Well," she sighed. "We can always go see Princess Zelda once you actually know how, and I'll buy Suvica as much food as he wants—"

"Really?"

"—as soon as we're done shopping."

Suvica went cold, feeling the familiar sense of absolute terror. When he recalled the most physically painful moment of his life, he thought about the Iron Knuckle he fought when he was still a dragon; it slashed open his chest and nearly ripped out two of his hearts with its giant axe. Suvica would've died if his old man hadn't come to his rescue (although he got a butt-whooping from his mom for being reckless). But as he a human, he experienced an even greater terror, surpassing the Iron Knuckle in every way imaginable: Girls and shopping!

How could they do it? Why did they do it? Females, young and old, were completely possessed by pieces of fancy fabric. Suvica believed clothes to be trite accommodations solely purposed to keep humans warm (because they were weak against all the forces of nature), yet females hounded ridiculously priced clothing like a dragon stalking a free meal. June was like that, every girl in his Thunder Wings was like that. Heck, every human female in existence was like that! They would burn through their life's savings without a second of hesitation all for a skimpy piece of clothing which served no purpose other than to attract males. Suvica found a shopping female's tenacity to be more terrifying than an angered Goddess, for these female beings-without-reason could shop for hours and hours at a time yet never display the slightest sign of fatigue.

"Actually," Suvica said hastily. "I think Link and I should check out Hyrule Castle, you know, to get a better lay of the land. You stay here, Malon! It could be dangerous!"

"Wait," Forest Boy said stubbornly. "Why are you suddenly so eager to help?"

"I'm not!" Suvica hissed angrily. "But if we don't get out of here _right now_, we WILL die!"

"What? How? Why?"

"Forest Boy, you do not know the horrors of shopping human females like I do! It's a soul sucking experience that'll eat away at your heart and mind! We need to leave, right NOW!"

Too late. Malon's hands came out of nowhere, snatching Suvica and Link by the back of their shirt collars. She put on a wide smile, but when she spoke, Suvica had never heard her sound so menacing before today. "For that, the two of you get to carry my bags."

"NOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

Suvica was dying. He dogged Malon's heels as he carried a stack of shopping bags taller than his stretched out tail. With each step he took, he could feel his eternal soul fleeing from his physical body. Every time Malon stopped at a clothing shop, he could feel the dim ray of hope pleading for the torture to end, for the shopping to cease, only for it to be mercilessly taken away as she dragged him to yet another store.

She was determined to buy every piece of scrappy fabric within her rupee range. When new clothes were put up for display, her eyes shone brighter than the rupees in her wallet. When a clothing sale was announced, she turned into a warrior the Goddess Din could be proud of.

His stomachs growled in a symphony of mercy as the pillar of clothing he carried grew taller and taller with each passing store. He couldn't see past the tip of his nose, forced to rely on his sense of smell to track Malon as she went to one store after another. She'd already spent all of her rupees, as well as half of Suvica's, on the tower of clothes he held in his arms. Link, on the other hand, was being strangely stingy. When Malon asked if she could have his rupees, Suvica assumed he'd give them up without a fuss; after all, Link was the only human in existence who looked at rupees with needless eyes. Thus, his surprise was understandable when Link flat-out refused to hand his rupees over.

"Why'd you turn her down?" Suvica asked as Malon disappeared into yet another store, moping at Link's refusal. "Has greedy finally infected your noble soul?"

"Hardly," he replied, catching another bag of purchased clothing Malon unceremoniously threw at him and tossing it to the top of the looming tower Suvica carried. "But if I'm going to give these rocks to someone, it'll be to a person who needs them more than a shopping happy girl who bought enough clothes to dress everyone back in my village. Besides, if Malon runs out of rocks, you'll be more than happy to give her the rest of yours."

"Someone who needs rupees more than Malon? Like who?" Suvica demanded as Malon pulled him by the ear to the next clothing store she was preparing to raid. "Like the homeless beggar over there?" He jutted his head at a cloaked-hooded figure cowering near the corner of the mansion-like shop. It was a kid, perhaps a little taller than Link if he stood up, wrapped in black rags from head to toe; not an inch of the beggar's skin could be seen. He was on his knees, holding out his rag-covered hands, a silent gesture requesting charity. The lonesome figure was an invisible statue to the eyes of the market; everyone ignored him like he didn't exist, a typical show of human compassion. To Suvica's nose, the beggar smelled strongly of water and fish. Perhaps he was a fisherman's boy?

"Why not?" Link promptly replied, walking past a few other shoppers and stopping in front of the poverty-torn tramp. He pulled out his bag of rupees and dropped the whole thing into the beggar's hands. At first, the beggar didn't notice the gift. Once he did, he jumped in alarm (he really was an inch taller than Forest Boy). His cloak-covered head constantly went from Link's face to the bag of rupees in his hands.

"T-This is for me?" the beggar (definitely male by the sound of his voice) asked with a parched and raspy throat.

"It is. Buy yourself some food and go home, if you've got one. You don't need to stay here anymore," Link said. Suvica would've bet the tip of his tail that the beggar was imagining Forest Boy with wings of light, like some angel sent from the Goddesses themselves to heal his miserable soul. A stray thought made Suvica wonder how souls tasted, as his stomach gurgled.

"I-I-I will repay you, w-without a doubt," the beggar coughed with is hoarse voice, bowing several times before scurrying off into the dark alleyways of Hyrule Market.

Malon, realizing Link was gone from her side, spotted the Forest Boy staring at the now-empty store-mansion corner. "Come on, Fairy Boy! We've got another store to visit! Keep up!"

"Coming!" Forest Boy replied, jogging to catch up with Suvica as he grudgingly followed Malon to the next hell.

"You know," Suvica said once Link was back at his side, "Even though homeless boy said he'd repay you, that'll never happen. I'd bet you a scale off my wings you'll never even see him again, ever."

"You never know," Link said confidently. "He might help us someday."

Suvica grinned wickedly. "You really want to bet on it?"

Link mimicked Suvica's snarling smile to the last detail. "Why not? If you're wrong about three things, I'll be taking a scale off your wings, very painfully."

"Three things? Why not one?"

"I need to give you a fighting chance, don't I?" Link winked.

Suvica clutched at the paper shopping bags in his hands with such ferocity he almost tore them into halves. He would've preferred ending Forest Boy's arrogance with a punch to his face, but since his arms were occupied, he wasn't prepared to face a shopping girl's wrath. "Alright, you're on. What will the three things be?"

"Who knows? Let's go with the flow for now."

Sometimes Link confounded Suvica with his spur-of-the-moment decisions. Still, not wanting to put a chip into his beautifully polished black-scaled wings, Suvica tried recounting all the things he said and wondered how many of them held the possibility of coming back to bite him in the ass. He stayed lost in his own head while Malon snatched the remainder of his rupees from his belt and darted off into the crowd, leaving them both behind.

Link ended up dragging Suvica to a well designed fountain in the center of the market while they waited for Malon's return. The oversized, upside-down water faucet was built smack dead in the center of the bazaar. When Suvica hauled his thoughts out of his mind, deciding Link's bet was a hopelessly lost cause, he paid a bit more attention to his surroundings. The fountain was carved from polished stone, portraying three human figures holding a pearl triangle in their hands. Water was spraying from the top of the triangle, sprinkling into the amassing pond of water encircling the statue.

"The Three Goddesses of Hyrule."

Suvica almost dropped all of Malon's clothes into the fountain water. There was a human standing behind him, wearing gilded armor, polished greaves, and sturdy gauntlets. Each piece of equipment was embellished with a triangle similar to the one on the fountain. Suvica normally didn't focus upon the faces of humans (since they were usually unrecognizable after he was done with them), but this was one face he remembered, one face he paid close attention to in the past. This human's hair was the same color as Link's, but long enough to be tied into a ponytail behind his head. His skin was a light tanned, earned by countless training hours beneath the sun. His face was well structured, and his body told the tales of countless feats of strength, one of which Suvica was very familiar with.

Of all the humans Suvica met, this man was one of the few he hated with a vengeance yet reluctantly respected. "I know you, human. You're Glen, a famous knight of Hyrule Castle."

The human, Glen, grinned, flashing Suvica a set of teeth so white he thought he might go blind if he stared at them for too long. "That I am, my frivolous clothes lover."

"These aren't mine," Suvica snapped, dropping the tower of Malon's newly purchased clothing onto the pavement.

"Really? I thought otherwise, considering the condition of your present attire," Glen said, taking notice of the massive tears on the back of Suvica's shirt and vest.

"Someone you know, Suvica?" Link asked. The Forest Boy had been taking a casual stroll around the fountain, soaking in every detail of the sculptured water faucet with his eyes.

Glen the knight clapped his hands at Link's arrival, strangely pleased. "Ah, twins! A miracle of the Goddesses! Mighty rare to see these days! What brings you two fine lads to our fair Hyrule Market?"

"He's slaving away for a friend of ours," Link pointed at Suvica, a fact he was quick to deny yet weak to reinforce. "I'm here to meet Zelda."

Glen's smile became a stern frown. "Why?"

"Who doesn't want to meet her?"

"Hmm, very true!" His grin returned in a flash. "Every man's dream is to catch a glimpse of Hyrule's fair princess! Do not worry lad, for once you're old enough you may sign up to be one of the proud soldiers of Hyrule! Should you become an accomplished warrior, perhaps you may be blessed by Princess Zelda's presence!" Glen's eyes took a far-away gleam, as if he were reliving a very fond memory in his mind. Then he said, "Might I have the honor of your names?"

"Link of the Kokiri Forest."

"Suvica."

"Pleased to be acquainted with you both," Glen said with a light bow. He reached out to shake Suvica's hand, but he slapped the open gesture away. Glen didn't take any offense, instead offering Link the same pleasant. Link accepted, taking Glen's hand and shaking on it. But the moment those two touched, Glen began scrutinizing Forest Boy. "Pardon me lad, but … have we met?"

"This is my first time in Hyrule Market. I doubt it."

"Truly? If that is so, then perhaps I am mistake. Yet, I can't shake the feeling that we know one another."

"Maybe you're my father," Link shrugged.

At that, Glen's face lost all trace of his serious demeanor and roared in laughter. "You truly are a humorous one. I hope the day comes when were fight side by side on the field of battle. I leave you now, but I'm sure we shall meet again in the near future! Farewell, young lads! You are the future of Hyrule!"

"Who was that guy?" Link asked as Glen walked away, snapping his fingers as he danced into a crowd; the human females were going insane over him.

"He's Glen, one of the strongest and certainly the most famous Royal Knight of Hyrule." Suvica felt his mouth acquire an acidic flavor as he glorified a human. "He was given the title '_the Courageous_' by the King of Hyrule, and now he's a super star. Look at him." The two of them watched as the citizens of Hyrule threw themselves at Glen's feet, either asking for a handshake or autograph. Those that received one or the other started shrieking with such bliss Suvica was sure they'd die from joy. Humans and their celebrities, absolutely ridiculous.

"The Courageous? What kind of brave deed did he do?"

"He did more than one," Suvica spat. "He rescued a city from a Peahat invasion, single handedly fought off fifty bandits, braved a burning tower to save a human baby, infiltrated the Gerudo Fortress before the treaty, and even … even …" Suvica snarled at himself as he chewed the words out, "… fought off a black dragon, wounded it, and saved a city." Suvica felt Forest Boy's eyes drilling into the back of his head. He knew what question was forming on the tip of Link's tongue, so he saved him the trouble and answered before it was asked. "Yes, yes! I was that black dragon! Before I got stuck in this body, I tried burning down another city with a few lightning bolts and that human stopped me! And yes, he really did injure me. Hey! Don't give me that look! I was cocky! A single human challenged me, a dragon, and I thought it was all balls and no back bone!"

"But if Glen is a Royal Knight of Hyrule, doesn't that make him a Noble? I thought you said Nobles were all talk and no walk."

"Glen is the freaky exception. He's ridiculously skilled with a sword. I've heard a few rumors he was taught by the best in the land. Ugh, if I'd known all this before, I wouldn't have let my guard down!"

"Naturally," Link agreed, but there was something in his tone irking Suvica more than before. Suvica felt it was prudent that he sock Link in the face a few time to defend his pride, but before he could clench his fists in order to do so, a pink and blue blur dropped out of the sky and zoomed into Link's hood. The two streaks were so fast his hood was blown right off his head and fell into the fountain, with the two occupants inside it.

"I was starting to wonder why it was so quiet," Suvica mumbled, watching Link lean over the edge of the fountain and scoop out his soaked hood. Pink Fuzzy and Blue Imp were inside, gasping for air.

"That was a terrible landing," Link commented, giving his hood a few gentle shakes, scattering beads of water and flecks of complaints.

"I don't want any lip from you right now! Not after what we've been through!" Blue Imp gargled. The pink one jingled out a few addition complaints.

"Sorry your trip was so hard," he apologized with genuine sincerity (hearing it made Suvica's scalp prickle). "What'd you two find?"

Blue Imp took a few moments to catch its breath. "Suvica was right, that castle is a fortress! Pinky and I couldn't get close to that place without getting spotted! Do you know how many times we were almost killed?"

"Six times?" Link guessed.

"Ack … you're close. It was seven."

Pink Fuzzy jingled in a few fairy chimes only Link and Blue Imp could understand. Suvica wanted another pancake.

"No, it was seven! That guard was drunk out of his brains! There's no way his arrows could have hit us!" Blue Imp protested loudly. Many nearby travelers were staring at Link, wondering if he was a ventriloquist as he spoke to his hood. Suvica hated ventriloquists; it was a coward's crafty way of plotting an escape from a starving dragon.

Pink Fuzzy jingled out some more tunes, and even Suvica could tell it was an insult.

"What? Take that back, flabby wings!" Blue Imp hissed. Someone laughed and threw Link a rupee for his "performance," which he caught and tossed back at the owner. More people laughed.

"Enough, both of you. You're attracting a crowd!" He said sternly, eyeing the people who were standing still to watch his one-man show. "If you don't calm down, I'll cool the two of you down myself." To prove his point, he grabbed his hood and held it an inch above the fountain water.

"Alright, alright! Truce."

Pink Fuzzy chimed in an agreement.

"That's better." Link affirmed, withdrawing the hood from the water. Suvica clicked his tongue; he would've paid to watch those two pesky flies drown. "What about you, Pinky? Were you able to find your home?"

Pink Fuzzy tinkled off a long stream of fairy noises, most of which sound like a list of insults and complaints.

Link nodded, his expression unchanged. Perhaps they weren't curses and insults after all. "That won't be a problem. I'll get you back, don't worry."

"Something wrong?" Suvica asked, poking his nose into their conversation.

Link placed the wet hood on his head, and Suvica watched the green fabric magically squeeze the water out of the hood. A small squall of cheers erupted from the viewers and many of them started tossing them green and blue rupees. "Yeah. Why are they throwing rocks at me?"

Suvica snickered, finding amusement in Link's mystification. "Take it with grace. Now talk: Is something wrong?"

"Not really. A small problem. Nothing to worry about." Link assured.

"So small you won't bother telling me about it?"

"Exactly."

"Can I punch you?"

"No, of course you can't. Why do you want to punch me?"

"I don't know why. A little voice in my head is telling me to punch you, and that voice is sounding really appealing at the moment."

"Ignore it. It'll probably go away soon enough."

Then, "I applaud your performance!" Suvica and Link turned to see some random stranger stroll towards them, exuberantly clapping his hands. "I must say, your act was fun to watch! Even I, Lavin the Awesome, am impressed!"

"Beat it or I'll eat you," Suvica growled.

"I saw you with my master as well!" Lavin continued, pushing Suvica aside as he ignored him to talk to Link; Suvica fought against every urge ordering him to take a bite out of the punk's throat.

"Your master? Who's that?" Link asked.

"Glen the Courageous, of course! Ah, you peasants truly are too hilarious." Lavin laughed, tilting his head back and chortling in mockery. "I am Glen's secret disciple, Lain the Almighty Knight of Hyrule!"

"Glen doesn't take any disciples!" Suvica snarled.

"I suppose you're thinking '_Glen doesn't take any disciples_' are you not?" Suvica almost went ballistic. "That shows exactly how secret I am! Now tell me and tell me quick, what did my master tell you?"

"He's your master, ask him," Link pointed out.

"Nonsense, foolish boy! I am on a secret mission! It's why they call me Lavin the Secret Spy of Hyrule! Now tell me exactly what my master said!"

"Your secret mission is to know what your master told me? How's that make any sense?"

"Boy! You do not want to see me mad! I'm Lavin the Fury of Death Mountain and the Bane of … um … Bad Monsters! I can crush stones with my bare hands and kill monsters with my pinky alone! Now tell me what I want to know before you anger me!"

"He said I looked familiar and looked forward to the day we fought side by side on the field of battle," Link replied, eyeing Lavin cautiously.

"You LIE!" Lavin shrilled; he tried a bit too hard to make himself sound angry, thus is voice came out as a high pitched squeak. "I'm Glen greatest admirer! His biggest fan! He's most reliable sidekick! There's no way he'd say that to a nobody like you and forsake me like this!"

"Wait, I thought you said you were his disciple?"

Suvica watched Lavin sweat profusely. "I-I-I am! I am Lavin, First Disciple of Glen the Courageous! I was there to help him slay the vicious black dragon terrorizing Hyrule so many years ago! Why do you think it's never shown up again even though my master let the monster flee? It's because I pursued the monster and slew it myself!"

Suvica exploded. His anger reached its peak (he actually lauded the fact he held back for so long) as he grabbed Lavin by the shoulder and spun him around so they were face to face. He memorized Lavin's face: baby-like cheeks, thin body build, short cropped blond hair, brown eyes, a mole between his nose and lips.

"What do _you_ want, peasant? I am Lavin the Mighty Dragon Slayer! Do you think you can—?" Lavin gagged as Suvica's hand closed around his throat, lifting the lie-spouting human until his feet dangled off the ground.

"I remembered your face now," Suvica snarled, "Show up again, and you die!" He didn't put Lavin down; instead, he drew back his arm and threw Lavin as hard as he could, watching with immense pleasure as the liar flew through the air and disappeared somewhere far away (whether Lavin his landing survived or not was his problem now). Their audience, thinking everything was still a skit, burst into applause letting a heavy downpour of rupees rain down on them.

In the end, the two of them played along, bowing to the crowd and picking rupees from the ground, letting their earnings disappear into Link's fit-it-all pouch and pretend it was all part of the play. The applause redoubled. It took a long five minutes before the crowd finally dispersed.

"Who was the kid, anyways?" Link asked as the two of them sat down by the fountain. "Even I could tell he was spouting a never ending line of lies."

"He's gone now," Suvica laughed. "I doubt he'll come back, so let's kill him in our memories and never remember him again."

"Sounds good."

:Fairy Boy! Suvi!" Malon came rushing back, squeezing her way through a crowd to reach them. "I got you two something to eat! My thanks for helping me with my shopping!"

The prospect of a gift from Malon sent Suvica's spirits soaring, yet when he saw what she was holding, his stomachs died. In her hands were three wooden bowls filled with the vile substance Suvica instantly recognized as ice cream. Several years ago, as a dragon, Suvica gave this ice cream a try. The humans frolicked around the substance with evident pleasure, so he decided to taste some for himself. He scared off the humans with a few sparks, picked up a barrel full of ice cream with his teeth, and swallowed the container with one enormous gulp. Moments later, Suvica's scaly head started to ache as a pounding numbness banged away at the inside of his skull. He scratched and clawed at his head, yet the icy agony refused to subside. He knew immediately it was the ice cream's fault, and for the first time, felt unreserved amazement towards the humans for their ability to stomach such a pain inducing meal with a smile. Now, Malon was running at him with the exact same substance.

Link was all too eager to accept his bowl, slowly consuming the cold dish one small spoonful at a time. He offered a few scoops to Blue Imp and Pink Fuzzy, taking off his hood and holding it near the bowl so they could gorge themselves without being seen. Malon held the second bowl out with a smile; this basin of chilly death was meant for Suvica.

A thunderstorm crashed inside his ears from the tension his body was giving off, so he couldn't hear what Malon was saying when she looked at him with curiosity and concern.

The dilemma. Suvica wanted nothing more than to grab that hateful bowl and throw it towards the heavens and stars with all his might (perhaps it'd reach the Goddesses and they could benefit from a scoop or two). However, for some strange reason he couldn't name, he didn't want to hurt Malon's feelings by rejecting her gift. In addition to that, this was the very first thing she had given Suvica in his short time with her. Again, for a chest-swelling reason he couldn't put a claw on, that made this small bowl of ice cream all the more problematic.

With shaking hands and a face coated in pain-expectant sweat, Suvica slowly reached for the bowl with trembling fingers, expecting the icy substance to jump out of its bowl and shove its way down his mouth. He watched Malon take a spoonful of her own ice cream and plop the dastardly substance into her mouth, giving a small squeal of delight as she did.

"Something wrong, Suvi?" She asked as Suvica trembled on the spot. "If you don't eat it soon it'll melt you know?" It'd melt? A small ray of hope. Perhaps he could stall for time.

"You think he's afraid of ice cream?" Link wondered; Suvica flinched. "Nah. A dragon afraid of ice cream? No way!" Blue Imp laughed. If only the puny bug knew how correct it was.

"It's good! Try it!" Malon offered, taking the initiative. She used her spoon to scoop up a small bit of Suvica's ice cream and held it in front of his mouth. Suvica opened his lips to protest, but she used that chance to shove the spoon into his mouth and drop the icy matter onto his tongue. The ice cream swirled behind his teeth and trickled for the back of his throat. He crammed his eyes shut and waited for the icy pain to arrive.

It didn't. He waited one minute, and then two (Forest Boy and his fairy lackeys disappeared during the anticlimactic wait), but the head-throbbing agony that tormented his first ice cream encounter did not bother him a second time. Malon plucked her spoon from his lips and grinned. "See? It's good, right?"

It was good. Cool, soft, and swimming delightfully in his mouth with a taste of vanilla. Perhaps now that he possessed the body of a human, he successfully became immune to the negative effects of ice cream! Excited, Suvica stuffed a fistful of ice cream into his mouth, thrilled by the texture and flavor.

The moment it all went down his throat, the familiar icy tendrils slithered their way into his brain, causing Suvica to clutch at his head with maddened fingers as he fell to his knees. What was going on? What did this mysterious human creation do to him? Never before had Suvica eaten such a bizarre meal!

Malon giggled at his reaction as he struggled to deal with his inexplicable suffering. "Aw, you're not supposed to eat so much ice cream at once! If you do, you'll get brain freeze!"

The pain lessened enough for Suvica to ask, "Brain … wha …?"

"Brain freeze! That's what everyone calls it! No one really knows why, but when you eat _way_ too much ice cream, your head starts to hurt, like your brain is freezing over! That's why you need to eat a little at a time, so you can enjoy the taste without the freeze. See?" Malon took another small scoop of own ice cream and held it out for Suvica. Warily, he chomped his mouth over the wooden utensil and let the ice cream slide into his stomach. No pain, only a gratifying taste. A human food requiring a specific consumption process? That was interesting, but with the lesson learned, Suvica enthusiastically ate his ice cream one pinch at a time.

"Ah, Suvi!" Malon said as he spilt a little ice cream on his cheek. "You missed some!" She leaned towards him until he could feel the heat from her skin and licked the flicker of ice cream from his lips.

Her unexpected response froze him over faster than a blizzard summoned from an Ice Dragon. Her actions began to sink in, and his brain thawed with a rabble of commotion so great he could barely recall his own name. He got to his feet, rambled off a stream of words that made absolutely no sense, and ran away screaming.

* * *

Suvica tripped, skidding to a halt and slamming his head against the ground, further jumbling his thoughts. He kept his eyes shut, remaining oblivious to his surroundings, and his hammering hearts fill his ears. He wasn't tired, but his flustered emotions kept his three hearts racing.

He frantically scraped his head with his nails, frugally trying to dig out Malon's actions from his brain. Why was he acting this way? He was a dragon for crying out loud! They was no reason for him to care about what some puny ranch girl did, even if she had pretty blue eyes, supple round cheeks, perfectly shaped lips, nicely figured …

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Suvica picked himself up and repeatedly bashed his head into the ground. The poor stone road cracked and fissured with each strike.

"Hoot, hoot, hoot! I see the problems of love affect even the most mythical and mighty creatures!"

"SHUT UP!" He howled, stomping his feet and opening his eyes. He recognized his surroundings: The garden separating Hyrule Castle and Hyrule Market. Suvica was on a road built from materials so expensive they could've fed a large village for a year if sold. It was an instinct of survival for rich humans to flaunt their wealth by plastering shiny stuff on everything they owned. The pathway was neighbored by identical cliffs more than twice as tall as his tail. With Hyrule Castle to his north, the road turned to the right. A steel gate was posted farther down the road, guarded by a sleeping Hylian soldier.

The creature that so disrespectful compared him to a love-struck-human was perched on the top of the human-carved cliff on his left. It was an owl, yet appeared a bit too large to be a proper night-pigeon. Its size was four times that of Suvica's, with a coating of brown and gray feathers that ruffled with each spontaneous twitch it made. He couldn't get an anchor on the big pigeon's face; it was constantly turning upside-down to right-side-up, but both angles worked as a proper expression. One face appeared annoying wise and sagely, with long eyebrows and a stern mouth line. The other looked comical, possessing a sagging mustache and frowny face. He couldn't tell which the proper expression was. Then he spotted Link at the base of the cliff, looking up to the oversized pigeon with Blue Imp and Pink Fuzzy nested on his shoulders.

"What are you doing here?" Suvica asked, walking around the small crater in the previously-faultless pathway. His forehead was bleeding a little from the constant impacts, but it was nothing a good lick couldn't handle.

"Trying to find a way to reach Zelda, why are you here? I thought you were doing your best to eat ice cream with Malon."

"I was enlightened to the mysteries of ice cream and then—" _Lick _"—then decided to see how you were doing," Suvica replied in monotone, trying to appear and sound normal.

Link's grinned reached his ears. "Liar. Malon probably did something and freaked you out."

"Dragon droppings, how do you know all this?" Suvica demanded, smashing his heel against the marble road and deforming the smooth surface again. Suvica liked his privacy and secrets, so if he couldn't keep Forest Boy out of his head, he might as well pluck the dandelion right now.

"A gut feeling," Link shrugged. Suvica changed his mind; he was going to tear out Forest Boy's guts instead.

"Who's your feathery friend?" Suvica pointed at the overgrown pigeon.

"I met him before when I left the Kokiri Forest. He's the one who told me to head to Oron City. He won't tell me his name, but Pinky calls him Kae. He was warning me to be careful about the guards and other nuisances."

Suvica snickered, shoving an inappropriate human hand gesture at the big pigeon's rotating head. "In other words, he was spouting stuff you already knew. Useless bird."

Big pigeon Kae looked at Suvica with both its stern and laughable face. He felt uncomfortable under the bird's scrutiny, but refused to show weakness to an overgrown Cucco that could fly. "You, my young dragon, will play a vital role in deciding the fate of Hyrule. Will you find your soul and side with your friends and stand against your family and foes, or will you embrace the beast within and add to that which threatens our land?"

"I'll do whatever I please! I'm a dragon! Bound by no one, ruled by no one, and I listen to no one! I don't need your crappy questions or quirks to know what I want!" Suvica roared, static sparkling in the back of his throat. He really hated it when people (and animals, in this case) tried to play smart by acting like they knew everything while speaking in riddles. He developed his own personal remedy for those types of people: Break their jaws.

His outburst, however, only entertained the giant pigeon. "Spoken like a true member of your feeble race. I pity you, I truly do."

The giant pigeon entered a realm of Suvica's mind where no one entered and left alive. His nostrils flared as his lips pulled back to reveal his clenched teeth; no one sullied his race and got away with it. His vision blurred as the world became a misty apparition of red and black, where anything that moved was his enemy and prey. It would have been easy to fly towards the pigeon and tear off its wings. He felt a metallic taste in his mouth as flashes of electricity started cackling from the depths of his throat. Another second longer and he'd have lost all reason, yielding his body to his primal dragon ferocity before ripping out and eating the pigeon's heart.

The only thing that stopped him were the owl's next words: "You like that girl, Malon, and that is understandable. She is kind, joyous, perhaps a little too hyper when concerned with clothing, but a lovely girl nonetheless." Suvica stopped in his tracks, and the images of Malon smile while licking his lips were starting to bubble over his bloodlust. He became a kitty before catnip.

"S-Shut up! What would you know?

The owl's words became deadly serious. "I know _everything_, puny dragon." Suddenly, the pigeon was a winged demon, its words and sentences piercing Suvica's scales with lances of reality. "If you believe you can maintain your feelings towards that child and your facade of ceaseless arrogance, then ask her that which you do not what to know: Ask her what happened to her mother. Hear her words, and suffer the consequences."

"I already know what happened! She died!"

"You know what I mean." Owl Kae turned its endearing eyes back to Link, adopting a friendlier tone with the Forest Boy. "Link, I believe this is where we shall bid each other farewell. Be careful, for once you step within the castle walls, know that you are not the only one who wishes an audience with the Princess of Destiny. Goodbye. We shall meet again upon the highest of mountains."

"I'll keep that in mind," Link replied, saying his farewells while Owl Kae spread its gigantic feathery wings and disappeared into the horizon.

Suvica took a moment to comprehend Owl Kae's words, but after he found his voice, his tone was not one of understanding. "Stupid bird thinks it's so smart! I'll kill it the next time I see its two-sided face! He can send his preaches to the Goddesses!" He marched over to Link's side and waited for the Forest Boy to say something else to piss him off further. "Well? What now? You said you wanted to meet the Princess, right? Well, come on! Show me your ingenious plan!"

Link stared at him for a full second. "Wow, aren't you in a bad mood."

"I got pep talked by a giant talking seagull! How would you feel?"

"You receive enlightenment by ice cream. How am I supposed to know how you feel, weirdo."

"Die."

"No thanks."

Link raised his shoulders and left them fall, giving Blue Imp and Pink Fuzzy time to scurry into his hood. After they out of sight, he walked down the pathway and towards the steel gate and the napping guard. Suvica followed Forest Boy, angrily trampling the marble panels beneath his black sandals, opening shallow cracks with each unnecessarily fierce step. Once they were right in front of the snoozing guard, Link tapped on the soldier's stomach armor thrice and awakened the dozing man.

"Can I help you two boys?" the guard yawned, rubbing the tears from his crusty eyes. "Say, what're you twins doing here, anyways? This place is strictly off limits to civilians."

Link kept his mouth shut, but motioned for the guard to lean closer. The half-awake soldier knelt down to one knee and placed an ear near Link's mouth, expecting a reasonable answer. Instead, Link pulled his toothpick sword soundlessly from his sheath and slammed the rounded hilt into the back of the guard's exposed and unprotected neck. With barely a grunt, the soldier slumped onto the road and stayed there.

"What was that for?" Suvica asked while Link withdrew his weapon. "Don't get me wrong, I love beating up humans as much as the next dragon, but was there a point to knocking him out when he was sleeping in the first place?"

"If he was sleeping then there was a chance he'd wake up and spot us. Now that he's unconscious, we don't have to worry about that anymore," Link explained. Suvica saw the logic and found it to his liking. "Now we need to get by this gate. Suvica, if you'd please."

"Meh, I guess a bit of stress relief could help." Suvica grabbed two of the steel gate's arm-thick bars and yanked them free with an ear-curling wrench.

The noise did not go unheard, as an unseen guard called out from the cliff above them. "Lex! Dang it, man, did you fall asleep again? They're going to cut your pay and mine if you keep slacking!" When unconscious Lex didn't respond, caution took over the concealed guard's voice. "Lex, you alright?"

"Time to move," Link said, hopping through the opening in the gate. Suvica discarded the dislodged bars and followed. As the two thrown-away metal poles clattered to the ground, Suvica inadvertently called the attention of more hidden-from-sight soldiers standing watch. The two of them needed to get away fast, or it was the gallows and guillotine for them both. At least it was for Link; Suvica could fly away whenever he wanted, and that brought about a conceited snicker. His scoff melted when he remembered the Hylian archers standing watch on the walls at the nearby Hyrule Castle; if he tried to fly away now, he'd be easy target practice. It was follow Forest Boy or die.

The marble road continued straight until it forked into two several paths ahead. One pathway sloped towards the left in an incline, curving around the rounded cliff on their left. The other pathway continued straight ahead until it was blocked off by a cliff-caged dead end. The answer was simple: Go left, follow the trail up, and bust their way into the castle. Suvica angled his run to the leftward pathway, but Link grabbed him by his hair and ran straight ahead.

"What are you doing? Are you insane?" Suvica hissed as Link led them into the dead end. "I can't fly us out of this one, Forest Boy!"

"I'm not insane, you are!" Link shushed back, dragging him closer to the end of the marble road. "If you went left, you would've headed straight for the castle! That road is filled with soldiers! We can't confront them!"

"Then we fight to the death! How is cornering ourselves at a dead end a better idea?"

"It's not a dead end!" Link stopped his run when they reached the road's end. "Just hurry up and move this boulder!" During their few frantic moments, Suvica failed to spot the human-adult sized rock posted at the base of the dead end. He didn't see how moving a large pebble would get them out of this situation. He turned his head to look back at the mangled gate; the guard Link knocked out was surrounded by a thin circle of his fellow soldiers.

Suvica understood. "I get it! You want me to pick up this rock and chuck it at those idiots over there! With all of them gathered in one spot, we can take out a bunch of them at once!"

"No! I only want you to move it out of our way!" Link reiterated. Perhaps Suvica didn't understand after all. Oh well, if they got caught he'd kill Forest Boy in the afterlife. Obeying the orders only because he wanted to shout "I Told You So!" into Forest Boy's captured face, Suvica sunk his fingers into the boulder and rolled it aside.

There was a hole at the base of the dead end, concealed by the boulder Suvica moved. The tunnel was large enough for children to fit inside but too small for adults to crawl into.

"How'd you know about that?" he demanded as Link got on all fours and scurried into the tunnel.

"Pinky told me," was the short reply, followed by, "Now hurry up, get inside, and get that rock back into place after you're done! We can't get caught now!"

Dejected at the lost opportunity to scream "I Told You So," Suvica got on his hands and knees and followed Forest Boy. When his body was well concealed within the shadows of the narrow tunnel, he summoned his tail, punctured the tip into the outside boulder, and dragged it over the opening to screen it from stray eyes.

The trip was a short one. Suvica crawled for half a minute before arriving at a spacious chamber. He got to his feet, dusted off his pants, looked up, and gasped in pure astonishment (a true feat). Their meager travel magically transported them into another world. There were no walls (or at least none Suvica could see or smell) or sky within the sunless chamber, yet droplets of water showered them in every color of the rainbow. The aquamarine floor rippled to the falling teardrops yet remained dry despite the magical rain cascading around them.

A few yards ahead of them was a fountain, but nowhere near as mundane as the water faucet in Hyrule Market's bazaar. This fountain was of simpler design; a large circle with a half-foot tall perimeter which gathered water within its basin. While its structure was basic, there was no denying its beauty. The water pooling inside the fountain rippled with an aura of color, starting from the very center before pushing outward by an invisible force.

Pink Fuzzy burst out of Link's hood, jingling with such joy Suvica's stomach churned in repugnance; nothing should be that happy, not in this world or the next. It chattered excitedly in its own fairy language to Forest Boy and then beckoned for him to step closer to the fountain. Suvica stayed where he was; whatever that little Fountain Fairy was up to, he wanted no part of it.

Suvica watched Link step to the edge of the fountain and speak a few words to Pink Fuzzy, most likely some sappy farewells. It chimed a few more times, gave Link what looked like a miniature kiss, and dived into the center of the pooled water.

Nothing else happened. They both stood in silence, and even Blue Imp poked its little body out of Link's hood to see what was going on, which was absolutely nothing.

Suvica felt his mood brighten at a revived chance. "See? Helping fairies gives no rewards! But then again, you should be fine with that, Mr. Nice Guy! I told you—!"

"Pinky told me to wait." Link interrupted before Suvica could finish, stealing his thunder as he continued to stare intently into the fountain. "She said something about it taking a while to reform again."

"Reform? What's the little bug going to do? Transform?"

Apparently, that was exactly what Pink Fuzzy had in mind. It came shooting out from the center of the fountain in a rainbow geyser of magical water, followed by at least a thousand other identical Fountain Fairies. Suvica gaped at the multitude of Fountain Fairies with hungry eyes as they whirled in a miniature hurricane above the fountain. If he captured all those fairies and sold them off to the wealthy idiots of Hyrule, he'd be filthy rich! In case he failed to regain his full dragon form, the pay off these fairies provided would serve as a healthy piece of insurance for a good life. All he needed to do was knock Link out from behind and snatch as many of the Fountain Fairies as he could before they escaped.

He never got a chance to carry out his deceitful plan. One by one, piece by piece, the Fountain Fairies melded into a single entity. The glow they emitted as they merged was so dazzling Suvica averted his eyes as the process continued. When the glow died down in a final flash of pink luminescence, he looked to see what form the Fountain Fairies meshed themselves into.

His jaw dropped. Floating above the fountain, five times larger and ten times more beautiful than any female Suvica had laid eyes upon, was a Great Fairy. He heard myths and legends about Great Fairies, about how they appeared before only a chosen few to bless them with powers beyond mortal and mythical comprehension. It was also said the beauty of a Great Fairy could never be surpassed by any mortal or immortal being that walked the earth. Suvica stared at the Great Fairy and found how this story could be true. Its features were always shifting, constantly changing, and frequently aligning themselves to fit his personal definition of beauty. No doubt Link would see something entirely different, and Suvica prayed to the Goddesses he did.

Once the Great Fairy's features settled themselves into a more permanent form in Suvica's eyes, he realized he was staring at an adult Malon; an impossibly large, unfeasibly beautiful, and unbelievably graceful grown-up Malon. He couldn't find the words to describe her and was glad he couldn't. If he actually put this Great Fairy's beauty to words, he'd feel the need to commit suicide out of sheer shame. Plus, the scanty clothing the Great Fairy donned while using Malon's features made it all the more embarrassing to look straight. He wondered how Link was taking all this.

"Wow, you look pretty nice now Pinky," Link complimented nonchalantly.

Now Suvica felt plain foolish for getting all worked up.

"Thank you, Link," the Great Fairy said; even her voice resembled Malon's. It was a facial and vocal robbery. "You are one of the few mortals I've met who've shown such sincere care and kindness to us fairies. The individual known as Pinky has become one with me once more. We are known as Dinara, the Great Fairy of Power. For your generosity and compassion, I shall reward you."

Suvica's jaw dropped lower until something crack. What happened to Fountain Fairies being selfish creatures that never rewarded their saviors? He resolved to find the person or people responsible for that rumor and beat them to death.

Link peered over at Suvica, grinned, and held up one finger. He knew what Forest Boy was implying; Suvica had been wrong once, and had two chances left before he had to forfeit one of his prized onyx scales to Forest Boy.

The Great Fairy pressed her fingers to her lips and blew Link a kiss. A tender beacon of light dropped from the sky-less world and enveloped him in a stream of magic so powerful he was airborne for most of the process. As the pillar of magic ebbed and faded, Link floated back to his feet with a look of bewilderment on his face. He inspected his body over and over again, never dropping his look of surprise.

"What did you do to me?" Link asked the Great Fairy.

Suvica lifted his nose and took a sniff. Forest Boy smelled the same as ever: Trees, trees, trees, and pancakes. He couldn't see any physical changes either, yet Link was acting like something about his body had been radically altered.

"Kind child of the Lost Woods, dweller of the Kokiri Village, and son of the Great Deku Tree. For your bravery and selfless actions to restore me to my former body, I have bestowed upon you the gift of magic."

* * *

EDIT: Hi there! Here's the seventh chapter to my fanfic story, told from Suvica, the Thunder Dragon's perspective. To be honest, I didn't expect Suvica to last this long as a character. He was initially suppose to be a simple stepping stone for Link on his little quest for the Three Spiritual Stones and then left behind at Oron City. But, as I soon found out, I took a liking to Suvica, and telling Link's tale from a dragon's perspective was surprisingly fresh.

Before you start, I know. The Great Fairy outside Hyrule Castle doesn't give Link the magic meter, but Din's Fire. It's the Great Fairy on Death Mountain that gives Link the magic meter. I switched their roles because the more I thought about it, the more I realized what a pain it would be to write about Link having to get to Death Mountain to get magic first and then write about him going all the way back to Hyrule Castle to get Din's Fire before going back to the main story. Thus, I switched it, so that Link would get magic at his first visit in Hyrule Castle. Plus, now that Link received magic much eariler in the story, I think it adds a bit more variety to him.

Next chapter will be told from our protagonist's view, Link. Look forward to it! As always, feel free to comment or criticize! Both are welcome! If there are any spelling or grammatical errors that for find that bug you, tell me about them and I'll fix them as soon as possible. See you in the next chapter!

EDIT: I apologize once again, for this chapter was a long one. Additionally, we got to meet Lavin, the annoying pest everyone wants to punch at least once. The only reason I added him was because he was too funny for me to ignore, especially with Suvica in his face. Enjoy! (7/4/12)


	8. Chapter 8, The Princess of Destiny

**Chapter 8**

**Princess of Destiny**

Link felt amazing.

It was like a container brimming with raw energy had been placed in the core of his body. If he relaxed for a mere moment, he feared rainbows would start pouring from his fingertips. He felt like he could start a fist fight with Suvica and go at it for a hundred days. Of course, that was only how he felt; if he really started a slug-fest with the sealed Thunder Dragon, he'd die.

"Is my gift not to your liking?" Dinara asked. The combined Fountain Fairies took up the form of a large female, wrapped in thin garments shaped into leaves and lined with gold and silver, revealing much underlying skin. Her hair was a vibrant pink woven into three different braids and her cherry eyes absorbed Link within their endless depth. Her face and hair continuously underwent minor changes, as if to follow Link's ideal of beauty. Sometimes the Great Fairy resembled Saria, and other times Malon, but her face always returned to her standard features: Nicely angled chin and cheeks with a smooth nose to give her a pixie-like appearance.

"I would've accepted anything from you as a reward," Link replied, not wanting to hurt Dinara's feelings. "I'm just new to magic. I don't really know where to begin."

Dinara's smile was revived. "Your words are those of kindness, and I thank you for them. If your knowledge of magic is insufficient, then allow me to tutor you in the basics. Magic is the gift given to a select few: Magical entities such as myself, and talented mortals born with the ability to use this sacred power. However, on rare occasions, entities such as I can bless mortals we deem worthy with the gift of magic."

"You can give other people magic?"

"Yes, but that is not what I have done for you. If you had been a normal child, the amount and quality of magic I could have bestowed upon you would have been set for life. This means your magical abilities, regardless of how hard you practiced or trained, would remain unchanged. Think of it as a bottle, only able to hold a fixed amount of magic at all times. That is the normal gift of magic. But Link, you are special. You were born in a maelstrom of energy and raised all your life in a forest brimming with arcane forces. These factors gave you the natural ability to harness and store an extraordinary amount of magic, which will only increase with time; I merely brought out the power within you. Because of your affinity for magic, your potential is endless. Whether you develop it or not will remain up to you.

"Now to quench your knowledge; magic is energy in its ultimate form. It can create and destroy, rebuild and tear down, burn and freeze, enhance and weaken, grant life and take it away. The possibilities of magic are as numerous as the stars in the sky. You can move mountains, change the landscapes to your desire, or bend the laws of the Goddesses to your will.

"Magic is freely flowing energy. Its uses and proficiency differs with every living being. There may be some who are naturally gifted magic users such as you, while others struggle to cast the simplest of incantation. There are those better suited for destructive spells, while others are more comfortable with the healing arts. There are those who use magic to give fire as a source of warmth to others, while there are others who harness the flames as a sword to burn their enemies. Do you understand?"

Link took three seconds to understand Dinara's words. "I think I do. Basically, I can do anything I want with magic as long as I know how to do it. The Great Deku Tree was a master of directing the powers of nature. I might not be so proficient, but may have my own strength as well."

The Great Fairy nodded, letting her waves of pink hair billow within the windless shrine. "Correct. All wielders of magic control and direct their powers in different ways. Two warriors can handle identical blades, but they may swing them in varying manners."

"But how do I actually use magic?" Link inquired. "I can tell the possibilities are endless, but how can I actually put it to use?"

"You shall discover that on your own, child of the Lost Woods. When your need is great, your powers shall follow your will."

"Thank you," Link said, granting Dinara the Great Fairy a wave of goodbye. "You've been a great help and a greater travel companion. I'll miss you."

Her plush lips smiled. "Although I am Dinara, the Great Fairy of Power, I was once Pinky the Fountain Fairy. Thank you for your compassion and sympathy, child of the Lost Woods, Candidate of the Goddesses. Should you ever find your powers to be insufficient to your needs, seek out my sisters and request for their aid. They will surely feel the warmth of your soul and add their powers to yours." With that, the Great Fairy of Power dove headlong into the surface of her home fountain; the waters never splashed, but rippled ever so slightly.

"Wow, it's almost like destiny set you up to rescue Pinky and receive Dinara's gift," Navi murmured with a hint of awe.

Suvica snorted, trying to look indifferent while picking his nose. "Magic, huh? I'm sure you're feeling special." Link grinned at the poor Thunder Dragon; barely fifteen minutes had passed since they arranged their "deal" and he was already down by one. At this rate, he would be the proud owner of a Thunder Dragon's scale by the end of the week.

"I don't think I'm that special," Link replied, not bothering to tame his smile. "Besides, from the way Dinara spoke, I'm sure there are plenty of others out there capable of using magic."

Suvica scoffed, but kept his mouth shut.

Navi snuggled into his hood and wriggled in delight at the open space thanks to Pinky's absence. After she was done dancing, she popped out to say, "You're plenty unique, Link. You don't know it, but it's incredibly rare for a human to use magic. Normally, a person has to be born with magic, or get a magical deity such as Dinara to bless them, in order to receive magical powers. All in all, how many humans in all of Hyrule do you think can use magic?"

"Not a lot?" Link deduced from way Navi worded her question.

Suvica barked in ridicule, a bad dragon habit Link was getting used to. "Not a lot? Let me tell you something, Forest Boy!" He sighed; Suvica usually called him "Forest Boy" when the Thunder Dragon had a bone to pick with him. "There are millions upon millions of Hylians loitering about Hyrule, yet only a grand total of twelve of those humans can actually use magic! Meh, I guess it's thirteen if you include yourself. Get how uncommon it is to find a human tossing fireballs?"

"Don't count me as a magician just yet," Link assured the rambling Thunder Dragon. "I've got magic, but that doesn't mean I know how to use it. Give me some time, I'm sure I'll get it down in a few days. Either way, I got Pinky back home, so it's time to accomplish what I came to do: Meet Zelda. Suvica, you'll need to leave first since you pulled the boulder back over the entrance."

"Why don't you push it aside with some magic?" Suvica pouted. He was being a sore loser over taking a first-strike so soon. Link wondered if Suvica was secretly glad he'd given him three chances.

To answer Suvica's question, Link replied with a pointed stare.

"Fine! Fine!" The Thunder Dragon sulked, bending onto all fours and crawling out of the Fountain Fairy's shrine. Link gave the Great Fairy's Fountain one last glance before allowing Navi to reenter his hood and scurrying after Suvica.

Dinara's words echoed lightly in his head: _Candidate of the Goddesses_.

* * *

Once they were outside and beneath the scrutiny of the sun, Link buried Dinara's words deep within his mind so he could focus upon the task at hand. He scanned their surroundings while Suvica pushed the boulder back into place to conceal the Great Fairy Fountain's entrance. It pained Link to hide such a wondrous shrine, but he wasn't about to let others who shared Suvica's malicious intentions mistreat the Fountain Fairies.

The steel gate they entered through were still bent and broken, but had five fresh Hylian guards posted before it, each clad in an iron helm and visor, breastplate, gauntlets, and greaves. Two of the guards bore spears while the other three kept their fingers on the hilts of their swords. All five of them had their backs turned to Link and Suvica, but they only needed to turn their heads in the slightest to spot them.

Wasting no time, Link used his tempered stealth to soundlessly glide the soles of his boots across the smooth pathway. He traversed the path until he reached the previous fork in the pearl road, this time taking the sloping upward path that ran towards the marble white castle dominating the horizon. He kept his knees bent and head low as he navigated his way up the inclined roadwork, gaining a better understanding of the terrain around him.

The man-made cliff the path curved around had a wide oval shape, sticking twenty-or-so feet above ground level. The pathway Link was on sloped around the exterior curve of the cliff, leading to the topside of the raised mass of land. He continued to smoothly make his way up the road until the cliff's topside was at his eye level, where his vision feasted upon a garden flourishing with decorative trees, ferns, and flowers Saria would have envied. The only stain to this lovely garden were the seventeen Hylian soldiers patrolling it, roughly trampling the evenly trimmed grass and kicking over bushels of roses.

Link looked farther down the designated path; it ended midway at the topside of the oval landmass's perimeter before immediately turning north towards the closed drawbridge and moat of Hyrule Castle. Unfortunately, the closed bridge was guarded by four additional soldiers posted near the edge of the moat surrounding the castle

"Now what?" Suvica growled behind Link, his voice a pitch too high. Link tensed as one of the guards beckoned his head towards their general direction because of Suvica, yet turned away when neither of them made any further noise.

Unwilling to raise any more attention by drawing out a conversation with a Thunder Dragon who didn't know the meaning of stealth, Link focused on his next move. He scanned the cliff-top garden for environmental advantages he could make use of. He found one: A tall tree with a thick canopy of branches and a cloak of leaves located near the outer edge of the oval-cliff top directly south of Hyrule Castle's closed drawbridge.

Link got out his Fairy Slingshot and armed it with a deku seed. The moment he was certain no wandering eyes were directed towards them, Link aimed high and fired the deku seed. Putting the wind into consideration, he shot the deku seed over the armored heads of the four unsuspecting guards near the drawbridge and into the moat behind them. Reacting to the _plop_ the deku seed made as it entered moat waters, the four Hylian soldiers guarding the bridge, along with seven of the closest guards wandering about the upper garden, turned their heads towards the moat to check the disturbance. The remaining ten soldiers were too far away to hear the disturbance and kept their eyes trained forward. Because of the momentary distraction, half the guards were facing north while the other half kept their eyes to the south, creating a single line of unaware space cutting across the top of the cliff-garden.

Link seized the opportunity, darting across the temporary opening. His leather boots didn't made the slightest sound as he rushed across the grass. Reaching his destination with seconds to spare, he scampered up the tree's trunk and took refuge within its shroud of shadows and leaves. Suvica wasn't as silent, kicking up flowers and bushes as he stampeded across the garden behind him. Several times, Link thought Suvica's clumsy steps would get them both caught, yet miraculously, he leapt into the tree's branches beside Link without a single Hylian soldier noticing.

"That was pretty smart," Suvica growled; Link recognized his lowered toned as the Thunder Dragon's grudging sign of respect. "But what now? We're stuck in this tree like cornered monkeys with no way out or into the castle."

"Give me a moment," Link breathed, readjusting his seat on the bark-smooth branches while pushing aside a blanket of leaves to inspect their new position. The tree's numerous leaves concealed them from prying eyes; none of the soldiers caught onto them. Directly north from their current position was the closed drawbridge of Hyrule Castle; the four Hylian guards near the gate were done inspecting the moat and resumed their defensive stances. To their south was a thirty feet drop back onto the pearl pathway in front of the gate Suvica broke open (twenty feet for the cliff drop and ten feet for the tree). If they wanted to progress any further, they needed another distraction.

"Navi, can you do something?" Link pleaded, closing the curtain of leaves to keep them obscured from view.

"Please don't ask this of me," his partner whined. "I escaped death seven times today. Don't add to the grand total. Can't you think of something else?"

Fate did them one better; a disturbance presented itself all on its own.

"Fairy Boy! Suvi! Where'd you two go?"

"Nice timing," Link whistled softly, facing the south and parting the drape of leaves. He looked down to see Malon strolling up the pearl pathway, heading towards the strangled gateway and the five Hylian soldiers below. Reacting to her timely appearance, all the guards, even the four posted at the drawbridge, rushed towards the edge of the cliff-top garden with their weapons drawn and their faces set in stone. They made a line pressed against the cliff's rim, leaving their posts empty. If Link and Suvica made a run for it now, they could reach the drawbridge without being seen by any of them. He discarded the plan when he saw movement along the walls of Hyrule Castle; the archers were still at their posts, keeping vigilant watch for intruders. They couldn't make a break for the castle without being seen.

At the sight of their harmless intruder, the Hylian guards lowered their weapons and softened their expressions. Some of them recognized Malon as the daughter of Talon and asked if her dad could provide them with some free drinks.

"You'll have to ask my dad about that, not me," Malon announced, bringing out a playful groan from the questioning soldier. "By the way, have you seen my brothers?"

"Brothers?" one of the five soldiers posted on ground level repeated. "What do they look like?"

"They're twins and my new foster siblings!" Malon exclaimed, easily passing along the lie Link started without a pause of hesitation. "One is dressed in green like a Fairy Boy and the other wears all black. Have you seen them? They're visiting Hyrule Market for the first time, so I'm worried they might be lost and came this way on accident."

"Can't say I have, and I doubt you'll find them here. Before you go, can you tell us something? Have you seen any suspicious individuals around here? I fear we might be experiencing an incursion."

"Suspicious individuals? Like them?" She asked, pointing upward.

Link sucked in a fist of air, wondering if Malon had accidentally revealed his hiding spot. The Hylian guards followed her pointing finger, but they weren't staring at the tree Link and Suvica were in. Instead, they were focusing on the cliff across from the one they were on, neighboring the pathway. Link looked as well, startled to see five black-robed individuals flying across the cliff top with a speed that rivaled his own.

Upon detection, the five figures kicked their speed up a notch, transforming themselves into blurred objects deformed by their rate of speed. They soared across the gaping distance between cliff ledges, over the gathered soldiers, and darted towards Hyrule Castle. The Hylian guards vainly tried to apprehend the five suspects, but these five blurs bolted across the garden and towards the castle at an inhuman speed. An alarm rang across the castle walls as the archers let loose a downpour of arrows upon the five. The sky was almost blacked out by the arrows cluttering the sky, yet the five intruders snaked through the storm with impossible ease. The garden was riddled with countless arrows, yet the five cloaked figures continued towards the castle unmolested.

Link was amazed by the maneuverability of the intruders, yet saw the folly of their approach. The marble walls of Hyrule Castle were more than a hundred feet high, with no handholds to take advantage of. The drawbridge was closed and was going to stay that way, meaning these five had no way of infiltrating the castle.

His eyes widened as he was proven wrong. The five approached the castle, but the moment their feet reached the edge of the moat, they bent their knees and jumped. Each of them leapt upward, above, and across the walls of Hyrule Castle, bypassing its defenses and landing within the marble fortress. For a split second, everyone, including the Hylian guards and archers, were dumbfounded at the feat they witnessed. The next, panicked screams and orders chaotically erupted from within. The archers abandoned their posts to pursue the five, and the drawbridge was lowered so the guards outside the castle could be let in.

"This is our chance!" Suvica urged as the drawbridge fell open to let the scurrying guards inside. "No guards, archers, no nothing! We run in now and we can make it!"

"Don't be stupid!" Navi countered. "Just look at all those soldiers crossing the bridge! If we go now, we'll never get across without being seen!"

Link agreed with his partner. Worse yet, the drawbridge was already beginning to close, even before the last guard had reached the bridge. In a last act of desperation, the lagging soldier lunged for the closing drawbridge, barely managing to fasten his hands onto the rising bridge and tumble into the castle before it slammed shut.

"Our window of opportunity didn't exist in the first place. Like Navi said, the drawbridge wasn't open long enough for us to sneak in undetected. You saw the last soldier, he barely made it in himself." Link checked the outlining walls of Hyrule Castle, relieved to find not a single archer was left. With the castle in a state of panic, Link swung out of the tree and landed nimbly on his feet.

"So now what?" Suvica growled, smashing onto the grass as he plummeted beside him. "I still can't fly you in. Just because we don't see any archers doesn't they aren't there."

"Then we find a different way. At least we know Owl Kae was right, there are others who want to meet Zelda," Link replied. Before approaching the castle, he walked to the cliff ledge and glanced down at Malon, whose face lit up when she saw him. "Hi, Malon. I'm going inside to see Zelda. Want to come along?"

"I'd love to!" Malon took half a minute to squirm past the ripped-open gate, scale the pathway circling the oval plot of land, and meet up with them. "I'm only wondering, but who were those other folks? Were they friends of yours, Fairy Boy?"

"Not mine," Link assured. He was more interested in how those five displayed feats of strength which defied common sense. He voiced his curiosity, and Navi was the one to answer.

"It was magic. Magic holds plenty of possibilities, and what you saw was one of them: Physical enhancement. Those five bolstered their physical strength with magic to skip right over the castle walls like they didn't exist."

Link felt a poke of confusion. "I'm pretty sure those five were human. I you said magic was uncommon among humans."

"It is," Suvica said gruffly.

"So we just saw five of the twelve humans capable of using magic?"

Suvica shared his doubts with a troubled expression. "That can't be. I'm certain all the human magicians work for the King of Hyrule, so there's no reason for five of them to flaunt their ability to play leap frog. Maybe there are more humans attuned to magic than I previously thought."

As impressive as their exhibit of magic was, Link couldn't help but feel a twinge of doubt. Those five displayed a level of ability that could've let them slip into Hyrule Castle unnoticed if they wished. If they'd chosen a less guarded area of Hyrule Castle to infiltrate, Link was positive they could have snuck in without being seen. Instead, they marched up the front door, attracted as much attention as possible, and made an impressive spectacle of themselves in the process. Why? It was almost as if they were deliberately trying to attract attention. It was also unnerving to see how their arrival coincided with his.

Eventually, Link let the matter drop. The intruders' plans and thought processes were of no concern to him. If they wanted to run through Hyrule Castle with bells wrapped around their necks, then that was their problem. All Link cared about was the fact that those cloaked intruders drew away all the guards standing between him and Zelda, reducing the amount of effort required to sneak inside. If their mistakes helped his cause, then he was thankful.

"Let's go," he prompted, striding across the garden and approaching the sealed drawbridge. Suvica and Malon were right behind him, and Navi stayed close to his shoulder. Although the soldiers were gone, the closed drawbridge still posed a serious problem.

"Think we should knock?" Malon offered.

"No way," Link and Suvica said in unison.

"I could try breaking it. It doesn't look so tough up close," Suvica snickered, stretching his arms and cracking his knuckles.

Link slapped the back of Suvica's head, rewarded by the Thunder Dragon's stunned expression. "How is that any different from knocking? What about the moat? We can try swimming to see where it leads." They all looked down, right on time to see a human skull drift towards the top of the moat's sloshing surface.

"Rejected!" Suvica and Malon declared as one.

"Why don't you find us a way in with magic?" Suvica chortled.

Link sighed to exemplify the fact he was unable to control his newfound powers, but Malon squealed, "Fairy Boy! You can use magic? Since when? Can you make flowers pop out of the air and grow fairies from lilies?"

"That's not how I was reborn!" Navi retorted, sounding very offended.

"I don't have a firm grasp on this magic business yet," Link said. "I don't want to rely on something I don't know how to use. For now, the moat's our best shot. We're not going to swim in it!" He added, catching Malon's worried look. "Let's find out where the water is coming from and see if we can make use of that."

Malon breathed in relief and agreed to the plan. Suvica offered to blow a hole in the drawbridge with his lightning and gave it a try before Link could stop him. All that materialized from the dragon's mouth with a thin crackle of electricity which left a small sizzle on the face of the drawbridge. Perhaps the damage he dealt to Suvica during their bout in Oron had some lasting effects.

"As you'd expect from a Thunder Dragon who fears ice cream," Navi noted. Link held Suvica back to stop him from eating his fairy partner.

After calming the dragon down with a pancake he saved inside the Pouch meant specifically for such an occasion, Link ventured alongside the moat, following the current east. Suvica nibbled at the pancake as he followed Link while Malon continuously glanced into the water, squealing at the frequently resurfacing body parts. Link spent fifteen minutes leading them eastward; even from afar, Hyrule Castle seemed enormous, yet walking around it up close made it all the more gargantuan.

Their extensive walk did not end there. After fifteen minutes, Link and his friends reached a sharp turn in the moat, were the defensive channel turned northward to follow Hyrule Castle's corner. They continued along the rim of the moat, heading north for another five minutes until the watery defense disappeared into a gutter at the base of a higher marble wall of Hyrule Castle.

Link had only seen around a fourth of Hyrule Castle, yet he already understood the basic layout. He imagined a square, where the bottom half was slightly smaller than the top. The bottom was surrounded by the moat he and his friends followed while the upper half protected itself with higher walls. In the most basic aspect, that was Hyrule Castle.

To his delight, he found the source of the moat water. There was a wooden duct in the castle's wall directly across from them, feeding water into the moat below. Ordinarily, no adult intruder would consider this tiny canal to be a proper entrance; it was far too small and narrow for any adult to fit in. However, it was the right size for three meddlesome children to squeeze through.

"That's our entrance," Link said, pointing at the duct in the castle wall. "It might be a tight fit, but it's certainly better than nothing."

"We're still going to get wet?" Malon moaned, hurtfully looking at her pristine white dress. He'd forgotten the clothes of the outside world lacked the self-drying capabilities his own tunic possessed.

"Better than swimming in the moat," Link pointed out, casting aside the remainder of Malon's doubt. "Suvica, can you extend your tail for a bit? It'll work nicely as a makeshift bridge."

Suvica jerked his head in a nod, extending his black-scaled tail over the moat until the tip was braced against the wall, leading to the water duct. Link walked across Suvica's tail with relative ease and balance, and waited for the others on a small protruding ledge running alongside the open canal. Malon was next, proudly exclaiming her excellent sense of equilibrium thanks to countless hours of horseback riding. She slipped on her first step and would've fallen into the moat if Suvica hadn't caught her with his tail. This time, Suvica lightly tossed Malon across the moat, and Link managed to catch her with open arms. Once she was successfully crawling up the water-feed and into the castle, Suvica retracted his tail and let his wings bloom, propelling himself across the gap of water with a short flap from his wings.

"One of those scales is going to be mine," Link pleasantly reminded him as the Thunder Dragon crossed the eight feet gap.

"I've got two chances left!" Suvica retorted, retracting his wings and crawling into the duct after Malon. Link almost pitied the Thunder Dragon as he bent down and followed him inside.

The flow of water within the wooden canal was stronger than Link expected, and its surface was perilously slippery due to the many years of running water. Thus, it took ten minutes of constant slipping, complaining, and cursing (from Suvica), as they climbed the sloped water duct before reaching the exit.

Trudging through the last few feet of moat water, Link crawled his way into a small stone pond that was being fed by an eagle statuette's mouth above them. Malon and Suvica dumped themselves outside the pond's waters and onto fresh inner-garden grass, wring water and drying their bodies beneath the rays of the sun. Link waded his way out of the waist-high pond and let his magical tunic wring the water from the enchanted fabric.

"I need to get me one of those," Malon said with longing appreciation, lifting the hem of her dress and squeezing droplets of water from the soaked clothing.

Link spared her a grin, but went to work observing the inner sanctum of the castle. From the looks of the roofless sky, he could tell they hadn't infiltrated the castle itself. Instead, they stumbled into a spacious but barren garden within the castle's walls, fabulously garlanded and designed by a hundred expert hands. He counted numerous swing sets, handfuls of slides, and architecturally sound playgrounds nearly forty feet in height. It was a wonderful nature setting the Kokiri children would've loved. Despite the expansive layout and numerous playgrounds, there was no true sense of liberty within the inner garden, not with the castle walls staring down at them from all directions. The sun was free and dazzling above them, but it only augmented the sense of imprisonment within the stone cage.

"What is this place?" Link asked, unable to understand why someone would go through all the trouble of building such a lavish playground yet keep it untouched. "And please don't tell me the King of Hyrule loves gardening."

"It's one of the many castle gardens the King designed to appease his daughter, the Princess of Hyrule," Suvica replied before spitting on the swing sets (they had pictures of dying dragons engraved on the seats). "Seriously? This is how my tax rupees are being used? Someone needs to start a damn revolt."

"What do you mean by appease?" Link asked. The more he stared at the barren playground, the lonelier it seemed for a single girl to occupy all on her own.

"The King of Hyrule has a daughter complex," Suvica snickered, as if it were a funny joke amongst dragons. "He's so overprotective that he never lets the Princess leave the castle, which naturally means she's dying to get out of it. I heard she pestered the King night and day to leave, but her old man was seriously against it. In order to pacify her, the King had these gardens built inside the castle to keep her preoccupied. Heck, it even worked for a while, but not for long. The Princess's curiosity went right on growing, until no number of gardens could satisfy her."

Link swallowed; in a way, Zelda almost reminded Link of himself. He was like that in the past, always wondering what was beyond the boundaries of the Kokiri Village. Zelda, like him, was desperate to see what rest beyond the restrictions of her small world, to see and explore sights that existed within her small circle of life. But he left his peaceful world in order to seek vengeance, while Zelda pursued her freedom out of idle curiosity.

Perhaps they weren't too similar.

"Wow, I feel sorry for Princess Zelda," Malon whispered, her voice filled with sorrow as she gazed at the numerous vacant garden sets. "I thought being a princess meant having nice clothes, good food, and a family safe from danger."

Suvica laughed. "Safe from danger? Believe me, being a member of the Royal Family does not steer you away from danger, it attracts it! I've heard when King Ceylon was still the Prince of Hyrule there were plenty of assassination attempts on his life. Heck, now that Princess Zelda is next in line to rule, it's only obvious power mongering humans with fat bellies and expensive clothes would want her dead and out of the way. There are tons rumors flying around about how Queen Zelda, Princess Zelda's mother and namesake, was poisoned by members of the Royal Council, which led to her death once she gave birth. That's part of the reason why King Ceylon is so overprotective of his daughter. No one dares to try and kill King Ceylon now that he's King, that'd be suicide. Instead, they swamp the King with buckets of diplomatic what-not, using his royal duties to separate him from the Princess. Targeting the Princess's life becomes that much easier with daddy out of the way."

"How do you know all this? Where do are your rumors come from? You're not making all this up, right?" Link asked.

"I used to live in Oron City, remember? That little place attracts tons of travelers, and since the Hylian guards there don't do squat, they chatter and babble about anything they please."

"So Princess Zelda can't even see her father?" Malon said, looking horrified at the notion. "That's so sad!"

"It's true, King Ceylon hasn't had a break until Commander Ganondorf of the King's Royal Guards arrived." Suvica shrugged.

"Ganondorf? Who's he?" Link asked while not really caring. All he wanted to do right now was find a way to locate and meet Princess Zelda without getting caught by castle guards.

"I actually don't know," Suvica shrugged helplessly. "There's barely anything on that guy. I don't know if the King's trying to give his buddy a clean name or if there's really not much too Ganondorf. Either way, I don't know much about him. You can ask the Princess if we actually get to meet her, she's sure to know something."

"Good idea." Link looked around the garden to search for any routes deeper into the castle. He spotted four; three were separating trails venturing deeper into the outer garden while the fourth was a set of grand double-doors leading into Hyrule Castle. "Four paths. What do you guys think?"

"Isn't a princess supposed to be in the highest tower of the castle? Let's try searching there," Suvica suggested.

"I think she's somewhere in the garden," Malon contradicted.

"What makes you think so?" Navi asked.

"Well, think about it. If you were trapped in a castle all your life, wouldn't you want to spend every free moment you had outside?"

"That makes sense," Link agreed, understanding what she meant completely. "There are three routes leading to different areas of the garden. We should split up and each take one."

"What if we run into trouble?" Malon asked hesitantly. "If I'm spotted by a guard, the only thing I can do is surrender."

"Aim for his nuts," Suvica said unhelpfully. "Guaranteed to bring down the tallest of humans. If that doesn't work, poke his eyes and rip out his tongue." Malon turned to Link with desperation in her eyes; Suvica's methods were undoubtedly too brutal for her.

"Here." Link reached into the Pouch and pulled out a deku nut, which he gave to Malon. "This is a deku nut. You saw me use one on Pablo, so you know what it does, right?"

Malon gaped, gingerly holding the deku nut between her thumb and index finger as though she were afraid it'd go off at any moment. "Are you sure it's safe?"

"As long as it doesn't break, you'll be fine. If you run into any guards, close your eyes and throw the deku nut at the ground. The light will blind them and give you some time to escape."

Suvica tapped on his shoulder. "What about me?"

"What about you?"

"Don't I get one?"

"You can already bend steel with your bare hands. Why do you need one?"

"Why fight when I can run?" Suvica said with an unconvincing smile that didn't suit his savage nature. Still, not wanting to waste any time, Link agreed to Suvica's demands and handed him a deku nut.

"I don't have a lot of those left, so you won't waste it, right?"

"Of course," Suvica said right before he tossed the deku nut into his mouth. Link heard it crunch between Suvica's teeth, releasing a laser from his mouth. Thankfully, the directional blast of light ensured no one was blinded except for Navi, who got caught right in the center of the beam.

"Seriously?" Navi screamed as she flew in blind circles, "SERIOUSLY?"

Suvica licked his lips. "That was kind of spicy. Link, toss me another."

"Get moving," Link ordered, kicking Suvica right in the rear. The dragon chased him with foul words, but Link was already moving towards the one of the three different trails leading deeper into the castle garden. He took the stone tunnel, Malon headed for the vine-tangled archway, and Suvica flicked him a finger before stomping towards the trail meandering around a bushel of roses.

The lightless tunnel was only ten brisk steps long, leading Link and Navi into a different garden more sumptuously built than the last. He was starting to understand what Suvica meant when he said Ceylon wanted to distract Zelda from the world outside the castle. The gardens were grown and shaped with skills that could rival the Great Deku Tree's magical structures. Swings were assembled so they appeared to naturally grow from the trees, and the slides were so large and extravagant, winding around trees and flowers, that Link didn't bother resisting the temptation to try them out once or twice. There was also a small bench at the corner of the garden, shaded by an umbrella made from white lilies, a wonderful place for reviewing reading material. Like the last, this luxury playground was connected to another garden. The process continued as each garden brought them to another, surpassing the ones before it.

Deeper into the castle garden, Navi asked, "You okay, Link?"

"I should be asking you that," he laughed softly, pushing the seat of a swing set he passed. "Getting blasted by a deku nut's light shooting from Suvica's mouth? How'd that feel?"

"Terrible, but don't avoid the question. Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be? We're one step closer to the Princess of Hyrule—"

"—which means were another step closer to the man from the desert," Navi concluded. "It can't be easy for you, steadily getting closer to the man who killed the Great Deku Tree yet not knowing how far away he still is."

Link couldn't respond to that aloud, but Navi was right. I burned him to know that no matter how much progress he made, he still couldn't tell how close he was to his goal. He knew the man from the desert was the leader of the desert pirates, the Gerudos, but he still didn't know what he looked like. The Great Deku Tree said the Kokiri Emerald was one of the keys needed to open the way to the Sacred Realm, the resting place of the Triforce, but he didn't know where the Sacred Realm was. For every answer the Great Deku Tree gave him, it only brought forth yet another question.

Then the ultimate question: Why did the man from the desert want the Triforce? What could the man from the desert desire so badly that he killed the Great Deku Tree to accomplish his goal? The more Link asked himself, the less he felt he knew. All he knew for absolute certainty was this: The man from the desert would die by his hand. The Great Deku Tree always taught them, the Kokiri, that life was sacred, and no one had the right to claim the life of another. If so, the man from the desert had no right to take the Great Deku Tree's life, and for that, Link was willing to break the Great One's trust and law to take what he deserved: The man from the desert's life.

"You're thinking about it, aren't you?" Navi said. "You're thinking about killing the man from the desert."

"And you're not?" Link asked, trying to conceal the anger in his voice. "You're a fairy, which means the Great Deku Tree is important to you too! Don't you want the man from the desert dead just as much as I do?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you're far more important to me than the Great Deku Tree ever was!" Navi shouted back. "Link, I don't want you to change who you are in order to do something the Great Deku Tree never wanted you to do! He asked you to stop the man from the desert because it's the right thing to do, not to satisfy your own vengeance!"

"If stopping the man from the desert is the right thing to do, then killing him is the most effective way!"

"Link!"

"What? Navi, I don't know who I am anymore!"

His words stunned Navi until her body turned completely white. "What do you mean?"

Link stopped walking, clenching his hands into fists as every problem and conflicted emotion inside his body bubbled forward. "Life was so simple before all this! Having fun, enjoying life! I thought those were the things I cherished most! But then the Great Deku Tree died, tearing away my life by telling me so many things I never wanted to know! I thought I knew who I was; I thought I was Link, Kokiri child of the Kokiri Village. But I'm not! I'm not a Kokiri! I'm not a child of the Great Deku Tree! I'm a human, a Hylian! I don't know who my parents are or why they abandoned me! I'm going to kill the man from the desert because I _know_ it's what I want! But after that … after that I'm no one. I don't have parents. I can't live in the Kokiri Village, no matter how badly I want to call it home. I'll grow up, while all my Kokiri friends stay the same for the rest of their lives. After the man from the desert dies, that's the end. I'll be no one."

For the longest time, Link's feet remained ingrained to the trimmed grass beneath him. He thought his outburst would've attracted some Hylian guards to his location, but the faraway alarms coming from the opposite end of the castle told him otherwise. The five magical intruders were doing a swell job of making a fool of Hyrule Castle's fabled impenetrability.

Then Navi said, "You've got me."

"I know, you'll help me until the man from the desert is stopped, but then what?"

"No, that's not what I mean. I'll stay with you Link. I'll stay with you until the end of time if I have to. I'll stay with you until you know who you are, until you're happy with the person you've become."

"But after the man from the desert is dead—"

"—then our lives are our own again!" Navi declared, zipping through the air and leaving a trail of magic powder in her wake. "We'll do whatever we please, eat anything we want, and go wherever the road takes us! Next stop: Anywhere!" Navi dove down to Link's eye-level. "If you don't know who you are, then I'll help you find out, because I know who I am! I'm Navi, partner of Link, Hero of the Kokiri Village!" Her voice softened into a compassionate plea. "So please, don't say you're no one, because to me, you're someone dear to my heart."

Link felt Navi's words brush away his foreboding sense of misery, reawaking a long forgotten glimmer of nostalgia. This was why he'd always wanted a fairy partner, to have an eternal friend who'd always be there for him, no matter what happened. He quickly turned away from his partner when his tear ducts began to loosen, clamping his eyes shut to stop himself from crying in gratitude in the middle of Hyrule Castle.

"Navi?" Link asked as he got his emotions under control. "Have I ever said how glad I am you're here?"

"Plenty of times," Navi giggled as her body regained its sapphire shine. "This isn't exactly the pleasure ride I thought it'd be riding when I signed up, but it works well enough for me."  
Link laughed, and the two of them continued to venture deeper into the gardens in their search for Zelda. They maintained a constant conversation as they walked.

"Link, you sure we can't ditch Suvica in a hole somewhere very remote?"

"You hate him that much?"

"I think he hates me more than I hate him, but yes, I loathe the lizard. The only reason I put up with him is because I know he's _somewhat_ reliable in a pinch."

"What about Malon? What do you think of her?"

"She's sweet. I was wrong to push her away when we first met her. She's kind, a little too curious for her own good, honest, and does her best to help others. She's like a little angel."

"Really? Honestly, I'm more comfortable around Suvica than I am around Malon."

His partner stared. "You definitely need to explain yourself."

"Suvica's so straight forward he's predictable. You can always tell how he's feeling and what he'll do next just by looking at him. Malon … I don't know. She gives me the same vibes as the Great Deku Tree."

"You mean she's old, crusty, lives on water and sunlight, and sings bad poetry after one too many drinks?"

"Yea—What? No!" Then Navi's words sunk in. "Wait, the Great Deku Tree got drunk and sang poetry?"

"Pours some mead on his root and he sings like a drunken bird."

"Um, okay. But what I meant is that Malon seems to see right through me. She can guess how I'm feeling and acts accordingly. She's almost all-knowing, like the Great Deku Tree!" But that wasn't all. Malon acted childish, but inside, Link could tell she was way too mature for her age. He knew Malon's mother, a figure close to her, was killed, yet when Malon spoke of her, there was no trace of rage, sadness, or grief. She wasn't in denial, nor was she ignoring her mother's death. Instead, she'd learn to overcome her anguish while still living her life to its fullest. In that aspect, Link envied her.

"I don't know, comparing the Great Deku Tree to a ten year old farm girl is kind of pushing it." Then Navi started giggling for no discernable reason. "I feel so sorry for Saria."

"What? Why?"

"Because she's stuck in the Kokiri Village while you travel Hyrule with a new cute companion at hand. I can only imagine her jealousy if she ever found out!"

"Why would she be jealous?" Link asked, confused. "I've known Saria for years, but I only just met Malon yesterday!"

"Question! Who do you like more: Saria or Malon?"

"Saria," Link said immediately.

"Whoa, and here I thought you might take a while to decide. Do you love Saria?"

"Love? I don't know. Is loving someone better than liking someone?"

"Um … I guess?"

"Then sure, I like Malon and I love Saria."

"Ack, I don't think that's what I meant," Navi sighed. "Oh boy, if only Saria were here right now."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. What is Hyrule coming to? We've got children professing love to one another," Navi mumbled, more to herself than Link. "Youth is a scary thing. But aren't you usually supposed say something like, '_Oh, I don't love you, Saria!_' while in truth you're head over heels for her?"

"How does that help? It's dishonest and would hurt her feelings!"

"But that's how love works! At least, that's how I think it works! It's full of awkward boys and shy girls! Or was it submissive boys and dominating girls? Who cares! One or the other!

"That makes no sense!" Link frowned, following the rose-lined trail wandering into the next garden.

"Love isn't supposed to make any sense!" Navi shot back.

"Hold it, you two!" Suvica roared. They jumped, realizing they'd roamed into a particular inner garden without fanciful decorations or lucrative greenery. They were in a circular patch of grass caged within the standard stone walls. Link saw that this garden connected the diverging three pathways he, Suvica, and Malon split up to search individually. Suvica had arrived first, followed by Link and Navi, while Malon took her time smelling flowers before scuttling towards them with an animated expression.

"What is it, Suvica?" Link asked as Malon happily skipped towards them.

"I always knew you two were an odd pair," Suvica continued, glaring at him and Navi. "I can tell from personal experience that love makes no sense at all, but a relationship between a human and fairy is just wrong!"

Navi pounded Suvica in the face while Link jabbed a left fist into his gut.

"Stupid lizard," Navi huffed.

"Wait, did I miss something?" Suvica rectified.

"Oh! Oh! What's this about a love scandal?" Malon squealed, eagerly pouncing upon the conversation.

"It's nothing," Link assured the giddy girl. "More importantly, I take it neither of you found Zelda?" Suvica grunted and Malon shook her head. "What about the five intruders or castle guards? Did either of you run into any trouble?" Again, the both of them denied any encounters. "Great, glad no one's hurt."

"As if some puny human dressed in steel could hurt me," Suvica scorned.

"In your case, I was more worried about the guards than you," Link affirmed. Suvica took his words as a compliment and held his nose high. "Malon, do you still have my deku nut I gave you?"

"Right here!" Malon handed Link the intact deku nut, which he placed back into the Pouch. "I'm glad I didn't have to use it."

"Hey, Link," Suvica called. "Remember the deku nut I ate? It's not going to make my poop glow like a torch, is it?"

Link did his best to ignore the glutinous Thunder Dragon as he searched for a route to take besides the three openings they used to get here; there was another entrance posted opposite from the first three. This one was a twenty feet high tunnel puncturing through a solid slab of stone, leading into a final garden forty feet away. Link's eyes narrowed to observe the faraway garden; his eyes strayed away from the colorful dotted flowers and landed on the distance occupant.

"What is it, Fairy Boy?" Malon asked after fifteen seconds of silence.

"There's someone over there." He pointed, directing everyone's gaze down the expansive tunnel and onto the remote resident.

Malon almost jumped out of her dress. "I-I-Is it P-P-P-P-Princess Z-Zelda?"

"One way to find out." Swiftly, while exercising extreme caution, Link entered the tunnel as Navi cast aside the shadows with her body's glow. Suvica and Malon stayed close as he jogged through the passage, their footsteps echoing within the stone trench. They entered the final garden, contained within the high castle walls and circled by a perimeter of river water. The lonely occupant was at the far end of the garden, standing on a stone podium posted above the encircling flow of water and staring into a narrow window built into the encasing stone wall. This tenant's back was facing Link and his friends, oblivious of their arrival.

Five feet away, Link cleared his throat. "Excuse me?"

The occupant, a girl, spun around with such startled speed Link thought she'd trip on her dress and fall (which she didn't). Face to face, he got proper look at her. His heart fluttered as a word popped into his mind: Cute. The only other time he felt this way was when he met Saria for the first time. Biting the insides of his cheeks to keep himself under control, Link kept an unbiased focus on the girl in question.

Link had seen plenty of clothes thanks to Malon's shopping spree, but the girl before him wore the most regal dressing he'd seen today. She donned a diamond-white dress long enough to conceal her feet, along with extended sleeves reaching her wrists. On top of her dress she wore a royal purple garment of silk fashioned into a sleeveless apron. The front hem of the velvet apron depicted the familiar golden triangle Link saw so many times in Hyrule Market, along with a symmetrical red eagle beneath it; there was an upside down bullion triangle below the scarlet eagle's claws. Her head was gowned with an imperial lavender headdress concealing much of her hair, which Link could tell was dark gold from a few loose strands. Her waist was secured under a gilded belt, along with both her wrists. There was a golden necklace around her collar with a glimmering ruby the size of Link's fist in the center.

But it wasn't the girl's clothing that captivated him. She could've been dressed in rags and covered in filth, yet he'd still call her cute. Her skin was a healthy glow, her neck sleek, and her cheeks lithe. Her cerulean eyes were so deep he fell in trance as he stared into them, and her thin dark gold eyebrows rose higher and higher with the surprise her face portrayed.

This was Zelda, the Princess of Destiny.

"Who … who are you?" Zelda queried, taking a step away from Link. "How did you get in here? What do you want? How did you get past the guards?"

"They're fussing over some other intruders," Suvica replied. The Thunder Dragon made a sudden jerk forward with his body, as if he planned on jumping the princess. Zelda flinched, visibly frightened. He snickered.

"Ignore him," Link spoke in, back-fisting the teasing Thunder Dragon in the face when he took another step towards the trembling princess. He barely heard Suvica hiss out several curses as he tottered backwards. "The ungrateful kid who looks like me is Suvica."

"He's a dragon," Zelda murmured, surprising them all with the accuracy of her deduction.

"How'd you know that?" Suvica demanded.

"I can see the magic that binds you," she whispered, never taking her eyes off Suvica's face. "I can feel the ferocity driving you. I know what you are."

"He's harmless," Link reassured. "This here is Malon from Lon Lon Ranch."

Malon was already on her hands and knees before Link even started her introduction. "It's an honor to meet you, Princess Zelda!"

"The pleasure is mine," Zelda breathed; her eyes never left Suvica's sneering face.

"My name is Link, Link of the Kokiri Village, hidden within the Lost Woods. This is my fairy partner, Navi. The two of us have wanted to meet you for a while."

Zelda's gaze was torn off Suvica and placed on Link and Navi. "Your name … is Link? And is that a fairy? A guardian fairy?"

"That's me," Navi replied, darting towards the princess and circling her once before returning to Link's side.

"That's your fairy partner," Zelda slowly repeated, as if in a daze. "You said you were from the Kokiri Village … hidden within the Lost Woods." Her face lit up with a look of delight. "You wouldn't happen to have the Spiritual Stone of the Forest? A green, shining stone, would you?"

"Do you mean this?" Link dipped his left hand into the Pouch and pulled out the Kokiri Emerald, holding it up for the princess to see.

Zelda lifted the hem of her dress an inch from the ground and scurried down to stand in front of Link. "It's just as I thought! You are him! You are the child of my dreams!"

"Whoa, true love already?" Suvica murmured behind Link. His sarcasm was the lifeline Link needed to maintain his serious posture.

"Princess scandal!" Malon squeaked, sounding like she'd heard the best news in her life.

Zelda's face reddened, but only by a little. "Please, it's not like that! You see, I had a dream. In my dream, dark storm clouds were billowing over the land of Hyrule, shunning out the sunlight and casting our world in an age of darkness and chaos. Suddenly, a ray of light shot out from the forest, the Lost Woods, and parted the clouds to light up the world once more! Then the light turned into a figure holding a green and shining stone, and he was followed by a fairy!"

"So you had a nightmare. What's that got to do with Link?" Suvica asked.

Malon answered before Zelda had a chance. "Don't you know, Suvi? Princess Zelda is also called the Dreamer of Prophecies! They say everything she dreams about comes true!"

Zelda's excited manner mellowed a tad. "Not all my dreams foretell of the future, but I am positive this dream is a prophecy. Oh, I'm so sorry! I got ahead of myself. You have all introduced yourselves, yet I have not done the same. It is as you say: I am Zelda, the Princess of Hyrule, Princess of Destiny, and Dreamer of Prophecies."

Although Link was sure all of them were well aware of Zelda's identity the moment they saw her, Suvica still cackled in appreciative laughter while Malon moaned in happiness. He couldn't blame them; they were meeting the elusive Princess of Hyrule no one had ever seen before.

Zelda's look of intrigue lingered upon Link's face, and he tried his best not to gulp. "You said your name was Link? How … interesting. It's rather strange, your name seems most familiar to me."

Malon unexpectedly grabbed the back of Link's tunic and almost choked him with a yank. "Fairy Boy! You've met Princess Zelda before? Why didn't you say so?"

"This is also my first time!" He protested, wriggling free from her grip.

"If this really is some sort of secret love scandal, then it's too good to be true. I can't wait to spread the good word to all of Hyrule," Link heard the gossiping Thunder Dragon snicker in a low voice.

"N-N-No! It's c-c-c-c-certainly not like t-t-that!" Zelda vehemently denied, appearing rather flustered. Link frowned; she didn't have to refute it so viciously. He waited for the muddled princess to calm herself before beginning with his most pressing questions.

"Zelda, I've come from the—" Link started, but was interrupted by Malon's loud gasped behind him. "What is it?"

"Fairy Boy … you didn't call Princess Zelda by her honorable status," Malon gaped, acting like he'd committed treason of the highest offense. Suvica also looked a little astonished. Zelda's expression was the most bewildered, but she straightened it out faster than the other two.

"Do you want me to call you '_Princess_' Zelda?"

Zelda opened her mouth, but when no words emerged, she took four seconds to regain her voice (was omitting the "princess" part out of Zelda's name really such a big deal?) "T-There is no reason to stand at ceremony. Please feel free to call me whatever you please."

"Right. As I was saying, I came here for a reason," Link continued. "I came from the Kokiri Forest, hidden in the Lost Woods. A year ago, a man from the desert came to my village and cursed the Great Deku Tree, the protector and father of the village. I only learned of the curse about two weeks ago and managed to break it by killing the creature growing with the Great Deku Tree, Gohma, but I was too late. The Great Deku Tree died, but not before giving me the Kokiri Emerald and telling me to stop the man from the desert. He said the man from the desert was trying to get into the Sacred Realm of Legend, the resting place of the Triforce. I promised I would stop the man from the desert, and the Great Deku Tree said I should come to you, the Princess of Destiny, for help. That's why I've come here, to you."

When he finished, Zelda couldn't help but grant him a few small claps. "That … that was … I don't believe I have the necessary words," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "To think you defeat the Parasitic Armored Arachnid all on your own, your bravery holds no bounds."

"I only believed in my courage to pull through and save the Great Deku Tree," Link replied, tasting his tongue sour. "I killed Gohma, but couldn't save what mattered most. But that's beside the point! I need answers, Zelda. The Great Deku Tree told me you could help me stop the man from the desert! How?"

Zelda took a breath before answer. "Before I begin, I need you to tell me one more thing. What do you know about the man from the desert?"

"I know he wants the Kokiri Emerald to get to the Triforce, but nothing else."

"Do you know what he looks like?"

Link chewed the tip of his tongue. "No."

"Then it is time you knew the face of your enemy," Zelda spoke, sending a shiver down Link's spine. "Come and see," she said as she stepped towards the podium and beckoned for Link to see through the window she'd been staring through when they found her.

He moved towards the pane of glass, looking through the transparent surface to see a wide ceremony hall. The marble floor was covered in plush red carpets, and lined with towering pearl pillars reaching for the faraway ceiling, where diamond chandeliers hung. Hundreds of Hylian soldiers lined the walls, keeping an eye out in case any intruders attempted to enter the chamber.

"It is the throne room," Zelda whispered in his ear, her face inches from his own as she stared through the window with him. "Look of there." She directed Link's attention towards the end of the room. A bejeweled throne encrusted with gems sat at the head of the chamber, directly beneath a giant statue of gold portraying the three Goddesses and the familiar triple triangles they held. On the throne sat a man of imposing stature, clad in pristine silver armor with a ruby cape draped over his shoulders. His face was rugged yet regal, displaying time tempered dignity. His brown his was straight and shortly cut, along with his mustache and beard. There was no doubt he was Ceylon, King of Hyrule and Zelda's father. Before Ceylon's throne were two rows of impressively designed chairs lined up along the rim of the red rug spanning the room. The occupants sitting in the numerous chairs were each as extravagantly dressed as the next.

"Those are the Nobles of Hyrule," Zelda explained. "There are thirty three Noble families, and those thirty three you see now are the heads of their family. The thirteen most affluent families are members of the Royal Council, while the remaining twenty create the Royal Court."

"Is one of them the man from the desert?" Link asked, dedicating each face he saw to memory.

"No, _he_ is the man whom which you seek." Zelda pointed to a figure standing beside Ceylon's throne. When Link saw who it was, his chest constricted; the man's shortly cut red hair was like fire, fierce and raging. His skin was the color of venom and his eyes like droplets of blood. He wore an orange pendent which hung on the center of his forehead, and his body was protected in interlocking sets of black metal armor and leather chest plating, outlining his muscular form.

It was the man from Link's nightmare, the one he had the same day the Great Deku Tree died. It was the black horse rider, the man of evil.

"That is the man from the desert. That is Ganondorf."

"Ganondorf?" Suvica shoved Link and Zelda aside to get a look for himself. "I don't believe it! He's the Commander of the King's Royal Guards! He's practically the King's shadow, his brother! Are you saying the man closest to the King of Hyrule is also the leader of the Gerudos?"

Zelda nodded. "You have heard of the alliance Hyrule has with the Gerudos?"

"Everyone has!" Suvica shouted. "The Gerudos came to Hyrule Castle twelve years ago after the Fiend nearly destroyed all of Hyrule! The pirates said they'd pledge their allegiance to the new King of Hyrule and prove their loyalty by giving him the life of their leader! If Ganondorf is the leader of the Gerudos, why's he still alive?"

Link was a bit worried Suvica's outbreak would alert everyone in the throne room to their presence, yet strangely none of the soldiers or Nobles noticed them past the thin plane of glass.

"And my father accepted his life," Zelda agreed. "But not in the way you imagined. You are aware of the destruction caused by the Fiend?"

Suvica scowled. "Of course!"

"Who hasn't?" Malon shuddered.

"I haven't," Link stated, startling all of them with his lack of current know-how. "I came from the Kokiri Village, remember? I don't know anything this Fiend you're all talking about!"

"Then consider yourself spared from the nightmare of Hyrule's history," Zelda assured him, giving him a somber look. "But know this: The days Cross the Fallen, the Fiend, roamed the land were the darkest days of Hyrule's history. Much blood was shed, and many lives were lost. The Hyrule you've seen so far is barely a shadow of the splendor it once held. After so much death and destruction, my father wanted no more sacrifices. When Ganondorf offered his life for the sake of the alliance between Hyrule and the Gerudos, my father accepted by drafting the leader of the Gerudos as a common soldier who'd give his life for the sake of Hyrule. Since then, Ganondorf has worked his way up the chain of power, earning much respect and political power. He was quickly nominated to be Commander of my father's Royal Guards."

"But Gerudos are still pillaging and attacking Hylian cities like no tomorrow!" Suvica protested.

"They attack small cities and villages the Royal Council and Court consider as… expendable," Zelda murmured, struggling past each word she spoke. "No one can prove these rural towns were pillaged by Gerudos, because there are no survivors left. Therefore, the Royal Council and Royal Court pass them off as bandit or monster attacks."

"That can't be true!" Malon objected, sounding horrified. "How can they stand back while the people of Hyrule suffer?"

Zelda gripped the hem of her dress. "Hyrule cannot wage another war, not even against the Gerudos, not after Cross the Fallen broke Hyrule's spirit. Plus, I'm sure you're all aware of the undead rising."

Everyone looked to Link, as if they expected him to be oblivious of such an obvious fact. "Yes, I'm aware. I traveled through Hyrule Field for two weeks before I got to Oron City, remember?"

Link's first night in Hyrule field had not ended well. When the sun fell and the moon rose, he'd laid out a blanket to get some sleep beneath the stars. He never got a chance, however, as human skeletons sprouted from the field like wild daisies. He had to seek refuge in the tallest tree he could find before the undead army could swarm and tear him to pieces. It had been a shocking experience for Link, something Navi couldn't begin to explain, but once they realized the undead rose with every passing night, the two of them passed it off as a common occurrence of Hyrule. It was the reason why he never asked Malon about it when he got to Oron City; would you ask about why the sun rose through the sky?

"You mean to tell me it's not normal?" Link continued.

"Exactly what part of walking undead is normal?" Suvica laughed. "Everyone calls it the Dread Nights. It all started a year ago, right out of the blue. One night, skeletons just started popping out of Hyrule Field like a rodent infestation. Tons of small villages, and even a few larger cities, were overrun by the dead."

"That is correct," Zelda affirmed. "My father sent the soldiers and knights from the castle to help the people beyond Hyrule Market, but the tide of undead is unbeatable and endless when the moon is high. It is why all villages were abandoned, its inhabitants relocated to cities with sturdy walls to keep the dead out. However, this has also forced my father to divide Hyrule's military, sending squadrons of soldiers to every city to defend them in case the undead manage to breach a city's defenses."

"Oron City doesn't seem to have any capable soldiers," Link noted.

"It is because Oron is a rural community at the far reaches of Hyrule Kingdom. The Royal Council saw no reason to squander soldiers to ensure the city's safety. That is why no reinforcements arrived at Oron," Zelda explained.

"It also explains why only scum and rouges visit the city, because they're the only ones stupid enough to fight their way through an undead army all night long," Suvica snickered. "Still, it helps keep business good."

"So your army is weak and divided, which is why you can't stop the Gerudos from attacking Hylian cities and villages," Link concluded. "Fine, so I get why Ganondorf is still the king's personal assistant, but I still don't get why he's going through all this trouble! I know what he wants; he wants the Triforce hidden in the Sacred Realm, that much the Great Deku Tree told me! But _why_? Why's the Triforce so important to him?"

Zelda looked at each of them individually, holding their gaze for a second as if to determine whether or not she could trust them. "What I'm about to tell you all is a great secret my father and the Royal Council and Court have kept from the rest of the world. Please, can you keep what I am about to say a secret?"

"I promise," Link nodded; Navi gave her oath of silence as well.

"I won't breathe a word of it to anyone!" Malon promised with a bow.

"Why should I?" Suvica snorted; Link looked in time to see Malon slap the Thunder Dragon across the cheek in a surprising display of guts.

The flicker of a smile crossed Zelda's face, but it died in moments. "Thank you all. Now tell me: What do you know about the Triforce?"

"Only that Ganondorf wants it," Link replied.

"It's a symbol of Hyrule," Malon stated.

"It's a triangle," Suvica shrugged. "Three of them, wait … maybe four? Seven? Gah, who cares?"

Zelda nodded, like she understood their lack of information. "What about the Song of Creation, the story about how the world began?"

"Oh, oh! I know this one!" Malon shouted eagerly. "It's about how the Goddesses created the world and us and then left, leaving behind the Triforce when they did! But why would they do that?"

"Maybe it's like branding cattle?" Suvica suggested. "You know, the three of them are saying '_We made this world, so hands off_' to other goddesses."

Zelda almost laughed to that, but she held a hand over her mouth to hold it back. "Y-Yes, all of Hyrule is familiar with the Song of Creation. However, you can imagine the Song of Creation as a two part symphony; there is a second story, one which my father and the Royal Council desperately keeps from the world. The story goes like this …

"… _The Three Goddesses hid the Triforce containing their essence within the lands of Hyrule, concealing the power to grant the wish of the one who holds the divine relic in their hands. If someone with a righteous heart makes a wish, it will lead Hyrule to a golden age of prosperity. If someone with an evil mind has their wish granted, the world will be consumed with evil_ …

"That is what has been told. The Triforce has the ability to grant any wish its holder desires. Magicians and scholars hired by curious Hylian Nobles have debated the true meaning of the second part of the Song of Creation. Does the Triforce actually grant the any wish it is given with the blink of an eye, or does it bestow upon its holder the power of the Goddesses, giving them the ability to fulfill their own desires? No one knows. But there is no doubt: Ganondorf knows of the Song of Creation's second half and wants the Triforce for its wish-granting power. You can see why the Hylian court has hidden this information away from the rest of the world. If any man filled with evil got their hands on the Triforce, Hyrule would fall."

Link barely believed a word Zelda said. A magical relic that could fulfill any wish? Though it made sense why the man from the desert, Ganondorf, would kill to get his hands on the Triforce, he could hardly accept such an absurd artifact existed. He turned to Suvica and Malon; the Thunder Dragon was on the edge of ecstasy, while Malon looked like she was ready to faint.

"A dragon," Suvica cackled as he leered at the sky. "I could become a dragon again if I had the Triforce! I could make the world bow at my feet! I could be invincible! All powerful! A god amongst dragons and men!" (Link was starting to regret bringing Suvica).

"No way," Malon panted, on the verge of hyperventilating. "No way, there's no way something like that could exist. It's just not possible!"

"Zelda," Link said, turning back to the princess. "I want to believe you, I really do, but you can understand why I'm having a hard time trying. A relic that can grant any wish? Even if the Triforce is a divine gift from the Goddesses, how can such a conventional thing exist? Do you have any proof?"

"No such proof exists," she said sadly. "There are only legends and fables about the Triforce and its divine power. However, there is one legend I am particularly fond of, a legend that tells of an angel from the heavens that actually used the Triforce."

That got everyone's intention.

"What'd it wish for? Rupees? Power? World domination?" Suvica shouted.

"A loving family? Lots of clothes? A city of friends?" Malon squeezed in.

"Calm down you two!" Link stood between the princess and his two hyperactive companions before they could trample her with questions. "Let Zelda speak first, then ask questions later. Okay?" The two of them reluctantly agreed.

"Thank you, ," Zelda said, placing a hand on his shoulder. The moment she touched him, however, Link felt a nauseating sense of vertigo brimming with reminiscence memories that weren't his own. It was clear Zelda felt the same, because when the two broke apart, she looked as bewildered as he felt. The memories died away before Link could understand them, yet the longing in his chest stayed.

"Link? Princess Zelda?" Navi whispered when the two of them didn't move. "Are you two okay?"

"Y-Yes!" Zelda replied first, straightening her headdress while keeping one hands over her heart. "I'm so sorry, Link. I don't know what came over me. P-Please, sit and I will begin the story of the Skyward Hero."

Link slowly nodded, unable to take his eyes off Zelda. A fading memory that wasn't his own continued to overlap with the princess's image, yet he couldn't make out what it was. Eventually, the memory faded all together, so he sat down between Suvica and Malon, who were both eagerly awaiting Zelda's story.

"T-Then I shall begin. According to the legend of the Skyward Hero, the Goddesses Din, Nayru, and Farore did not hide the Triforce away, but instead entrusted it to a fourth goddesses named Hylia, asking her to keep it from evil hands. For thousands and more years, Hylia kept the Triforce safe, but where there is light, there is always darkness. It is said an entity of untainted evil was born from the dark hearts of the living, a monster who called itself the Demon King. The Demon King gathered vast armies of dark hordes to take the Triforce from Goddess Hylia. The Goddess would've been overwhelmed by the Demon King's tides of monsters if the dwellers of the Hylians, Gorons, and Zoras, hadn't joined forces to battle their common enemy. But with this pact came conflict: The three races each wanted the ruler of their own race to command the alliance. Before their internal conflict breached the point of no return, Goddess Hylia blessed thirty-four mortals, thirty-four Hylians, with her divine magic, granting them great strength, courage, and wisdom. Seeing the Goddess chose her champions, the Goron and Zoras stepped down, and the strongest Hylian blessed with Goddess Hylia's divine might became the leader of the alliance, the First King of Hyrule, King Halden."

"Then the other thirty-three humans are the ancestors of the Nobles we know and love today?" Suvica asked.

"That is what has been written," Zelda confirmed. "With King Halden to lead their armies, the forces of Hyrule faced off against the swarms of evil as Goddess Hylia faced the Demon King herself. It is said the battle endured for many long years, but gradually, the forces of evil overwhelmed the warriors of Hyrule. To save the world, Goddess Hylia sacrificed herself to seal the Demon King away, but before she used her divine soul to end the war, Goddess Hylia threw the Triforce into the heavens, where it would stay out of evil's reach. She also forged a weapon, a sword of unparallel power, to be used in case the darkness ever reawakened. Without the Demon King's leadership, his armies of darkness were scattered and the war was won."

"But where does the angel come in?" Malon inquired.

"She's getting there, so shush," Navi whispered, bouncing on her head.

"This proves monsters are badasses," Suvica said, clapping his hands. "You can't kill us, so all you can do is seal us away. Damn, we're too good."

"The Demon King was sealed yes, but his armies remained. Scattered as it was, they still infested every corner of Hyrule. The remaining forces fighting for King Halden were war-weary and diminished. Our ancestors could do little but fortify what grounds they had left and heal their wounds. Years passed, allowing the armies of Hyrule to recover their strength and begin their initiative to take back their demon infested lands. But that was when the darkness returned; the seal upon the Demon King was weakening ("Damn straight!" Suvica laughed). The tides of evil grew darker as the Demon King's minions fought to free their master, throwing the armies of Hyrule into disarray. King Halden ordered his followers to find the divine weapon Goddess Hylia left behind, but many claimed it disappeared into the skies along with the Triforce. Soon, the seal broke entirely, and the Demon King was revived. For the races of Hyrule, all hope seemed lost.

"That was when he came, an angel from the heavens wielding Goddess Hylia's sword. With his help, Hyrule managed to fight back with renewed force. They drew the war to yet another stalemate, but the angel wished to put an end to the Demon King once and for all .While the armies of Hyrule kept the hordes of evil at bay, the angel sought out the Demon King. Their fight was legendary, but in the end, the angel could not be denied, for his blade was a weapon of absolute power, a sword so mighty it could part the oceans of evil with a single swing. It was the Sword of Evil's Bane: The Master Sword."

Link felt a shiver run down his body; simply hearing the name of the weapon told him of the blade's awesome power.

"Though the angel eventually struck down the Demon King, he did not kill him with the Master Sword, in fear his foe would reincarnate. Thus, the angel flew back into the heaven and used the Triforce to destroy the Demon King once and for all."

Suvica scoffed. "Now that's totally cheating! He made a wish and the Demon King popped out of existence?"

"Actually, the story says the angel dropped a mountain on the Demon King."

The Thunder Dragon paused, then said, "I can respect that."

"Amazing," Malon gaped, looking towards the sky. "An angel from heaven, it sounds so much better than knight in shining armor. But how does that work? How come the angel was afraid the Demon King couldn't be killed by his Master Sword, but was sure a mountain would finish the job?"

"It is a story. There are points which do not make much sense, I agree. However, this is the only table which tells of the Triforce's power being used, vanquishing the Demon King and bringing about a new golden age for Hyrule." Zelda looked to Link. "You may not believe in the Triforce's power, but Ganondorf does, and that is what matters. If the legends are true, then we cannot let Ganondorf claim the Triforce for himself. I have no doubt the evil in his heart will bring about an age of darkness which makes the Fiend's legacy pale in comparison."

"Then we stop him, one way or another," Link said. He still had his doubts about the Triforce, but he refused to let Ganondorf have his way any longer. "Where's the Triforce now? Is it safe from Ganondorf?"

"It is. Legend says once the Demon King was vanquished, the three Goddesses returned to our world and were dismayed by the destruction wrought. To ensure no evil force could dream of obtaining the Triforce again, they appointed seven guardians, seven Sages, to seal it away."

"Again with the sealing," Suvica sighed. "Why didn't they just zap it into smithereens?"

"I believe that's a question for the Goddesses, not me. In any case, the Seven Sages hid the Triforce away in the Sacred Realm, an alternate world the Goddesses created along with ours. The Sacred Realm is a land beyond sight, where nothing exists but where anything can come true."

"Then where is it, the Sacred Realm?" Link asked.

"The path to the Sacred Realm is located in the Temple of Time, in Hyrule Market."

"No … way," Suvica struggled to expel the two-word sentence from his mouth. "Temple of Time? You can't mean _that_ Temple of Time?" From the way he pronounced it, Link had the general idea Suvica knew what Zelda was talking about.

So did Malon, who was clammy and pale from the information. "The Sacred Realm my dad always told me about as bed time story is in Hyrule? No, it's in Hyrule Market? Princess Zelda! When you say Temple of Time, do you mean the Temple of Time at the eastern section of Hyrule Market, do you?"

"There is only one Temple of Time," the princess confirmed.

"The Triforce is right inside the Temple of Time," Suvica gaped, his voice progressively salvaging its cold and scornful edge. "Excellent! This is excellent! I never knew such great power was hidden in that dumpy old temple! I'll be a dragon again in no time!"

"But if the Sacred Realm and Triforce are so close by, why did Ganondorf kill the Great Deku Tree for this?" Link demanded, holding up the Kokiri Emerald that was still in his hand.

"Because it is a key. The Seven Sages created a door to stop anyone from entering the Sacred Realm. It is called the Door of Time, an indestructible barrier no one can break."

"Is that a challenge?" Suvica smirked, cracking his knuckles.

"Those who have attempted to break the Door of Time were obliterated by its innate divine energies," Zelda continued.

Suvica stopped flaunting. "Well … I could've broken it."

"Link, the Kokiri Emerald you hold is one of five keys needed to open the Door of Time. Only with these five keys can Ganondorf open the Door of Time, enter the Sacred Realm, and claim the Triforce."

"That's why he killed the Great Deku Tree," Link breathed, clutching the Kokiri Emerald in his fingers before ramming it back into the Pouch. "What about the other four keys? Does Ganondorf have them already?"

Zelda shook her head. "No. Two of the keys are already in my possession, and will remain out of Ganondorf's reach. The other two, however, are not."

"What are they?"

"You possess the Spiritual Stone of the Forest; the other two are the Spiritual Stone of Fire and the Spiritual Stone of Water."

"What about the other two keys? The ones you said you already have," Suvica asked. "You haven't told us what they are."

Zelda grimaced. "Please understand my reluctance to share. Knowledge alone is a powerful weapon. Should you know the identity of all five keys, I feel one of you—" her eyes lingered on Suvica, "—will be compelled to search for them and open the Door of Time."

"No!" Suvica gasped, his voice riddled in sarcasm. "Who could that be?"

Link seriously regretted bringing the dragon along; he couldn't hold a simple conversation without the pesky fellow butting in. "Thank you, I know Ganondorf's intentions now, but how should I stop him? I can't attack him, not while he's surrounded by Hylian soldiers and knights."

"Aw," Suvica whined. "I thought you were going to run in sword blazing."

"I want to kill Ganondorf, not die trying," Link snapped.

"I believe I know how you can accomplish this," Zelda said. "For the last year, my nightmares have been plagued by black clouds. I know those storms signify Ganondorf's reign. Link, you are the light that will defeat the Gerudo King and save Hyrule."

"You're not suggesting I jump him in a dark alley, are you?"

Zelda pressed her lips together, muffling another smile. "I have a suggestion, if you're willing to undertake it. Ganondorf's current aim is to gather the five keys to open the Door of Time. While two of the keys are safe with me, the other two Spiritual Stones are not. Link, because the Spiritual Stone of the Forest is already within your possession, should you collect the Spiritual Stones of Fire and Water, you will have all three. Once that happens, Ganondorf will have no choice but to confront you in order to retrieve them. With the Three Spiritual Stones in your care, you can lure Ganondorf from the castle and strike when he's vulnerable."

Link agreed with a nod; it was a sound plan, and far better than anything he could think up at the moment. "So where are the other two Spiritual Stones?"

"One rests with the Gorons in Death Mountain, while the other is with the Zoras dwelling within Lake Hylia. Although their people are both equally blind to the truth about the Triforce's powers, their rulers are aware of its importance. Retrieving the Spiritual Stones will not be an easy task, especially with the Legacy of the Cross. Still, will you do this? Will you help me save Hyrule?"

Link was all for it. He knew the peril, but didn't care. All he wanted was Ganondorf dead at his feet. If gathering the Three Spiritual Stones helped lure out the Great Deku Tree's murderer, then he didn't care if Hyrule was put in jeopardy. How he could miss his one and only chance to slay the foul man from the desert?

"I'll do it."

Zelda almost sagged in relief. "Thank you for believing in me, Link."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"I … I've told my father and the Royal Council about my dream many times, of Ganondorf's plot, yet none of them believe me. Their reaction is understandable. I am naught but a child, and my pleas are passed off irritable tantrums. I almost lost hope on saving my kingdom, but then you showed up, like a star of hope for my darkening sky. Thank you for helping me. Suvica? Malon? May I count on your assistance as well?"

"Of course, Princess Zelda!" Malon pledged.

"You'll have to pay me. My service is expensive," Suvica said.

"If it gets me a step closer to Ganondorf, I'll do it," Link declared as Malon strangled Suvica from behind; he stopped the infuriated ranch girl before she slew the Thunder Dragon (the stories that would tell). With their next destination decided, Link asked if Suvica knew how to get to Death Mountain, the home of the Gorons.

"Yeah, I know how," Suvica gagged as he rubbed his throat.

Link nodded, then looked to Malon. "Malon? Suvica, Navi, and I can head to Death Mountain. There's no point in lying; this is going to be dangerous. It'll be for the best if you go back home to Lon Lon Ranch while we find the other two Spiritual Stones. If Talon asks where we went, you can tell him we ran away."

Malon looked severely disappointed. "You're leaving me behind? Why? You haven't finished telling me about the giant food fights in the Lost Woods! You promised I could see the Kokiri Village some day!"

"I did? Well, someday, but not any day soon. Besides, this could be dangerous. Why would you want to come with us?"

"Because I want to help! I want to do something for Hyrule!" Malon pleaded. Link could tell she was hiding something else, but before he could ask what, she jumped into his arms and whispered into his ear: "I know you're hurting too, and I want to help. Please let me come along."

"I can't keep anything from you, can I?" He sighed, forfeiting to Malon's astute senses as he pushed her away. "Won't your dad be worried about you?"

"He will, but then he'll start drinking and forget I'm gone!" Malon declared gladly. "And when he remembers, he'll drink some more and then forget again!"

"That's one messed up old man," Suvica grumbled. "It's your call, Forest Boy. We can take Malon with us or we can leave her behind."

Link knew Malon wasn't going to be left behind without an argument. But truth be told, he liked the idea of her tagging along. She was a splendid travel companion, plus, the idea of traveling alone with Suvica was daunting.

"Alright, you can come with us," Link said. Malon jumped into his arms again, this time wrapping her arms around his chest so tightly he felt his ribs almost break.

"Thank you, Fairy Boy! Thank you! You won't regret this, I promise!"

Malon let go, and Link crumbled to the grassy floor. "I … I'm almost regretting it … already." He managed to wheeze. Then, at the brink of his keen hearing, he heard a hand-muffled laugh. Turning, he saw Zelda clamping her hands over her mouth, stifling whatever meager pieces of mirth struggled past her lips.

"Why do you do that?" He asked, slowly staggering back to his feet.

Zelda hastily dropped her hands, her face blank. "Do what?"

"Whenever you look like you're about to enjoy yourself, you stop. Whenever you start to laugh, you cut it off. Why?"

Link recognized the shadow of sorrow veiling Zelda's face as she spoke. "I am the Princess of Hyrule. As a member of royalty, I have a duty to my land and my people. When the land and people suffer, I cannot amuse myself and show petty emotions of joy. I can only be happy while my people are happy. I must be sad when my people are sad. That is my duty."

"That's ridiculous!" Link berated, feeling irritation swell in his chest. His wrath was born from his enduring memories of the Great Deku Tree. When the Kokiri children were happy, their father was happy. However, when the Kokiri experienced moments of sorrow, the Great Deku Tree would do everything within his knowledge and power to bring joy back to their faces.

Zelda was a person of power. Link still had a profusely lacking understanding of Hyrule's system of class and royalty, but he understood enough to know that Zelda was someone who could make a difference if she tried. He knew she indisputably cared for the people of Hyrule; why else would she risk placing so much faith in Link, a boy she'd met only today? Link didn't care for Hyrule's future or its people at all, but he couldn't stand watching Zelda like this. His heart told him she was strong-willed and outgoing, not meek and pitiful. But the majority of his anger wasn't directed to Zelda, it was burning at the ones who made her this way. If she wanted to help save Hyrule, he was going to make sure she wasn't doing it from the wrong side of the castle walls.

Malon looked mortified, but Suvica was clearly amused at Link's argument.

"I … I beg your pardon?" Zelda tentatively whispered.

"No, you're not allowed to beg for my pardon," Link waved aside her meek voice. "I'm sorry, but I think I just had a change in plans."

"Fairy Boy! What are you—?" Malon began to protest, but was subdued by Suvica, who held her back and whispered for her to watch and wait.

"I admire you Zelda, I won't lie about that. You're willing to trust me with the fate of Hyrule, and I know that's not something you'd do lightly. I can see how much you want to help your people, but is this really the way? You have to be sad when the people are sad? You can only smile when they smile? You must know how stupid that sounds. If that's all it takes to be a princess, you can have a rock take your place and have the kingdom call it '_Princess Zelda_' all day long." Though his words were calm and unyielding, they stabbed Zelda like hot-iron swords, inflicting visible pain onto her face. "Who told you such stupid things, anyways?"

"A-A few members of the Royal Council …" she quietly replied, her eyes nailed to the grass at her feet.

"Ignore them, they're all idiots. You're a princess, so doesn't that make you the next ruler of Hyrule? Are you going to stick to this same mindset for the rest of your life? If you really want to help your people, then go out there and do it! "

"But I wouldn't know how!" Zelda shouted back, raising her voice for the first time.

"And why's that?"

"Because I don't know my people!" She screamed, wrapping herself in her arms like she was afraid she'd fall apart. "I've been trapped in here for eleven years! I've been stuck in this prison my whole life! I've never taken a single step outside these walls! The only thing I know about my people is that they're out there and they're suffering, and I cannot do anything to help them! It's humiliating, degrading, and unbearable! I'm constantly being told I have a responsibility to my people, yet I don't know how to uphold that responsibility! My father always tells me I help Hyrule by existing! The Royal Council tells me I only need to make way for a new king! I don't know what to think!"

Zelda's final sentence was yelled with such power Link was sure everyone in the entire castle could hear her. That wasn't too good for him and his friends, because now all the castle guards were probably going to converge on them. Regardless, it was good to see Zelda being honest with her feelings.

"Then what do you want?" Link asked after giving her a few seconds to catch her breath. Being stuck inside a castle all her life must've been unendurable, forcing such a sincere girl to be a puppet for others.

Zelda was panting from her shrieking, but still looked up. "Excuse me?"

"You said you don't know what to think. If that's so, then tell me what you want." Link repeated, keeping his ears open for the possible sound of incoming enemies.

"My father says he wants me too—"

"I don't care what your dad says," Link interrupted, taking several steps closer to Zelda and grabbing her shoulders. He locked eyes with her, hoping she could see how desperate he was to see the real her. "I don't care what your stupid council, or what anyone else wants, I want to know what _you_ want."

Zelda blinked. She struggled and squirmed in Link's hands, but his grip was firm. After peeling off the layers of control and deception placed upon her by others, the princess was merely a befuddled child.

When she spoke, her voice was barely audible. "I want … to leave the castle."

Link heard her with his well-developed hearing but he didn't like the lack of determination behind her voice. Thus he said, "I'm sorry, what did you say? I couldn't hear you."

"I want to leave the castle," she repeated, slightly louder this time.

"Do all princesses have such soft voices?" Link wondered aloud.

Zelda broke. "I WANT TO LEAVE THE CASTLE! I want to see the cities! I want to see the people! I want to see the rivers, the plains, the animals, everything! I want to see the world outside these walls!"

Link grinned. "Good. You're coming with us."

Zelda's eyes rebound back onto Link, giving him the Are-You-Insane stare. He detected the sound of someone hitting the grass behind him, and he was fairly certain Malon fainted as an overreaction to his statement.

"You sure, Link?" Suvica asked. The Thunder Dragon was obviously having the time of his life, watching his small quarrel with the princess. "The moment the King realizes his precious daughter is gone, he'll order a world-wide manhunt to find her. When he realizes it was you who led her away from Hyrule Castle, he'll execute you himself."

"He can try, but I'm not dying until I've killed Ganondorf," Link replied. "Besides, Zelda wants to help her people, and saving Hyrule happens to be a perk to my quest. Come on, let's go!" Link removed his grasp from Zelda's shoulders and grabbed her left hand with his own.

Their fingers stayed woven together for a measly second before Zelda snapped hers back in a hurry. "I cannot do this! I cannot leave this castle!"

"You said you wanted to leave!" Link said, rather annoyed.

"What I want and what I can actually do are two different things!"

"So you won't willingly leave this castle?"

"That is correct!"

Link sighed, but Zelda's paltry assertion did little to change his mind. "Fine, you can have it your way, and I'll have it my way. You said you won't leave? That still doesn't mean you want to stay. Suvica, grab Zelda. We're kidnapping her." The princess was stunned beyond belief (which was really funny to see), and Suvica burst out laughing, hitting his knees and rolling across the grass like a maniac.

"You are _definitely_ the most interesting human I've ever met!" Suvica gasped after his fit of giggles. "Following you around really is the fun thing to do! One kidnapped princess, coming right up!" He waltzed over to Zelda and grabbed her by her gold-belted waist, lifting her disapproving body onto his shoulder. "Princess, if we get caught, I was the accomplice, nothing more. All the blame goes to Link, got it?"

Zelda was still too busy trying to understand the situation to reply.

Link knelt by Malon's fainted body and poked at her nose until she woke up. When he told her they were kidnapping Zelda, she fainted again. "Can you pick her up too?"

"Sure." Suvica easily scooped Malon up and held her close to his chest with one arm. "So what's the exit plan? I'll tell you now, I can't fly us all out of here. I barely have enough strength in this form to carry one other person while flying."

Link rubbed his chin. "Can't be helped. We'll have to use the way we came in: The moat."

"You're going to make a princess fall into moat?"

"Yeah. Why not?"

Suvica hooted. "I'm starting to think we might be related after all."

"A while ago you were talking about how much you wanted to punch me."

"That was then, this is now."

Suvica's peculiar mood swings never ceased to intrigue Link. He was about to toss a snide remark the dragon's way but stopped himself when his instincts alerted him of imminent danger. He heard the rustle of swishing cloaks, softly dashing feet, and the scrapping of blades being drawn from sheaths.

Link's gut performed a several back flips as the intruders neared.

"Suvica! Back to back! Protect Malon and Zelda! We've got company!" Link ordered, strapping on his Deku Shield and pulling out his Kokiri Sword. The urgency in his tone was enough for Suvica not to argue. He set Zelda on her feet and passed her the unconscious Malon before turning around so his back was facing Link's. This way, Malon and Zelda were wedged between the two of them while they could face the incoming threats. Navi secured herself inside Link's hood as a precaution.

From atop of the walls encircling them, four cloaked figures bound across the sky and landed in a square formation around them. From their subtle movements, swaggering bodies, twin sabers, and their bloody crimson pupils beneath their hooded faces, Link discerned their identities.

"They're Gerudos," he said, raising his Deku Shield while preparing to strike with his Kokiri Sword.

"Gerudos? Impossible!" Suvica snarled back, baring his teeth at the two desert pirates facing him. "There are only two Gerudos in the world with the ability to use magic, and they sure aren't these underlings! They can't be Gerudos!"

As if to prove Suvica wrong, the four desert pirates discarded their heavy cloaks, letting their guises fluttered to the grass to reveal their identities. The sight of the Gerudos caused Link's dark emotions to rattle, but it wasn't enough to take control of him.

"I thought there were five of you," Link said, keeping his Kokiri Sword trained on one of the two Gerudos approaching him.

"Our leader is otherwise preoccupied," a Gerudo behind Link, facing Suvica, replied. "She is entertaining the princess's caretaker at the moment. We had to stir quite the ruckus before she was willing to leave the princess's side to face us."

"So that's why Impa left," Link heard Zelda breathe.

"Pity for her," another Gerudos continued, swinging her sabers in wide, provocative circles. "Our prior actions were simply a diversion to lure her away from you. While the bodyguard is busy with our leader, the rest of us will take the Princess of Hyrule's head!"

"Impa would never lose to the likes of you, especially in single combat!" Zelda shouted over Link's shoulder.

"They probably know that," he mumbled, feeling his ear ache; Zelda rarely screamed, but when she did, she made it count. "The Gerudo fighting your caretaker isn't trying to defeat her; she's only there to distract her. She'll stall your caretaker long enough for the remaining four to kill you."

"Correct!" the third Gerudo applauded, clapping the flat sides of her blades together. The uncanny _clang_ they produced made Link shiver. "Vandel told us about you, little forest boy! You certainly did a number on our lovely comrade, but she survived long enough to tell us about your supposed victory over our King's pet, and that you have something he wants. Your presence here is an unexpected bonus, one which we will take great pleasure in accepting!"

"You won't get away way this!" Zelda shouted. "If you kill me, the alliance between Gerudos and Hyrule will break for sure!"

The pirates laughed. "My dear, we _want_ war! The time will come when the taste of Hylian blood quenches our thirst for revenge! Until then, we will bide our time and wait, but your head will make an excellent appetizer! KILL THEM!"

The four Gerudos charged, and the defensive battle began.

Link's first encounter with the Gerudos back at Oron ended in his favor, but now the tides were not turning to his advantage. Vandel's defeat was thanks to his nimble agility to cut and dodge while keep him from harm's way. Now, he couldn't move a single step, for the Gerudos would exploit any opening he made to slay Zelda. With no choice but to secure himself to this one position, Link raised his shield as he was pitted against the combat strength of the Gerudos.

They had him outnumbered two-to-one, surpassed him in strength, rivaled his swordplay, and were willing to do anything to accomplish their mission. The two Gerudos he faced took turns thrusting and slashing, utilizing alternating combination attacks while bringing forth all their advantages of height, weight, and reach. Link's arms jarred with each swing he blocked, and he almost lost his grip on his Kokiri Sword four times during the battle. His body was fueled with energy thanks to the magic empowering his limbs, allowing him to fend off the two Gerudos longer than his prior norm, but it was only a matter of time before they destroyed him.

Suvica faced similar problems, although they were not as dire as Link's. With Malon and Zelda directly behind him, the Thunder Dragon couldn't recklessly summon his wings or tail without knocking them over and onto the harm's way. Still, Suvica fought against the Gerudos barehanded, which prompted smug grins of victory from the two pirates he battled. From the few glances Link could spare, he saw how those expressions of confidence shifted into bewildered scowls. He could already picture all the wounds the Gerudos inflicted upon Suvica healing within a matter of seconds. Not only that, but Suvica triumphed in terms of raw strength. One of the Gerudos was careless enough to let her saber get shattered by the dragon's left fist. Stunned, the pirate let her guard down for a second too long as Suvica smashed his fist into her stomach, sending her flying into the surrounding stone walls.

"One down!" Suvica laughed. "How about you, Link?"

"Not doing well!" He grunted, intercepting a saber aimed at Zelda's head with his Deku Shield. He lacked Suvica's overwhelming strength and couldn't use his advantage of speed against the Gerudos. In this current predicament, his only hope for victory was to endure while Suvica dealt with the Gerudos one by one.

The Gerudo were likely thinking around the same lines, so they brought out their trump card. Link didn't notice the black brooches collared around their necks until they touched them with their right index fingers. Upon contact, he felt a sickening form of invisible energy ooze from the neck clamps, tainting the bodies of the Gerudos. All at once, the desert pirates became stronger and faster. Their rapid movements began to elude Link's eyes as their sabers struck with five times the force.

"It's magic!" Navi cried as Link ineffectively fought to fend off the magically strengthened Gerudos teaming up on him. "These Gerudos aren't casting the spell! Someone else is channeling their magic through those ornaments around their necks to increase their physical capabilities! That's how they were able to leap over the walls of Hyrule Castle!"

Link didn't have the time or strength to thank Navi for that particular piece of information. The constant blocking and deflecting was battering down his endurance, and trying to follow the swift speeds of the Gerudos with his eyes only sped up his rate of fatigue. In one desperate attempt, Link tried stabbing at the brooches around the Gerudos' necks, but the magically powered desert pirates were moving too fast for him to land an accurate attack. The Gerudo facing Suvica learned to be wary of his might and was dancing away from the tips of his knuckles while inflicting wounds on the Thunder Dragon with gradual depth. With magic on their side, there was nothing Link or Suvica could do against the Gerudos.

Magic.

It was the power aiding his foes, so it would have to be the ally that shifted their dire situation. Dinara had given him the long version of magic casting, which came down to the fact that harnessing magic was different for everyone. Link didn't have time to decide or think about what method suited him best. With his head and mind filled with the instinctive thoughts of defending and blocking, he let his subconscious come to a consensus for him.

Courage.

He didn't believe in power, and he didn't want wisdom. All he asked for was the courage to believe in himself, to believe in his own abilities. He wanted the courage to stand strong before the Gerudos, the courage to faithlessly believe in a chance for victory. His desire for success engorged itself until something in his body responded. The chasm of raw power had been tapped, and the energy was his to command. As he directed the energy, he focused the magical power into the first thing that came to mind: His Kokiri Sword.

Link slashed at the Gerudo attacking him, letting his Kokiri Sword clash against her twin sabers. As their blades touched, there was a burst of blue sparks upon contact as the Gerudo was thrown backwards. Everyone, (the Gerudos, Suvica, Navi, and Zelda) stopped what they were doing and turned their heads, their eyes blank with bewilderment as his Kokiri Sword was envelop in a casing of blue energy.

It wasn't enough! Link's throat made an involuntary howl as he directed more of his magic towards his sword, causing ribbons of blue flames leap along the blade. The moment he thought his magic would spontaneously explode if not released, he roared, "GET DOWN!"

His friends obeyed without question, but the Gerudos stood where they were in unfilled perplexity. Holding out his magically overflowing blade as far away from his body as possible, Link spun his whole body a full circle. The resulting movement discarded a shockwave of magic from his blade, casting an expanding circle of blue destruction with Link at the focal point. The magic emerged as a million tendrils of blue fibers of fire, woven together to form a solid mass.

His circle of annihilation expanded outward with a radius of ten feet, passing over the crouching heads of his friends while walloping the stunned Gerudos directly into their chests and stomachs. Each collision produced a greatly satisfying _smash_, hurling all three pirates into their respective directions

His one attack decided the battle.

Link felt an exuberant feeling of giddiness at his first successful casting of magic and its result, but his knees buckled to a small yet abrupt deplete in his stamina. His inner resource of magic had been used, slightly draining his overall strength. However, it wasn't noteworthy enough to cripple him in exhaustion.

Suvica got up, inspecting the damage wrought by Link's magic. Including the Gerudos, all garden plants and flowers that stood in the way of Link's circle of energy was reduced to pulverized flecks and pieces. "Okay, I'll admit. That was pretty good. Three to you, one to me."

"Thanks," Link said with a tired grin. "My first time."

Zelda was next to get to her feet, examining the effects of Link's magical spinning attack. "Link … you are capable of using the powers of magic?"

"Yeah. I helped out a Fountain Fairy and she gave me magic as a reward," Link explained shortly, sheathing his Kokiri Sword and strapping his Deku Shield onto his back. Zelda mouthed the words "Fountain Fairy" and "reward," but said nothing aloud.

A painstaking scream ripped at the air. Link rearmed himself and stood in front of Zelda and Malon with Suvica at his side, whose teeth were bared and his hands bent into claws. The source of the cry came from the tunneling passageway leading to the previous inner gardens they'd traversed. His eyes caught sight of a limping figure weakly shuffling within the tunnel's shadows, and he readied himself for another battle. However, the moment the figure entered the sunlight, he fought hard not to vomit.

It was a Gerudo, bleeding from every inch of her body with multiple wounds of varying length and depth. Link wasn't going to describe the pirate's injuries to any further extent. Instead, he noticed someone else striding through the tunnel, a welcoming distraction in comparison to the dying Gerudo, who was now painting the grass red as she collapsed.

The female warrior stepped under the sun, clad in thin armor outlining her body's features yet leaving her arms and shoulders bare. Her light purple hair was shortly cut, and her arms and legs were buffed with muscles Link had never seen on an adult female human. Strapped to her waist was a silver chain caked in blood, Gerudo blood.

"Impa!" Zelda cried in relief, gently pushing her way past Link to run up to her caretaker and bury herself in her arms. "I'm so glad you're okay! I was worried!"

The bodyguard's battle hardened expression lightened as she embraced Zelda, picking her off her feet in a large hug. "It is I who should be concerned for you. Forgive me, Princess Zelda, for my carelessness allowed four other intruders to slip past me unnoticed. It is a mistake I shall never repeat. Now, who would you lads be?"  
"Link of the Kokiri Village, hidden within the Lost Woods."

"Suvica. You picking a fight?"

Impa gave them each a small bow. "You both have my utmost gratitude for ensuring Princess Zelda's safety during my lapse of concentration. However, the two of you, including the sleeping child behind you, have violated the sacred grounds of Hyrule Castle. State the reasons for your arrival, and I shall make light of the punishments that await you." Zelda tried to argue with her caretaker, but Impa put on a face of ice as she waited for a response.

"I'm here to kidnap Zelda," Link said. "Don't try to stop me." Suvica dropped his jaw and Zelda nearly fell to her knees. Impa, on the other hand, did not appear startled by Link's intentions. As a matter of fact, she took her time observing the four fallen Gerudos scattered throughout the garden.

"Was this your doing?" Impa asked.

"Three of them are mine." Link replied, never dropping his guard.

Impa casually nodded, as if it were normal for young boys to defeat trained killers of the desert. "Magic, very interesting. Can you freely control it?"

Link felt the waves of power churning within his body, so he directed a small amount towards his Kokiri Sword. The blade hummed with a faint blue hue. "Yes, I can."

"Then show me!" Without warning, Impa's left hand went for her chain, lashing the metal whip out at Link. With magic already stored within his Kokiri Sword, Link spun in a circle to release the energy (which Suvica narrowly ducked beneath). Because of the scanty quantity of magic stored within his sword, the resulting ring of energy he produced was far less powerful than before. It did, however, demolish Impa's chain into irreparable fragments. Expecting another attack, Link redirected another batch of magic into his sword.

"Impressive," Impa noted, observing her broken weapon. "Such magical density, and at such a young age. You will become a frightful warrior as your strength nurtures." She raised one hand, signaling that she held no further intentions of attacking.

"Thanks, I think," Link mumbled, sheathing his Kokiri Sword and experimentally flexing his fingers; his depleted strength was returning, slowly.

"Should you wish to escort Princess Zelda from the premise, I suggest you leave the way you came. The castle's guards are most likely blocking all other exits."

Link didn't know who was more surprised: Him, at the fact that the caretaker agreed to let the one under her protection be kidnapped, or Zelda, because her most trusted ally released her into a stranger's care.

"Impa! What are you saying?" Zelda demanded, tugging at Impa's left hand.

The caretaker's voice was thick with regret yet fortified by confidence. "My princess, for eleven blessed years, I have watched over you. I know you better than your own father, the King, and perhaps better than your own self. I have seen the longing in your eyes for too long as you stared at these walls. I've felt the pain in your heart when you had no choice but to follow the orders of others. I sensed the fear in your soul every time you wondered what sort of ruler you may become. My princess, this is what you've always wanted. Believe me when I say that as your caretaker, this is the most painful decision I've made during my long career, but I believe it is the correct one.

"This is the chance you've always dreamed about, an opportunity to venture beyond these stone walls, a chance to see your kingdom with your own eyes. I believe this journey will be necessary for you to become a better leader than your father. It is a chance for you to bond with the people you wish to know so dearly about, an opportunity to learn something your father was never able to understand. I believe these twins can bring you freedom."

Zelda fought to find her voice within her trembling frame. "Do … you truly believe this is the correct path for me?"

Impa treated her princess to a pleading smile. "Princess, what I think is irrelevant. The true question is: Do _you_ believe this is the correct path for you?"

Zelda leaned against her caretaker, burying her face into Impa's shoulder. "I do. Thank you, Impa. Thank you so much."

"It is always my pleasure, my princess."

"Awesome!" Suvica shouted loudly, clapping his hands and rudely ruining the moment between Zelda and Impa. "Now can we go? I don't have Link's ears, but even I can hear the guards heading this way! And for your information, we are so _not_ twins!"

* * *

EDIT: Hi there! Good old, HylianBlade speaking. Here's Chapter 8 of the Three Spiritual Stone series. To be honest, I've got mixed feelings about this chapter. For starts, I feel I spent too long looking at things from Link's point of view. Perhaps I should have turned this one chapter into two. I don't know. Another thing is that I feel the quality of the chapter is really, really lacking. I re-read it over and over again and I feel like this is the worst chapter I've written so far. Well, that's just me complaining.

Like always, feel free to comment, all opinions are accepted and loved. Hope you try to enjoy. Cheers!

EDIT: I added the story of the Skyward Sword because it's the prequel to Ocarina of TIme. Thus, it would make sense a legend or two would get passed down. (7/4/12)

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	9. Chapter 9, Freedom

**Chapter 9**

**Freedom**

Zelda had no idea what she was doing.

Regardless of her demeaning opinion of her home, Hyrule Castle, she couldn't abandon it upon a whim's notice. Yet if she left, her actions today might decide the fate of Hyrule tomorrow. But what would her father say? Her father said she brought hope to Hyrule with her mere presence, but Zelda wanted to be more than just a figurehead for her people. But would her people accept her? Besides her father, only Impa, a few members of the Royal Council, and a select few members of her father's Royal Guards (Ganondorf included) could place a face to her name; no one outside the walls of Hyrule Castle knew what she looked like. No, she couldn't think like that. She had a duty to her people, whether they liked it or not. But would her duty bring peace or exemplify their suffering? What if her incompetent rule of command brought Hyrule to its knees, and not Ganondorf, King of the Gerudos?

Was she doing the right thing?

These were but a few of the questions plaguing Zelda's every thought as she was dragged across those despised gardens she grew up in all her life. She did not pay much attention to the physical world around her until her head became light and her tired lungs struggled to breathe. She was barely halfway through her private gardens and she was already past her point of exhaustion.

"You okay?" Link, child of the Lost Woods, asked her. His hand was wrapped around hers, leading her towards freedom at a rushed pace she was foreign to. Link's presence and actions preoccupied a better part of Zelda's mind, distracting her from her paltry endurance and mental conflicts. Certainly, she hardly met many people face to face, but she was absolutely certain Link was an unusual one; a diamond in the trough, so to say. How could he speak of the most ludicrous things with nary a notion of hesitation? Where did his boundless courage stem from? Why was he so concerned with how she acted? The more he swelled within her mind, the faster her heart raced at the thought. Plus, not once in her life had a boy taken her by the hand.

"Psh! She's fine! A little exercise for the plump princess!" Dragon Suvica mockingly laughed behind her. Zelda felt something hot take root at the bottom of her stomach, an infrequent interval of annoyance, but did nothing about it. It was one thing to take insults from an arrogant dragon, but a whole different matter to rebuke that same beast and die in the process. Suvica's presence was another thing Zelda found irrefutably fascinating about Link. How could he travel with a dragon at his side? Did he not fear the monster's wrath? On more than one occasion, she'd even seen Link strike the dragon as if he were nothing more than a bothersome pet yelping at his side. One way or another, Zelda lacked the courage Link frequently displayed..

"Leave Princess Zelda alone, Suvi!" Malon of Lon Lon Ranch, daughter of Talon, cried from beside Dragon Suvica. Zelda would have enjoyed looking behind her to see Suvica's expression (that and a nice cold goblet of water), but from the following prolonged silence, she knew Malon effectively whipped the dragon into place. How could she do that? Was she like Link, a brave individual without a glimmer of fear? Why did the dragon silence himself at the orders of a small child younger than Zelda? What was their history? Why did he react the way he did? So many questions, yet so few answers. Zelda wished she could take some time and interview Link and Malon in private, but how would they feel about her nosing about into their personal lives? Would they dislike that? Would they enjoy it? Could she speak openly with them, or would she have to restrain herself? She didn't know. What she did know, for a fact, was that Malon was a cheerful lass who saw the best and worst in others; no doubt, she was the type of child with plenty of friends. In a deep corner of Zelda's heart, she wondered if she could also be Malon's friend.

Her dithering questions died as her exhaustion came back to shackle her limbs and restrain her lungs with wires of hot steel. On several occasions, she momentarily blacked out, stumbling on her clumsy feet and wasting precious seconds of their time. No doubt these three already regret taking her, a feeble princess, with them.

Beyond the peak of her fatigue, Zelda felt them stop while dimly hearing Link (or Suvica, for they sounded absolutely akin) proudly declare they reached the first checkpoint of their grand escape. Zelda was happy her legs were given a chance to rest, and slouched over in preparation to take a good, long nap. Then the ground left her feet, and she opened her weary eyes to find herself in Link's arms, lifted in the ever-so-famous Princess Cuddle she read about so fondly in her reading-time novels. Link's eyes were focus directed and away from Zelda, but she knew she'd faint from mortification the moment he looked down to see her blushing scarlet face.

Link (unknowingly) found the perfect way to cool her down. He stepped forward, and Zelda embarrassingly yelped as cold water embraced her body. Remembering their exiting stratagem a tad later than she would have preferred, Zelda found the strength to scream as Link slid her face first into the water duct feeding the castle's moat. Her echoing voice rebounded off the cramped channel, fueled by her preexisting claustrophobia developed at an earlier age. Unfortunately, her scream allowed a lot water to enter her mouth, and when she popped out the other end of the water duct, her mind went blank as she was suspended several feet above the castle moat.

Then she fell in, her body still manacled by weights of stone. The moat swallowed her with pleasure, pulling her farther below the water's surface while dancing stray human remains in her face to elucidate her preordained fate. Zelda lacked any strength to save herself, and regardless if she did, it wouldn't have helped in the slightest. For starters, her insufferable "Regal Gown" was made from the most expensive, heaviest, and water absorbent materials in all of Hyrule. The moment she entered the water, her gown became a stone straight jacket. Secondly, she didn't know how to swim. Was this the end? Is this how the Princess of Hyrule died, without raising a finger for her people? Perhaps it was premature of her to hope she could have lived a life beyond her home. Her father always said the moment she left home unprepared was the fateful day she could die. As she drifted towards the bottom of the bone-ridden moat, she thought about how correct her father was.

A body plunged into the moat, shrouded by a coat of bubbles, followed by another, and then another. Two of those bodies, one with cherry red hair and the other dressed in black, exited the moat with the greatest of haste, ignorant of Zelda's looming downfall. The third, however, turned his green-hooded head towards her and dove. His hand grabbed her drifting fingers, and with strength and skill belaying his size, hauled her weighty body towards the top. Her head broke the moat's surface in seconds, and her body's survival instincts kicked back to life, forcing her lungs to scream for air. Link wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her afloat, but she could tell he was fighting hard to stay about water. Zelda was ashamed for her dress's impeding aspects.

"Suvica! Lend us a tail, will you!" Link called. Zelda leaned her head back to better breathe and see, noticing how the moat's water level was a several feet below solid stone ground. Suvica and Malon were already atop the firm footing, and when Suvica heard his name called, he rudely turned his back to them.

At least, Zelda initially thought it was a gesture of abandonment. Instead, she found her chest constricting in fear as a massive limb, a tail armored in layers of black scales, slither from the base of his back and poked at the bone sloshing waters. Link pulled Zelda close to his chest and grabbed the tip of Suvica's tail with his free hand. Securely fastened, Suvica fished the two of them out of the moat and plopped them onto dry ground.

The instant the soles of her silver-crowned shoes touched the ground, Zelda fumbled out of Link's arm, dazed with shame at her lack of usefulness, and embarrassed from such close physical contact. Her hasty escape involved tripping over the rim of doused dress and landing painfully on her bottom. Off her feet, Zelda was subjugated to the full weight of her soaked "Regal Gown," finding it impossible to stand back up.

"Princess Zelda! Are you okay?" Malon was at her side in a heartbeat, with a warm and genuine look of concern. "I'm so sorry we got your beautiful dress wet!"

"I-I-It's quite alright," Zelda stuttered from her own humility and the light breeze sending chills through her soaked clothes. She tried standing back up, but her clothes remained as a steel corset only the Gorons could move in. How could she be so worthless at a time like this?

"Can't move? Princess lost her glass shoes?" Suvica snickered, entertaining himself with Zelda's suffering, illustrating the true extent of her helplessness. Beneath the scrutiny of three critical strangers, Zelda prayed for the ground to devour her. How could she possibly call herself a ruler like this?

"This dress of yours is really heavy," Link noted as his own tunic dried itself with magical properties Zelda detected when they first met. He walked over to her and knelt by her front. "Can you run like this?"

"I-I'm afraid not."

"Can't be helped then," he sighed as he drew his weapon. At the sight of the blade, Zelda froze with tense trepidation. Was he going to get rid of her now that she was a liability? No, she was certain his feelings were sincere, so why was he drawing his sword? What was he planning to do? Zelda did what came instinctively to her: She covered her head with her arms and squeeze her eyes shut.

_Slice! Rip! Slash! Cut!_

A conundrum of noises met her ears, and all the while she felt the physical burden upon her body lessen and disappear bit by bit. She also noticed her body wasn't as chilly as it was before, yet it was mysteriously breezy. A shocking revelation came to Zelda, and with a face resembling the ripest of tomatoes, she dropped her arms, opened her eyes, and looked down.

Link was using his sword to cut off the excessive portions of her water-heavy garments. First to go was the purple-outer apron depicting the Triforce and Hyrule's symbol, the Red Eagle. Then he continued to her dress, cutting a long vertical line up the front and then slicing off the remainder, effectively turning her long dress into a miniskirt to reveal her pale legs. Afterwards, he removed the numerous layers clothes pressing on her chest and arms; when he was done, Zelda was left wearing a sleeveless fabric to cover her chest while leaving her arms bare. As he worked, he methodically took the abundant pieces of jewelry constraining her body and tossed them aside (Suvica snatched them all with greedy eyes). Link finished "tailoring" Zelda's attire by grabbing her headdress and taking it off her head, allowing her bundled hair to freely flow down her shoulders.

"There, that should be better," Link insisted, sheathing his sword as the last strip of majestic fabric littered the ground. Zelda warily stood up, liberated by the oppressive load and embarrassed beyond belief. With the breeze flowing past her legs, she couldn't shake the notion she was close to naked in plain sight. Link was undisturbed, like he'd cut off the clothes from a mannequin. Malon looked as though she'd witnessed the apocalypse. Suvica, after cramming Zelda's discarded jewelry into his pockets, took one look at her before rolling on the ground laughing. She was absolutely certain the dragon took pleasure in the suffering of others.

"Link," Navi the fairy partner, whose existence Zelda had completely forgotten about, gasped as she fluttered near Link's side. "You do realize you stripped the Princess of Hyrule, right?"

"Yeah, so?" He said, abnormally undisturbed by what he'd done.

"We're doomed. The King of Hyrule is going to spank us until we're blue and purple," Malon moaned, more concerned with the torn rags which were previously Zelda's dress.

Suvica was still rolling and laughing on the ground, but his input was obvious enough.

"Can you run now?" Link asked nonchalantly, sweeping the scraps of Zelda's dress into the moat with his boot.

"I … I believe so …" Zelda whispered, feeling it necessary to tug down the hem of her short skirt with her hands. She understood Link's intentions, but wished he hadn't removed so much of her clothing.

"Then let's go. Suvica, stop laughing like a dying Wolfos and get up," Link said, walking over to the rolling dragon and stomping on his belly with the heel of his boot. Again, how could he strike a dragon with such unwavering bravery? Suvica coughed out a few vulgar words Zelda only heard during Royal Council meetings, but was gratefully interrupted by a scream. Everyone looked up to see soldiers lining the walls of Hyrule. Their faces were masked by those crude metal buckets they called helmets, and far too high up to see properly, but Zelda could tell they were fearfully staring into the moat.

"That must be Princess Zelda's dress in the moat!"

"Those bloody curs have drowned our beloved princess!"

"Quick! Save her!"

Soldiers were leaping off the walls in groups of twos and threes, plunging into the moat with barely a thought of concern for their own lives. Their dedication towards her was heartwarming as it was touching, but Zelda still found it exceedingly discomforting to see grown men diving into the moat just to save scraps of her clothes.

"Dang, Link. Did you plan that?" Suvica asked as he watched the soldiers jump into the water. Zelda stare at Link, also wondering if his seemingly thoughtless actions were part of a great scheme.

Link shrugged. "It worked, that's all I can say. Let's move before they start smartening up." He took Zelda (who was still stunned with amazement) by the hand and pulled her along the pavement neighboring the moat. Her shoes were kicked off at the unexpected sprint, leaving her barefooted as they ran; the feeling of cold stone beneath her feet was oddly refreshing.

They all ran alongside the moat, turning when it sharply angled towards the right. Zelda was tired from all the endless running, but her breathing came more easily thanks to her discarded clothing. It was liberating to dispose of the dress she'd worn for most of her life.

From within the castle, Zelda picked out the panicked screams and frenzied orders. She could already imagine her father's face the moment he received the report of her missing status: Shocked beyond comparison and distorted with fear. There was still a lingering portion of her heart telling her to run back to her abandoned father, but she did her best to ignore it.

After a handful of minutes, with Zelda scaling the same peak of exhaustion as before, they arrived at the Garden of Penance, the small land of vegetation dividing her home from Hyrule Market. Zelda had seen the Garden of Penance from the tallest tower in the castle and knew how to cross it. All they had to do was follow the pearl trail curving to their left and gradually declined and circled around the lush and wide oval cliff before them.

But there was a problem. A small platoon of soldiers was marching up the sloped pathway, obstructing their only exit. She harbored no doubt Link and Suvica could easily defeat this squad of Hylian soldiers with magic and might, but she desperately prayed that they did not. These were honest warriors who fought to serve the kingdom, and she did not wish any harm to befall upon them.

The squad of soldiers spotted Zelda and her group of capturers within seconds. At first, both factions stared at one another (with Suvica making crude hand signs all the while). Then the platoon heard the numerous alarms resounding from within the castle and immediately charged at them with their weapons drawn.

"Bring it on!" Suvica roared with electricity frightfully crackling from within his mouth. Zelda went cold; if these soldiers fought this monster, he would obliterate them. She couldn't let that happen! But what could she do? Should she stop him? How would she do that? Would the dragon listen to words? What should she do!

"Not now!" Link shouted, slapping the back of Suvica's head and dispelling Zelda's fog of worries. "If we fight those soldiers now, they'll stall us until reinforcements arrive! We don't have time for that! RUN!"

Zelda was so relieved at Link's choice to spare the soldiers her knees gave out. Link, who probably mistook her collapse as a sign of her fatigue, picked her up and hefted her onto his back. With her legs around his waist and her hands clutching his shoulders, her nose was perched against the base of Link's neck; she couldn't help but let her heart gallop away. She didn't know why, but she felt awfully close to Link, even though they'd only just met.

Still, she didn't have time to ponder her feelings as soon as she saw Link's improvised route of escape. With the normal pathway blocked off, he was leading his friends in a straight line, cutting directly across the Garden of Penance and towards the twenty feet drop at the end of the cliff-garden. Certainly, this method of escape would drop them right onto the pathway leading straight into Hyrule Market, but it was a twenty foot drop. How was Link planning on surviving such a fall?

"Suvica! Your wings!" Link shouted without a step of delay in his sprint.

"I told you already!" Suvica roared behind Zelda. "In this flesh bag, I can only carry one other person! I can't fly us all out of here!"

"I don't want you to fly! I want you to _glide_!"

Zelda didn't see the difference, but Suvica did. The dragon changed his run into an all out dash, pounding his feet into the grass and charging ahead of the rest of them. The monster astonished her again by summoning a pair of black wings in addition to his tail, opening them to their fullest before leaping off edge of the garden. Link jumped with Zelda still on his back, and Malon hopped after him; the two of them let their feet leave the ground without a scrap of doubt, while Zelda felt her body constrict in fear as empty air rushed beneath them.

Instead of plummeting to their doom (or a very painful landing), Link and Malon grabbed Suvica's hands as he hovered in midair. The dragon snarled as their combined weight strained his wings. Without wasting any strength in trying to stay afloat, Suvica kept his wings open, allowing the four of them to steadily glide towards the pearl pathway below and touch the ground without incident.

Link resumed running the moment he regained his footing, while Suvica dawdled behind them, complaining about straining a muscle in his wings. Malon pushed Suvica along as he skipped and winced during the process of withdrawing his dragon limbs into his human form.

"There they are! Don't let them get away!"

Link didn't stop to turn around, but that didn't prevent Zelda from looking over her shoulder to see the group of soldiers huddled around the cliff ledge they'd so boldly jumped from. Some of the soldiers resumed the chase by doubling back and following the prearranged path. The spirited leapt from the ledge, only to make a cringing crash onto the hard ground below. Zelda admired their single minded persistence, but wished they would take better care of themselves.

Her focus shifted from the wounded soldiers when the noisy clamor of a large crowd boomed before them. Thrilled beyond measure, Zelda watched as the scenery around them changed. The road started to dull and take on a rudimentary build. The artificial cliffs and land mounds disappeared to make way for plentiful shops and buildings. People, the normal people of Hyrule, began to swarm around them as Link entered the one place Zelda longed to see for herself: Hyrule Market.

She didn't know where to start, linger, or end. The people, stores, displays, food, weapons, warriors, children, clothes, statues, everything! Her amazement kept her gaze on everything, preventing her from retaining anything. She vaguely noticed a few townsfolk of Hyrule Market pointing at her riding on Link's back with her barely covered bodice, making cuddly remarks about the display. Normally, she'd be a flustering ball of embarrassment at the unwanted attention, trying to bury her face into Link's back to hide herself from the world; right now, her sense of shame was dampened by her growing exhilaration at the sight of Hyrule's largest bazaar. Everyone seemed so happy, so thrilled, so lively. Perhaps her prior concerns about their suffering were only misgivings born through ignorance?

Her excitement was great, but it didn't filter out the terse conversation Link held with the others. "We need to get out of Hyrule Market, and fast! We need transportation!"

"I think I pulled something in my wings," Suvica groaned past the senseless chatter of the market. "Don't expect me to start flying any day soon, Forest Boy."

"What about the wagon we came in?" Malon suggested with a wide smile. "I know where it is! It'll be at Hyrule market's main tavern, Goddess Grace! That's where my dad and Mr. Ingo go to cash in!"

"Are you sure you want to steal from your dad?" Link asked, shifting Zelda's weight on his back. She wanted to tell him she was fine and that he didn't need to carry her any longer, but she felt safer on his back than on her own two feet. Thus, she said nothing.

"I'll give it back!" Malon assured. "Besides, they're my horses and wagon too! I can't steal something that's already mine!"

Zelda could feel Link thinking three steps ahead. "Alright, we'll do it! Once we leave Hyrule Market, head straight for Lon Lon Ranch! We can drop the wagon off there and resupply at the same time! Lead the way, Malon!"

Malon nodded, bobbing her river of red hair and disappeared into the busy streets of Hyrule Market. Zelda lost sight of her within the second, causing a slight stab of panic, but Link and Suvica took off after her. Malon found extraordinary ways to slip past and sneak between the citizens of Hyrule Market to reach her destination; on the other hand, Link let Suvica push and shove everything and everyone who got in their way. Zelda wanted to rebuke the dragon for his brutish approach after he flipped over a wine merchant's cart of bottles, but understood their haste as she heard the frantic rhythm of armored boots drumming the ground and getting closer. She turned her head now and then to see spears stabbing at the air a fair distance away above the heads of the crowd, and she knew the castle soldiers were catching up to them.

"Here we are!" Malon announced. Zelda didn't need to use her eyes to confirm where they were, because her nose told the whole story. The foul stench of alcohol pervaded the air, causing tears to form around her eyes. She remembered this odor; it was the foul scent all Nobles gave off when they were in a particularly tainted mood. She dug her face into the back of Link's tunic without glancing at their surroundings, pleasantly distracted by the fresh smell of minty leaves and clean rivers. Although it was positively stomach-flipping to enjoy his scent, it was much better option than inhaling the air polluted with alcohol.

Zelda privileged herself with the aroma of the forest a few minutes longer until she was promptly tossed off Link's back, landing into a pile of soft fabric. Scrambling her way out of the seemingly endless mound, Zelda poked her head out of the mountain (which turned out to be a massive stack of clothes, though why someone would buy so many outfits was beyond her) and found herself on the back of a wagon tethered to six beautifully bred horses. She'd never seen such fine beasts, even in Hyrule Castle's Royal Stables.

"Stay hidden!" Link urged, leaping onto the wagon over its fenced sides. He grabbed a pink dress from the mound Zelda was buried in and draped it over her face, effectively concealing her from view. "Suvica, get on! Malon, you're the only one who knows how to drive this thing, so take the reins!"

"Don't order me around!"

"Aye, aye, Fairy Boy!"

Zelda shook the pink dress off her face so she could get a look at what was happening. The wagon had begun to move, forcing children, adults, and battle-scarred warriors alike to scramble out of their way.

"Dad! Mr. Ingo!" Zelda listened to Malon call out to her father, who was somewhere inside the sea of people scurrying away from the moving wagon. "Sorry, but I'm going to borrow this for a bit! I'll leave it at home! And sorry, Fairy Boy really did kidnap Princess Zelda in the end! Don't worry! We'll give her back after we save Hyrule!"

Zelda was unsure if that was the common attitude used after abducting the Princess of Hyrule, but she surmised it was all part of Malon's likeable nature. The wagon slowly picked up speed until the six horses were dragging the cart in an all-out gallop down the streets of Hyrule Market. Zelda scrambled out of the tower of clothes and grabbed onto the wagon's railing for dear life as Malon daringly steered it around one corner after another while shouting at people to get out of their way. Her handling was excellent, but Zelda wished she'd drive a little more cautiously after nearly tipping the wagon over during a particularly steep turn.

"HALT!"

"Shut up!"

A squadron of knights was racing towards them on steeds of their own, but Suvica took care of them by precariously leaned over the wagon's edge, snatching a large box of potatoes as if it weighed next to nothing, and hurling it at the incoming knights.

"Stupid humans," Suvica smirked, patting his hands as he watched the domino effect the rolling potatoes had on the Hylian knight's steeds. "Why tell us to halt? Who actually listens and let themselves be captured and killed?"

"You can ask them next time," Link replied. The two of them stood at the rear of the wagon, watching and waiting for any more trouble to crop up.

Why did Suvica always turn to violence so readily? It wasn't necessary for him to use force so quickly. Perhaps Malon could have outrun the knights and no one would have been harmed? Perhaps she could have lost them utilizing her skill in horse riding? Perhaps Link could have devised a more peaceful solution? Zelda longed to turn her feelings into audible words, but found she lacked the resolve to talk back. Being constantly subjugated to the harsh retorts of elderly council members did that to a child.

"Something wrong, Zelda?" Link suddenly asked, startling her with his faultless timing. "You look troubled.

"I-It is nothing."

She was sure she heard Link sigh, but he still said, "If you say so."

"Fairy Boy! We've got a bit of trouble!" Malon shouted from the front. Zelda tried to stand up and see what the problem was, but Suvica tipped over the stack of clothes as he walked by and let it collapse on her like an avalanche.

"Stay hidden, princess," was the dragon's short warning. Zelda did as she was told, but managed to shuffle aside a few layers of dresses so her eyes could peek past the clothes and let her give witness to the situation.

It wasn't a good one. A legion of Hylian knights had arrived, swarming in from all available streets. They were surrounding the wagon from both sides and approaching from the back. That wasn't the only problem: All the knights were wearing golden armor, meaning these were her father's personal Royal Guards. Their gold-clad steeds were nearly as swift as their wagon's six horses, and their commanding officer was the one and only Glen the Courageous.

Link had the situation under control. "Suvica! Take the front with Malon. Guard against the knights attacking our flanks and don't let them get on board! I'll take care of the rear!"

"I keep telling you to stop ordering me around!" The beast snarled, though he was more than willing to join Malon up front, growling at the knights galloping closer to the wagon's left and right.

Glen lead a small batch of his Royal Hylian Knights from the rear, and his helmetless face was visibly surprised to find Link standing at the back of the wagon to face him. "Young Link! What are you doing there? Are you also a captive along with our fair Princess Zelda?"

Zelda found it would've been wise to play along with Glen's assumption and feign abduction to avoid future persecution, but Link caught her off guard again. "Nope! I'm the one who kidnapped Zelda from her castle! When you said you looked forward to the day we fought together in battle, I bet this isn't what you meant! Sorry about that, Glen!"

"You were the one who kidnapped our fair princess? You mongrel! State your reasons! Is it for ransom? Are you going to hold our princess hostage for your own miserable deeds? Answer!" Glen roared, displaying a level of anger he'd never portrayed before. He was always known to be cool and carefree, yet now he was ruled by his emotions. Why?

"You want her back? Come and get her!" Link taunted.

"So I shall! Mark! Dashfall! Delta formation! We shall smite this miserable dog! Show him why we are the Royal Guards of the King!" Glen barked, drawing his golden blade from the sheath on his waist.

"Yes sir!"

"Right away!"

With two Royal Knights at his side, Glen spurred his steed forward and quickly closed in on the wagon from behind. Zelda felt a cold knife wrench her stomach; Glen was the strongest knight in all of Hyrule, while Link was naught but a child. What hope did he have against Glen the Courageous? Should she stand up and intervene, enlighten Glen to Hyrule's plight? But Suvica, the dragon, ordered her to hide. Was there anything she could do on her own?

Luckily, Link needed no help. He took the preemptive attack as he drew his short sword and let the pristine blade glow blue with his magic. Glen immediately noticed the threat and pulled his steed back while his two knights recklessly charged forward, their faces alight with assured victory. Link unleashed his spinning magical attack, firing the circle of blue energy from his blade. Zelda ducked as a blast of hot air blazed over her, and she heard Suvica shout a curse (meaning he dodged it as well).

"Dang it, are you trying to kill us all?"

"Be careful with that, Fairy Boy! That was dangerous!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" Link apologized, staring into the blade of his sword with a calculating expression. His magic shot out a circle of power striking everything around him; it was dangerous, reckless, and made no distinction between friend and foe, but was undeniably effective. The two knights who nearly boarded the wagon from the rear caught the brunt of Link's magic with their chests, shattering their armor and knocking them off their horses with bone crushing power.

All the knights surrounding the wagon went pale, but Glen only scowled.

"Magic!" He seethed between his teeth, tightening his fingers around the handle of his golden sword. "The Goddesses only bless the righteous with such a gift! What sort of dark sorcerer are you, fiend?"

Link armed himself with his wooden shield. "Come and find out!"

"Men! Attack! Hold nothing back! These are not children, they are demons in disguise! Slay them all! Rescue our princess! ATTACK!" Glen bellowed, raising his weapon high to commence the slaughter. Heeding their commander's instructions, the Royal Knights closed in.

But that was as far as they got.

Zelda knew Suvica was a fight-loving menace, and his actions today proved that. His tail sprung out from his back, which he used as a heavy whip to crush and destroy all those who dared to get to close. His victims ended up with broken bones, armor, and pride. A few of the Royal Knights succeeded in boarding the wagon, but they suffered a worse fate. The first to jump aboard received a steel splintering punch from the dragon, rending his armor into a hundred pieces while sending him flying into the front porch of a store. The second was grabbed by the ankle and used as a living club to smash and batter nearby knights and their steeds. Suvica continued to use the screaming knight as a living weapon until he thoughtlessly discarded him by tossing him off the fast moving wagon. By then, the Royal Knights learned to fear the monster's might, and moved back to attack Link instead (Suvica taunted they fled, calling them cowards).

If the Royal Knights thought they would have better luck attacking Link, they were dreadfully mistaken. The first two knights galloping towards Link saw he had no monstrous limbs and had not powered his sword with magic, so they attacked expecting an easy victory. They waved their swords at his face, expecting him to cower at the sight of their blades. Instead, Link parried and blocked their swords with apparent ease. Initially shocked, the two Royal Knights could do nothing as Link daring jumped off the wagon and onto the horse of the closest knight. He defeated this knight by bashing his magically reinforced shield into his face, and then jumped onto the second horse to incapacitate the next Royal Knight with a sword-hilt jab to the back of his exposed neck. As the two knights fell from their mounts, Link leapt back onto the wagon, grinning.

Glen was the only one who wasn't deterred. "Attack all at once! He cannot face our combined force!"

"Oh really?" Link said as his short sword hummed once more with blue magic. Remembering his previous display of arcane powers, none of the Royal Knights were willing to attack.

"Fools!" Glen shouted, "You've seen his sorcery! He cannot use his black magic without putting his comrades at risk! He's bluffing! Attack!" The Royal Knights were bolstered by their commander's words of assurance and galloped towards Link with renewed expressions of determination. Glen was right; Link was less likely to use his magic again now that he knew it was a threat to his friends. What was he going to do? Did he have a plan? Was this the end?

Link's grin never faltered. He held out his magically charged sword behind his body and spread his feet to stabilize his support. The Royal Knights did not flinch or flee, believing in Glen's words. He slashed at the air, but this time he changed the way he performed his magical attack. Instead of spinning his body in a circle, he swung his sword in a wide horizontal arch at incoming Royal Knights without moving his feet. The result was an improvised attack differing from the first. What emerged was not the familiar wide circle with Link at the center, but a spinning ring of energy that flew straight for the Royal Knights. In Zelda's mind, she imagined a Frisbee, a large Frisbee of destructive magic which plowed into and demolished the nearest Royal Knight with impossible power. In the span of a few minutes, Link successfully managed to configure and repurpose his powers to better suit his desires, a feat which took normally took apprentice magicians months and years to accomplish. There was no denying Link was amazing.

The remaining Royal Knights hesitated as they saw their comrades get blown away while Link's were unharmed. Their hesitation was their undoing, as Link released one magical disk after another, eliminating the remainder of the Royal Knights within seconds.

Glen was the only one left, displaying his confounded expression with wide eyes.

"You're next!" Link shouted, empowering his weapon with magic once more before releasing another volley of energy disks towards Glen. Hyrule's strongest knight awoke from his stupor in time to accurately veer his steed away from the magical projectiles, letting them strike the streets of Hyrule Market, upturning chunks of stone and carving shallow grooves into the road.

"Don't make light of me, demon child! I was a soldier before you were born! No matter how powerful you are, I shall prevail!" Glen kicked his heels into his steed, urging the horse to gallop faster. "I may be the last knight standing, but your defeat was determined the moment I arrived!"

There was no more time for Link to prepare his magic as Glen's mount raced forward until it was side by side with the wagon. Link shifted his position so he faced Glen the Courageous, and their battle began.

Link struck first. His short sword, however, was easily deflected with a sharp twist from Glen's blade. The Courageous countered, and Zelda saw Link clench his teeth and tense his arms to stop the golden sword with his wooden shield. Glen had his own gilded shield on his back, but he refrained from using it as he obviously had the advantage with his sword alone. Link refused to take a single step back as his offense was changed to defense, but that didn't stop Glen from inflicting several shallow cuts on Link's body.

"You're good for a child, demon!" Glen ruggedly praised, blocking a stab from Link and retaliating with a head-cleaving slice, which Link barely caught with his shield. "As a matured monster, I'm certain you'd be a frightful beast rivaling even me, but as a child, you are nothing more than an arrogant boy biting off far more than you can chew! For your crimes against Hyrule, I condemn you to die!" With a twist from his wrist, Glen disarmed Link, sending his short sword clattering to the wagon floor. He went for the final blow, overreaching himself on his steed's saddle and slashing his weapon at Link's neck.

For a moment, Zelda believed it was all over.

Then Link ducked, letting the sword swing harmlessly over his head. "Got you!" He roared in triumph, thrusting his left hand into the leather pouch on his belt and pulling out a wooden stick taller than himself. Glen was caught off guard, and had no time to rebalance himself on his mount as Link slammed his wood rod across Glen's unguarded face. The elementary weapon struck him directly on his temple, producing a painful _crack_ while snapping in half upon impact. The damage was obvious, as Glen jammed his teeth together and grasped his bleeding head with one hand while feebly pointing his sword at Link to ward off any additional attacks. Link yanked another stick from his pouch (begging Zelda to wonder exactly how much could fit within its logic defying space) and jammed it at Glen's shoulder, catching him between the joints of his gold armor. Glen dropped his blade with a sharp yelp, drawing on his horse's reins so that he lingered behind the wagon. This stick also broke in half upon use, but served its purpose well.

"You! You baited me! You pretended to lose and purposely let go of your own sword to draw me in!" Glen roared in outrage, enlightening Zelda to Link's impeccable scheme. How many times was he going to impress her?

"I wasn't pretending to lose," Link amended, rubbing his sore left wrist. "You're strong, but I've fought stronger. Not only that, you're overconfident. You believed victory was yours before we even started fighting. It's no different from running towards your goal without watching the ground. You're strong, but your recklessness was your undoing."

Glen's face froze, losing all emotions save for one: Recognition. His lips parted, and although no words came forth, Zelda could vaguely tell what Glen was trying to say: "Master Lillian."

Link abused Glen's moment of distraction, grabbing his fallen short sword and powering it with so much magic the blue shroud around the blade doubled in size. "Until we meet again!" Without mercy or hesitation, he launched his most powerful disk of magical energy, smashing it into Glen's chest and obliterating his armor into fragments.

Glen was blasted clean off his steed, but before he hit the ground, he used the last of his strength and pride as a knight of Hyrule to bellow, "CLOSE THE GATE!"

"Close the gate?" Link repeated. "Which gate?"

"Which one do you think, Forest Boy?" Suvica snapped, pointing ahead. During the battle, Zelda failed to realize Malon had brought their wagon onto a wide stone street leading straight to the open drawbridge leading to the vast Hyrule Field. The problem now was that Glen's final command carried itself well on the wind, reaching the gate's guards and prompting them to begin raising the drawbridge.

"Oh, that's so not good! Giddy-Yup!" Malon gave the six horses a stern tap with the reins, urging them to billow forward with all the might in their four limbs. A few stray knights appeared on the streets before their wagon to stall their approach, even if it meant sacrificing their own lives. Suvica drove off the first by grabbing a passing barrel of apples with his tail and hurling it at the knight. Link fended off the second and third knights with his improvised disk magic, keeping their pathway clear.

The drawbridge was still rising.

"Malon! Can we make it?" Link demanded, standing in the seat beside Malon.

"I don't think we can! I can't push the horses any faster, and the bridge will close before we can cross it!" Malon replied, tugging on the reins to keep their wagon on track.

"Then I'll fly over and bust it down!" Suvica declared. He bent his legs in preparation to jump, but stopped himself when his wings refused to appear. "Damn! I still can't move my wings, and my lightning is still action up!"

They weren't going to make it. The horses weren't fast enough and Suvica lacked the flight required.

There was no more reason to doubt: They couldn't escape. In the end, Zelda's hopes for leaving Hyrule Castle were but a fickle candle before the flames of reality. She could never flee from her father, from the Royal Council, or from her destiny. She would be brought back to the castle where her father would tighten the security around her a hundred fold while condemning Link, Suvica, and Malon to death. She would remain a puppet, a statue, and a faceless princess. She would never see her people. She would never know them as a fellow citizen of Hyrule. Link did everything he could. Suvica fought with all his strength. Malon offered all her services and aid. It was all not enough. There was nothing else they could do. This was the end.

NO!

NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!

She didn't want to go back! Not like this! Not now! Link fought against a legion of Royal Knights and fended off Glen the Courageous while she watched like a spectator. Suvica fought and battled against scores of knights as she hid beneath a pile of clothes. Malon did her best to get them to safety when Zelda did nothing but wait for it to come. She didn't want to go back. She didn't want to see Link, Malon, or even Suvica get executed. She wanted to leave! She wanted to see Hyrule! The freedom she always longed for was right in front of her, and she would not sit back and question herself while it dwindled away within her open palm. She would seize it! She would claim it!

Zelda stood, tossing aside the clothes masking her and drew back her right hand. Letting her experience and countless days of practice guide her body and spirit, she let a sliver of magic gather into her hand as she cast her favorite Goddess Spell.

"Din's Fire!"

She thrust out her right hand, letting a blazing sphere of crimson flames shoot from her palm. Link and Suvica, both with startled faces, ducked out of the way as her fireball arched towards the closing drawbridge. As her magical flames made contact, her spell exploded with ten times the force of a Bomb Flower, tearing down the drawbridge and its heavy oak supports asunder. When the ashes, debris, and smoke cleared, all that remained were the two thick chains that lifted and lowered the drawbridge into place; they were both cherry red with heat.

Link and Suvica, along with the soldiers standing near the obliterated drawbridge, gaped at Zelda and then at the charred remains of their greatest obstruction. Only Malon kept her undivided attention riveted upon the obstacle before them. With a perfectly coordinated snap of the reins, Malon urged the horses to leap across the moat dividing Hyrule Market and Hyrule Field. Link and Suvica grabbed the wagon's railings, but Zelda was still a little too ecstatic over what she'd done. She failed to secure herself properly as the wagon followed after the leaping horses and soared across the moat, lifting her off her feet. Once the wagon's wheels thudded onto solid ground, she landed hard on wagon's floor and bounced off the side.

A hand grabbed hers before she hit the grass rushing below them, hauling her out of the air and tossing her back onto the wagon and into a cushion of dresses. Her heart raced from her third near-death experience of the day, but she managed to sit upright to find Link's hand tightly wrapped around hers.

There was a smile on his face. "That was pretty cool."

Zelda blushed, but felt exhilarated at the fact she'd actually done something useful for the first time in her life. With their wagon peacefully trailing the open roads of Hyrule Field, she stood back to her feet and looked around.

No walls. No ceiling. No rules. No orders.

There was only the endless sky, boundless lands, freedom to do as she pleased, and the luxury to decide her own fate. This was freedom. She left go of Link's hand to open her arms and embrace the wind, letting the breeze rustle her scanty piece of clothing. She didn't care, enjoying the sensation of the wind whipping at her hair.

Zelda redirected her gaze on Hyrule Castle as it shrunk with distance, letting the brief yet numerous events of the day sink in. She ignored every warning her father imposed on her. She let Link cut apart the royal dress her father spent a fortune on and let him toss its remains aside. She nearly drowned in a bone infested moat. She jumped off a twenty feet cliff and let a dragon carry her down. She dirtied herself to the extent that would've driven any other princess insane. She engaged in a real-life chase down the streets of Hyrule Market and refused to take her chance to return to the castle with Glen the Courageous. She used her magic, not for the selfish purposes of the Royal Council, but for her own desire. She left the castle which had been her home and prison for eleven long years.

And she never felt better. In all her joy and excitement, she cupped her hands to her mouth and said the most un-princess-like thing in her entire life.

"IN YOUR FACE!"

* * *

Zelda was never saying that again.

They reached Lon Lon Ranch, a large plateau of land jutting thirty or so feet above ground level, at the twilight of dusk. From what she could see, there were only two buildings in Lon Lon Ranch, the house and a stable. The upper border of the ranch was surrounded by a thick iron fence, ensuring none of the livestock or horses strayed too close to the edge and fell to their doom. Malon steered the wagon up the front sloped entrance and locked the oak gates shut behind them. Once they reached her house, she unfastened the horses from the wagon and let them rest in the stables before inviting everyone inside her home. Now they rested; while Link and Malon prepared dinner for the night, Suvica was entertaining himself by mimicking Zelda's farewell words to Hyrule Castle.

"_In your face_!" He squealed in a mocking imitation of Zelda's voice while dancing on top of the table in the second floor room (Malon and Link were downstairs preparing dinner). Zelda's prior adrenaline rush abandoned her; now she sitting in one of the table's chairs, silently tearing herself apart for making such a fool out of herself in front of the others. "Ha! I can't wait to tell the Thunder Wings about this!"

Link and Malon arrived, placing several platters of food on the table after Suvica jumped off and took a seat. "I thought you abandoned your old band of kid bandits back at Oron City," Link said, clearing up Zelda's confusion.

Suvica set his face in a scowl, kicking back in his chair. "Of course I did! I only … it's been so long since I left those nosy brats that I started spouting nonsense, that's all!"

"I'm sure that's it," Link agreed, letting sarcasm float in each syllable he spoke.

"You can ignore Suvi, Princess Zelda!" Malon spoke up as she set the table. There were cups of milk and water, along with plates of cooked meat and baked potatoes. The smell made Zelda's stomach rumbled, loudly. Suvica rolled off his chair laughing at the sound. Zelda wanted to wrap herself in Malon's blankets and disappear.

"Come on over, Zelda. Suvica won't bite," Link assured, beckoning for her to pull her chair closer to the table. "You're hungry, so eat!" He grabbed a roasted potato, juggled the sizzling bun in his hands, and took a bite from its steaming surface.

"I … I am quite alright," Zelda said, right as her stomach rumbled in protest.

"Does our cooking really look that bad?" Malon whined, sounding hurt by her refusal to eat.

"What? N-N-N-No! Not at all!" Zelda hurried to amend herself, pulling her chair as close to the table as possible. After she picked up her tableware, she noticed Malon's grinning smile and realized her whining had been an act. "That was trickery!"

"And it worked!" Malon cheered, taking a seat in her chair before helping herself to dinner. Her well played manipulation left Zelda speechless, but she held no ill will towards Malon. Instead, she felt the phantom of a smile threaten to overturn her frown.

"What's wrong?" Link asked after he took a long draught from his water.

"N-Nothing." Zelda lifted her tableware, but saw Link and Malon ate with their bare (washed) hands, though Suvica was spearing his food with his tail before dropping it into his opened mouth. Back home, eating bare handed was considered the highest form of rudeness. With that in mind, she put down her fork and knife and eagerly picked up one of the buttered potatoes and took a bite. Compared to the luxurious meals the castle's chiefs laboriously prepared with extraordinary care, Zelda found herself enjoying the simple potato much more.

Then Suvica burst into conversation, and Zelda nearly choked. She was terrible at talking, especially to Noble families, and even her own father. So much dithering was involved, including meaningless praises, unnecessary insults to those undeserving, and many, many lies. Her talk with Link and his friends during their brief stay at Hyrule Castle was not a particularly pleasing one either. How could it be, when the fate of Hyrule was at stake?

"I saw you hit that sucker Glen right in the chest!" Suvica spat past a mouthful of steak and a wide grin. "Serves him right for looking down on us! Ha! Next time we see him, I call dibs! I need my chance for revenge too!"

Zelda wondered why Suvica spoke Glen's name with such venom, and yelped with Link poked her side. "You've got a question on your face." He said. "Go ahead, ask. Hold nothing back."

She swallowed, her throat dry. How could she possibly dare to confront a dragon with a question that could easily enrage him? Despite her best efforts, pitted against Link and Malon's ceaseless persistence, Zelda gave in. "Suvica … why do you hold Glen in such … contempt?" She flinched, awaiting the verbal and physical rebuke.

It never came. Instead, she peeked to find Suvica leaning against the table with his elbows while scowling. "Psh. I hate repeating myself, but fine! You probably heard about Glen defeating and driving off a black dragon, right?"

"Y-Yes."

Suvica leered at her. "Well?" Zelda had one of those awkward moments of pause which she despised so much, because she didn't understand what Suvica was saying. It only was after the dragon started dangling his black-scaled tail in front of her face when she realized what he was getting at.

She coughed out her half-chewed potato. "No! That can't be!"

"It can," Link chuckled, chewing into his own slab of steak. "You're looking at the same dragon Glen defeated. It stings Suvica's pride every time someone mentions Glen's name."

Zelda was driven by her curiosity. "If you were still a dragon when Glen defeated you, how did you come to be human?"

"Suvi got beat up by a different person," Malon giggled, playfully poking at Suvica's arm. Zelda half-expected him to tell Malon off, and was shocked when the beast grudgingly accepted her words. "After she did, she used her magic to turn Suvica into a human. Isn't that cool?"

"It's not cool!" Suvica denied, crossing his arms and puffing smoke from his nostrils. "It means I've lost to three humans to date! Three! First to Glen, then to the witch who made me like this, and then Link! Augh!"

"W-Well, it's to be expected, is it not?" Zelda inclined. Suvica glared at her, but she didn't feel as threatened by his malice as before. "After all, Glen is Hyrule's strongest knight, and Link can use magic. You are powerful, of course, but it is hard to defeat those who can wield such undeniable powers."

"You're rubbing salt on open wounds," Navi snickered, hovering over Link's unfinished meal. "Link beat up Suvica back at Oron City, before he had any magic."

Zelda braced her hands against her mouth to stop her jaw from dropping; there was no end to Link's list of incredible feats.

"I'll kill her," Suvica snarled, grabbing a roasted potato and crushing it in his hands, sending chucks flying everywhere. "I'll find the witch who turned me into this and kill her! She's going to regret the day she made me human!"

"Really? I want to thank her for making you human!" Malon said with a smile. This time, Zelda truly believed Suvica was going to kill Malon; he shocked her again by doing nothing more than mumble to himself. Why was Suvica, a vicious dragon of the oldest fables, so mellow? "It's because you're human that I got to meet you!"

Suvica coughed, keeping his eyes averted from Malon's shining gaze.

"It's too bad Pinky's gone," she added, "I really liked her. She was a really cute fairy."

"And I'm not?" Navi pouted as she swam inside Link's cup of water.

"Don't worry, you're cuddly too. Does Princess Zelda have any pets?"

Zelda paused for two seconds, almost unaware she'd been dragged back into the conversation. "Huh? Me? Oh … um … no. My father was worried I would hurt myself looking after an animal companion."

"Daughter complex," Suvica smack talked.

"Aw, that's too bad," Malon moaned. "Then what kind of pet would you want? Let's say you could have any pet you ever wanted! What would you get?"

"Me? Um …" Zelda hesitated, uncertain about how to reply. Was this where she faked a response to please everyone else, spoke her feelings, or evaded the question? "I … don't really know. I've always believed I would never have a pet, so I gave up my hopes of raising one." That was a lie; secretly, Zelda wanted a puppy.

Malon detected her fib, letting it show with her mischievous smile before continuing. "I know what kind of pet I'd want! I'd want a fairy partner, just like Fairy Boy's! I'll name my fairy partner Suvi!" Link laughed, and Suvica spared himself deep pout. Zelda subconsciously fought the desire to laugh along; she was still a little reluctant show how she truthfully felt, an attitude tempered by countless verbal abuses from the Royal Council.

"Speaking of names, we need a name for you, Link," Suvica grinned, licking chucks of potato from his fingers.

"Why? I've already got a name. Or did you already forge it?"  
"No, not you, your magic," Suvica clarified. "All human magic needs a name, right? It's a human's favorite past time, isn't it? Naming all their meaningless belongings. I even met a human back at Oron who called his little man '_Bobbles_'." Zelda really didn't need to know that. "So let's think of one right now!"

"Oh! Oh! I have an idea!" Malon chirped, standing on her chair and dancing on her tippy toes. "Princess Zelda called hers Din's Fire! So let's call yours Din's Hula-Hoop! Doesn't it look like one?" Everyone laughed, and Zelda felt her inner restraint waver.

"Actually, my spell is an Inherited Goddess Spell, while Link's is an Original," Zelda added before she could stop herself, immediately regretting her choice of sentences when everyone stared at her with confused looks. "N-Nothing! Names, correct? What about Din's Sword? Or maybe Nayru's Wrath or Farore's Judgment?"

"They're not bad," Suvica admitted.

"They sound really cool!" Malon added.

"It could work," Navi agreed.

Their positive feedback lightened Zelda's mood, but Link shot her down just as fast. "Not interested. For starters, this is _my_ sword, not Din's. I'm using my own wrath, not Nayru's, and the one passing judgment is me, not Farore. I'm not giving credit to Goddesses who aren't doing anything for me."

Link's method of interpretation was fascinating. Normally, magicians would be more than honored to learn Inherited Goddess spells or name their Original Spells after the three deities. Many would see it as a privilege, yet he did not.

"Let's call it Blue Paradise!" Malon said, submitting her second idea. This time everyone waited for an explanation, one which she was more than glad to give. "You know, because Fairy Boy's magic has nice blue color, and it hits the bad guys so hard it sends them to paradise! That's why: Blue Paradise!" Zelda could tell from Link's expression that he did not approve, but laughter filled the room to the brim nonetheless. She was finding it harder and harder to restrain herself.

"What about Blade of the Immortal Child?" Navi suggested.

"Ridiculous, I'm not immortal," Link chuckled.

Suvica took a turn. "I know! Call it the Ultimate Nightmare True Black Dragon Slashing Fire Claw Crushing Super Blade of the Almighty Dragon Servant Cutter!"

No one said anything.

"I'll call it the Spin Attack," Link decided. His decision was stormed by "BOOs" from Malon and Suvica.

"Boring!" Malon whined.

"No sense of naming!" Suvica bashed (like he could talk).

"It's perfect!" Link protested. "I spin and a magic attack comes out around me! Spin Attack! What more could I ask for?"

Zelda realized Link really was a straight-to-the-point type of person. She wondered if he'd always been like this or if his past molded him to be that way. Malon and Suvica continued to throw possible names at Link, but he let their suggestions pass in one ear and slip out his other.

"What of your other one, the magical attack that shoots forward instead of around you?" Zelda asked; she actually asked a question without fearing a snide remark or retort back. Suvica and Malon gazed at Link with begging expressions.

"It'll be the Disk Attack," he confirmed. Malon banged her head against the table and Suvica growled the words, "… lost his teabags …" which made no sense to Zelda.

Their playful exchange of repartee continued long into the night, and Zelda found herself straining to mask her smiles and smother her laughs. It was strange for natural smiles and giggles to crop from her. All her life, she was taught to lift her lips and make joyous noises on command to appease others. To feel these emotions come forth with genuine honesty was an experience Zelda didn't know how to deal with.

At the darkest hour of night, they moved onto more serious but necessary topics. Zelda was sorry for the exchange of jokes and good humor to end, but understood how important this was.

"First is food," Link began. "It shouldn't be a problem as long as Malon is okay with it."

"With taking stuff to eat from my home? Sure! Go ahead!" Malon eagerly complied. "Fairy Boy's super pouch can hold an infinite amount of everything, right? There's lots of food here at Lon Lon Ranch, so even if we take a super amount, there'll still be plenty left for dad and Mr. Ingo when they arrive!"  
Link nodded. "Next is transportation. To be frank, I say we walk."

Zelda brightened at the chance to stretch her legs in an adventure larger than her own inner garden back home. Plus, she liked the idea of taking their time exploring Hyrule.

Suvica objected immediately. "You're kidding me, Forest Boy! I know how to get to Death Mountain, so I also know how far away it is! We could run nonstop, day and night without a wink of sleep, but it'll still take us weeks, maybe months, to reach!"

Zelda's spirits died on the spot. Her idea of a light exercise turned out to be a marathon.

"Can't we bring the wagon and horses?" Malon pleaded. She too was against the idea of walking all the way to Death Mountain. "I know how to keep the horses in line! I promise they won't get us into any trouble!"

Link already had a counter in store for her. "How many of us can actually tend to horses?" Only Malon raised her hand, and that was after ten seconds of deep thought. "I know my pouch can store a lot, but can we store enough? This adventure will be a long, that's for certain. Can we get enough supplies from this ranch to keep six horses fed and watered for a harsh journey with possibly no end?"

"They can feed on the grass," Malon suggested, as if she hoped this piece of common knowledge was useful. "We can stop by a city now and then to restock on horse feed and water."

"Can any of us treat the horses if they get sick or injured? If we can't, can we bring ourselves to leave it behind to wither and die in the middle of Hyrule Field?" Link continued on, forcing Malon to slowly lower her raised hand. "There are too many obligations a single horse requires, let alone six. It'll be hard to tend to them when we're constantly on the move. And think of the wagon! If the wagon breaks, we'd be doom. Anyone still have any objections?"

Zelda didn't. Neither did Suvica or the crestfallen Malon. Link had a way with words, another skill she ogled at with respect and allure.

"Link," Navi spoke in. "I agree with you about not taking the horses, but that brings about another problem. I'm sure you and Suvica could sprint across Hyrule Field all day long if you wanted to, but Malon and Princess Zelda don't have that kind of stamina. Walking to Death Mountain is going to be torture for the two of them." Zelda swallowed her apprehension; as much as she wanted to assure everyone she wouldn't be a burden, Navi's statement was one she couldn't deny.

"If they can't walk, Suvica can carry then," Link shrugged.

Navi was all for that. "Awesome idea! Problem solved, everybody!"

"Don't treat me like some kind of luggage handler!" Suvica angrily protested.

"So you'll do it?" Link asked innocently. Zelda wondered why the dragon hadn't hit Link at least once today, especially with him baiting the beast all day long.

"Of course I won't! Why should I? I'm a dragon! I've got my pride!" Suvica bellowed, sound more and more like an actual dragon the more infuriated he became. Link had a remedy for that as well. He beckoned for Suvica to lean close and whispered into the dragon's ear. Zelda couldn't hear what it was, but whatever he said turned Suvica's defiant attitude into putty.

"So you'll do it?" Link asked cheerfully.

"I'm _so_ going to kill you one of these days. I_ swear _I will!"

"Is that before or after I pluck off one of your black scales and hang it in my home wall as a trophy?" Link laughed. Zelda was not surprised when Suvica threw a punch at Link's face; he nonchalantly ducked beneath the dragon's raged attack as if nothing happened. "Predicable, but that's why you're so much fun."

Suvica growled, but pursued Link no further. Zelda didn't know what the two of them were talking about or why Suvica restrained himself so much, but was glad they hadn't started a bloody battle in Malon's room. Suvica declared that he was going to sleep, stomping towards the stairs and throwing himself onto the floor below them; Zelda knew when he did, because he made the whole house rumble.

"We'll leave first thing in the morning," Link said, finishing the last of his meal. "We want to cover as much ground as we can while the sun is up, since we can't do much when the undead are wandering about during the night. Good night you two, see you in the morning." He waited for Navi to find a comfortable spot in his hood before walking downstairs and strolling outside towards the wide field of Lon Lon Ranch.

"Where is he going?" Zelda asked Malon, watching Link's progress as his figure turned smaller and smaller beneath the moonlight.

"Fairy Boy does that," Malon explained, bouncing off her chair and heading for her nightdress. "He says sleeping outside reminds him of his home back in the Lost Woods. Since it's warm enough to sleep comfortably beneath the stars these days, I let him." She jumped, as if suddenly remembering a something vital. "Princess Zelda! Where will you be sleeping? My humble bed is hardly fitting!"

Zelda took a look at the "humble" bed. Unlike hers, back at home in Hyrule Castle, it wasn't a spacious monstrosity that could fit a hundred people, nor did it have the fluffy white pillows or wool draped blankets. It had no golden bed posts or any absurd silver ornaments hanging from its stands. It was a regular bed, with a feathered mattress, four wooden posts, and a rugged blanket, exactly what Zelda wanted. She resisted the urge to flop herself into the simple cot and bury her face into the leather pillow.

"It's quite alright. You may sleep in your own bed tonight, for it may be the last time in a long time that you do so," Zelda said, hoping to sound kind and thoughtful. It didn't work; Malon protested like a haggling peddler, complaining about how Zelda required somewhere suitable to rest even though her bed was "hardly appropriate for a princess to sleep in!" It took all of Zelda's scanty persuasive powers to convince Malon her bed was fit for a queen and that she should be proud to have it. Thirty minutes later, the ranch girl was sleeping peacefully beneath her blankets.

As quietly as she could bring herself to be, Zelda walked to the door and tip toed down the stairs to the first floor, where she found Suvica sprawled face up on the floor, scratching his exposed stomach. She snuck around him and exited the house.

She greeted the night of Lon Lon Ranch, where the open sky was a blanket of a million jewels and one precious diamond. She walked past the house, beyond the shed, and into the spacious round field of Lon Lon Ranch. The horses were sleeping with their young, the cattle were snoozing in the stables, and the flock of Cuccos was bundled together in their nests, leaving the field barren.

She found Link sleeping at the center of the field. His body was face up, his hands propped behind his head. His chest gently rose and fell to the steady rhythm of sleep, his eyelids fluttering to his personal dreams. Navi was on top of his breathing chest, her transparent wings curled around her spherical body, which glowed and dimmed in unison to her partner's peaceful breathing.

The boy who changed her life.

Not knowing why or bothering to develop a reason, acting only because she wished to, Zelda knelt down and lay by Link's side. She didn't touch him, but was close enough to smell his scent and feel his warmth. Perfectly content, she closed her eyes and slept. For the first time in a life time, she dreamed a dream free of nightmares.

* * *

EDIT: Woot, chapter 9 is now up and running! Told from Zelda's point of view. This chapter isn't anywhere near as long as the last two chapters. I cut it down a bit because I didn't want to drone on and on. I just hope now that Link drags Zelda into the squabble to save Hyrule, things will get a little more interesting. The chapter feels a little rushed, so forgive me for that.

EDIT: Not too many changes were made here. I added a conversation during dinner because eating in silence just doesn't fit this little group out to save Hyrule. (7/4/12)


	10. Chapter 10, Cruelty of History

**Chapter 10**

**Cruelty of History**

Malon groaned, comfortably wrapped in her blankets with her head propped against her pillow. "Com'on dad … five more minutes. It's not my turn to feed the cows today … it's Mr. Ingo's turn … 'member?"

"For starters, I'm not your old man. Secondly, can I eat those cows?"

Her head shot right off her pillow, befuddled to find Suvi standing at the foot of her bed. He was trying to appear impatient by repeatedly tapping his foot on the floor, but his wandering eyes and trembling shoulders told her otherwise. "Suvi! What're you doing here?"

"I'm here to wake you up," Suvi said after clearing his throat. "Link says there'll be Hylian soldiers knocking on your front door within the day. If my wings were working properly, I'd fly out and see for myself. Since I can't, so all I can do is wait until they arrive so I can teach them how the food chain works."

Malon giggled; Suvi acted cryptic and crude, but he was still so adorable. "I'll be ready in a second. Give me some time to change out of my pajamas." She scuttled out of her bed when a memory from the previous night struck her. "Suvi!"

Suvi was heading for the door, but jolted to a halt when Malon shouted his name. "What?"

"Where's Princess Zelda? We brought her here, didn't we? I remember!" Malon squealed in her own excitement. One flood gate at a time, yesterday's events streamed back to her. Each gushing wave of memories chased away her lingering sleep and sent bolts of electricity through her body. Yesterday had been one of the most frightful yet exhilarating days of her life (secretly, she hoped it hadn't all been a dream).

"The Princess is in the field," Suvi replied, jabbing a finger at the open window. Malon kicked off her night-socks and scrambled towards the ajar frame, almost fainting in sheer joy to see Fairy Boy and Princess Zelda together playing with Epona. Royalty! In her home! She couldn't wait to tell all her friends in neighboring villages and cities about this! However, what truly made her heart soar was how happy Princess Zelda was compared to yesterday.

Then she saw something absolutely horrifying.

"Oh my Goddess!"

The floor shook as Suvi jumped. "What? Is it the soldiers? Are they here? How many are there? I'll rip them all to pieces and dry their meat for a midday snack!"

"What is she _wearing_?" Malon squirmed, horrorstruck to see that Princess Zelda was still wearing the rags she had from the day before. It still pained her soul to know the filthy pillow-case-clothes the princess wore used to be a regal dress unlike any other. Fairy Boy wasn't going to get off light for ruining it. "Suvi! We've got an emergency! Princess Zelda can't leave Lon Lon Ranch looking like that!"

Suvi had already left, and Malon watched him barge out the front door while stomping towards Fairy Boy and Princess Zelda. He was seething with annoyance, so Malon was a little sorry about giving him false hope about an upcoming battle.

Regardless, first things first: Princess Zelda would not be allowed to strut around Hyrule wearing nothing more than a potato sack, not while Malon was around. Pushing herself away from the window and casting her eyes to the pile of newly purchased clothing bought from Hyrule Market, she scooped out the first five she could reach and bolted out the room. She took the stairs down to the living room two at a time, flew across the room, and kicked the door open to dash into the grazing field of Lon Lon Ranch.

"Princess Zelda! Fairy Boy!" Malon hollered, pleased to find her voice carried well with the early morning breeze. Her best friend, Epona, responded to her first, trotting away from Princess Zelda and Fairy Boy and galloping to Malon's side. The two of them affectionately nuzzled foreheads before Malon slung her selected garments onto Epona's maple-red back and approached the princess.

Truly, Princess Zelda was the antithesis of everything Malon defined as a "Princess." She grew up believing princesses were raised in big castles with plenty of good food, lots of fun things to do, and a happy family. To see the effects castle life had on Princess Zelda was heartbreaking; she would've been an outgoing and cheerful girl if it hadn't been for her pesky dad, King Ceylon, and the Noble snobs on the Royal Council. No matter, that was then and this was now. Princess Zelda was outside the castle and with good friends. If she had no good memories of the past, then now was the time to start making them.

"What've you got there Malon?" Fairy Boy asked, stroking Epona's mane and almost evoking a purr from her best friend. It was amazing to see how close the two of them had gotten in such little time.

"Clothes for Princess Zelda!" Malon announced, picking the first dress from Epona's back and holding it out for Princess Zelda to see. To be honest, when Malon went shopping for this particular piece of fashion, she was more interested in the discount than the clothing itself. Thus, she was surprised and embarrassed to find herself holding up a nightgown decorated with tiger strips.

"Fashion is a terrifying thing," Navi mumbled from on top of Fairy Boy's head while Malon hurried to hide the fancy pajamas behind her back.

"Is that what many girls wear these days?" Princess Zelda courageously asked, sidestepping around Malon to get a better look at the nightwear.

Malon scurried from side to side to keep it hidden. "No! No! Not at all! It was my mistake!"

"But you're wearing something similar," the princess pointed out, indicating Malon's outfit. She looked down, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks when she saw she was still wearing her pajamas dotted with happy cow faces.

"I-I-I-I still need to get d-d-d-dressed too!" She stammered, embarrassed she was talking to Princess Zelda in her nightdress.

"Either way," Fairy Boy interjected. "Malon is telling the truth, Zelda." Again, Fairy Boy impressed and horrified Malon with his lack of honorifics. "You can't walk around Hyrule dressed only in that. Go with Malon and see if you can get some new clothes on. I'll pack everything else we'll need for the trip."

"Don't forget the pancakes," Suvi growled from behind Fairy Boy. Malon thought Suvi was joking, but realized he was serious after noticing his glutinous glare.

"Come on, Princess Zelda!" Malon urged, holding Princess Zelda by the hand (she was holding a princess's hand!) and leading her back to her home. "We've got to find you some proper clothes! I'll get you a dress fit for a queen!"

"S-Something simple will do, thank you," Princess Zelda assured, looking put off by the idea of anything regal. Malon somewhat understood the origin of those feelings; she'd caught a good look at the underlying fabrics of Princess Zelda's royal dress as Fairy Boy mutilated it, and knew it probably took hours to put on and take off. The prospect of dressing Princess Zelda up as a commoner was disheartening, but if it raised the princess's spirits, she was all for it.

Malon brought her back to her home and into her room upstairs (out of sight from male eyes), presenting to her the four remaining dresses. The first was a green gown which looked nice on the eyes but had a hem which constantly dragged across the ground; no good for traveling. Next, she handed the princess a one-piece white dress similar to her own; she would've been ecstatic if Princess Zelda wore clothes identical to her own, but the waist was a few sizes too large, so it was mournfully discarded. The third was a black and white stripped outfit with ground-touching sleeves and a skirt several centimeters too short; Malon immediately wondered why she bought such a monstrosity and resolved to burn it with fire. The fourth and final piece of clothing was basically a jade blanket with a hole in the middle where the head was supposed to fit through; Malon was beginning to doubt her sense of fashion as Princess Zelda wore each and every outfit. She looked ridiculous and outstanding in all of them, but the two unanimously decided none of them were right for her.

As a final resort, Malon decided to tailor the princess an outfit by taking the best of the four clothes and put them together to make a brand new attire. After agreeing on the initial design and taking a few of Princess Zelda's measurements (Malon loved how creamy the princess's skin looked), she grabbed her sewing kit and went to work. Suvi boorishly banged on the locked door several times while Malon was sewing, demanded to know what was taking them so long. After pricking her finger with a needle, she popped his bubbling impatience with a fierce declaration which went along the lines of: "LEAVE US ALONE YOU SILLY DRAGON!" After that, Suvi was awkwardly silent, though Malon could tell he was still right outside the door.

As Malon reverently worked on the new outfit, Princess Zelda said, "May I ask you something?"

"You don't have to ask for my permission!" Malon assured, halfway done with the princess's new outfit. "We're going to be traveling together! If you've got a question, feel free to ask!"

A warm glow of gratitude came from the princess. "I see … thank you. If I may ask, how are you so brave around Suvica? Is he not a dragon? Perhaps he is not as imposing with his human form, but he is still a beast. I have seen his outrageous strength. Are you not afraid he could harm you at a moment's notice?"

Malon smiled; she knew Suvi could hear everything the two of them were saying from the other side of the door, so she told the truth without any bias. "Nah, Suvi wouldn't do that!"

"How can you be so sure?"

Malon frowned; she wasn't good at wording her sentences, but still tried her best. "Because Suvi is Suvi. He acts really mean and evil, but when you look past his bad guy act, you can see he's really cute inside." She heard Suvi choke on a gag outside the door.

"I … see," Princess Zelda murmured, resting her case with a long pause. Malon was given five additional minutes to give her full concentration to the project at hand until the princess continued with, "What … do you think of Link?"

Malon wrenched her head away from her project and stared at Princess Zelda. It wasn't the question itself that got to her, but the underlying tone beneath it: Soft, curious, and captivated. Malon couldn't hide her grin when she asked, "Do you like Fairy Boy?"

Princess Zelda's face turned into a tomato as she scurried backwards until her back was against the wall. "I-I-I-It's not w-w-w-what you think!"

Her reaction only fed Malon's grin. "Really?"

"M-M-Most certainly!" Princess Zelda confirmed. When she continued to speak, Malon recognized the chains of time-tempered restraint holding down her emotions and transforming her back into the doll created by the Royal Council. "I am the Princess of Hyrule. Having such uncouth feelings cannot benefit one such as me. My partner in life will be determined by my father and the Royal Council. It is a fate that I must accept."

Malon puckered her lips; the princess's life was stuck within the thorny brambles of her past, something Malon couldn't carelessly tread into. In a way, she resembled Fairy Boy, in how they were both prisoners to their emotions. While Fairy Boy was an unaware slave to his anger, Princess Zelda was a captive to her manipulated emotions. She wanted to help them both, but didn't know where to start. Such deep problems couldn't be solved in a day; they took months or years to resolve. All Malon could say now was, "You need to be more honest with yourself."

"I … I am," Princess Zelda whispered; a complete lie.

Ashamed at herself for bringing this upon the princess, Malon turned her attention back to her tailoring and answered Princess Zelda's first question. "Fairy Boy is really nice. He's kind and chases his goal with single-minded determination. I really like that about him, since he knows what he wants without second guessing himself. And you can never really tell what Fairy Boy is going to do next. After all, he stole the Princess of Hyrule right out of Hyrule Castle!"

There was a glimmer of amusement within the cage of Princess Zelda's emotions. "Yes, that is true."

Malon stopped talking, unwilling to aggravate Princess Zelda's time inflicted wounds. If she didn't know how to help the princess, then she would figure it out. Malon knew exactly how it felt to be a hostage to event-influenced emotions, and it wasn't pleasant. Hopefully, their time together would unlock the riddle to Princess Zelda's happiness. Until then, all she could do was hope for the best.

* * *

Malon's prior regrets were stray leaves to the coming storm of her overwhelming joy. She finished Princess Zelda's new dress within the hour and without a single loose end or visible stitch. She was ready to die from sheer pleasure as she watched the Princess of Hyrule put on her own handmade outfit.

This was her best work yet. Princess Zelda's top was a sleeveless white tunic with plenty of neck space for the warm days to come. A sheet of jade was expertly sewn to the left shoulder of the shirt, coving most of her left arm, leaving her right bare (it was a personal request from the princess, since she said she felt uncomfortable exposing her left arm). Although the shirt was still a little baggy around the waist, Malon solved that problem by converting the jade blanket into a sash wrapping around the princess's waist to outline her form. She kept the bottom half of the green gown for Princess Zelda to wear, but cut off some of the edges to shorten the length. Thus, the dress came down to around Princess Zelda's knees so it wouldn't hamper her walking. For her feet, the princess claimed she was content with a spare pair of white shoes Malon occasionally wore. The princess donned nothing on her head, since it would've been a crime to conceal such lovely golden hair, some of which came down as bangs around the sides of Princess Zelda's head while the rest was draped across her back and shoulders. When Malon presented the newly clothed princess to the others, Fairy Boy and Navi rewarded them with an enthusiastic applause. Suvi complained it was lunch time and that he was hungry.

Malon, with Fairy Boy's help, prepared their final meal before leaving, a lunch of boiled eggs, buttered bread, fried steak, and honey-apple pancakes. Their meal was a scrumptious one, even though Suvi ate more than half of what they cooked. Several times, Princess Zelda opened her mouth to ask something that was direly questioning her, but remained silent to the end. Malon wanted to slap the King of Hyrule across the face for raising his daughter in such a terrible manner before trampling the Royal Council beneath the hooves of Lon Lon Ranch's horses.

On the eve of their departure, Malon held a tearful farewell with all her farm friends. She cried while hugging her favorite Cucco Timmy, sobbed as she bid her cow Bessie goodbye, and bawled buckets while patting Epona farewell. A few seconds after she was done drying her tears, she sprinted out the front gate of Lon Lon Ranch with exploding exhilaration.

This was going to be so much fun!

* * *

This was no fun at all.

The sun was relentless over their heads, frying them all alive beneath its evil glare. Malon was joyously skipping the first ten minutes into their adventure, and then dragging her feet the following five. Back home, when she wanted to get from one place to another, she usually rode on Epona's back. When she thought about it, that was most likely the reason for her low endurance. Still, she took some pride in the fact that she was not the slowest, for that position belonged to Princess Zelda; the princess looked as if each step she took brought forth immeasurable exhaustion. Fairy Boy and Suvi were experiencing no problems at all; they weren't even sweating as they strode ahead of them with ease. Navi frequently told the two of them, Malon and Princess Zelda, to try picking up the pace. Like the fairy could talk; she was having a free ride on Fairy Boy's head within the shade of his hood.

An hour after leaving home, according to Suvi's stomach, they all stopped for a break (entirely for Malon and Princess Zelda's sake).

"I didn't think the two of you were _this_ out of shape," Fairy Boy said as they sat within the shade provided by Suvi's outstretched wings. Although he couldn't fly with them, he claimed spreading them out was easy enough.

"I'm … _pant _… I'm sorry for being such a burden," Princess Zelda gasped between breaths for air.

"Don't worry about it. I expected this to happen, though not so quickly," Fairy Boy shrugged. Malon glared at him as his words dampened Princess Zelda's dimming spirits further. They spent a few more minutes resting, taking a few sips of cool bottled water Fairy Boy pulled out from his wondrous pouch, before Malon and Princess Zelda despairingly got to their feet and pressed on.

Fairy Boy slowed their pace so his steps matched with Malon's and Princess Zelda's, but Suvi charged ahead while screaming for the rest of them to catch up. After ignoring the first ten minutes of Suvi's provocative rambling, the dragon trudged back towards the rest of them. That was when he found a new way to preoccupy himself, a manner of distraction Malon wholly disagreed with: Teasing Princess Zelda.

"Princess, did you know your precious _Nobles_, the ones who're _supposed _to _protect_ the people of Hyrule, are nothing more than greedy rupee-mongering scumbags?" Suvi sneered.

"T-That is not true!" Princess Zelda tried to deny, but sounded utterly unconvincing in her meek tone. "Though they are sometimes forced to make difficult choices, the Nobles of Hyrule exist to uphold and enforce the law! They ensure peace and prosperity flourish along with the people of Hyrule!"

"True," Suvi said with a nod, though Malon felt a snide remark itching at his throat. "But who enforces the enforcers? Those Nobles think they _are_ the law, and are constantly making up new ones to pressure your precious people while filling up their pockets with rupees!"

"Y-Y-You're lying!"

Suvi tilted his head back and laughed. "You heard of a Noble scalled Scavon? He was the one who presided over Haltren Village, which is near the borders of the Gerudo Desert. He taxed his village so hard the village ended up dying from poverty and starvation! Did he get punished? No! Instead, he blamed his village's destruction on a bandit attack and ran to your precious old man for help! What to guess what happened next? Your pops paid him for his lies and gave him another village to feed on! There's your valued law at work!"

"T-T-That is a lie!" Then Princess Zelda turned to Malon with horrified eyes. "Is it?"

Malon was pained by the darkening sense of dread hanging over the princess, but she refused to lie. Everyone knew of Scavon the Scavenger, and how each village he settled in was wiped off the maps of Hyrule due to "bandit attacks." It mortified Malon to do so, but she nodded to confirm Suvi's accusations.

"What about Rekar?" He continued, taking disgustingly obvious pleasure in Princess Zelda's dejection. Did Malon say Suvi was cute before? Well, he was … but only when he wasn't acting like a total jerk. "I hear he's currently the supervisor of Ublen City."

Princess Zelda jumped at the first chance to prove Suvi wrong. "I know of Noble Rekar! I've seen him visit Hyrule Castle on many occasions! He is a wealthy Noble who continuously sends rupees to my father on a monthly basis! My father uses those rupees to further improve the living conditions of the people of Hyrule!"

"But do you know how he makes his dough? Human brat labor! He swipes the kids off the streets of Ublen and forces them to work the flesh off their bones to pour undeserving rupees into his pockets!"

"You have no proof of that!"

"I've got plenty of eye witnesses! I used to be the leader of the Thunder Wings, a group of brat bandits at Oron City! A lot my members used to work in Rekar's factories. I've seen the scars on their bodies, and I know what they've been through. Ha! Once again, the Nobles of Hyrule at work!"

Princess Zelda was whipped yet again, looking frightfully pale beneath the sun.

"There's Noble Arthicus of Denion City!" Malon quickly added, trying to help the princess's dying cause. "The first leader and founder of Denion!"

She lit up at the name, bringing forth a smile. "Yes, that is true! You cannot deny Noble Arthicus's accomplishments! He was a Noble, and he fought for the people of Hyrule! It is well known he used all of his fortune to better the homes and lives of the people of Denion! That is why it is one of the largest cities of Hyrule!"

Malon felt confident this would put a stop to Suvi's mockery, but was mildly horrified when his reaction was a sinister laugh. "Yeah, Arthicus was a good guy. But do you remember what happened to him?"

"He died an unfortunate death," Princess Zelda replied cautiously. "The doctors and magicians who examined his body said he passed away from an accumulation of stress and a lack of rest."

Suvi's sneer was becoming more prominent. "You know who the current leader of Denion City?"

"Noble Pavo. My father receives monthly reports that he does his best to ensure Noble Arthicus's legacy."

"Don't you think it's odd that Arthicus died the same day Pavo arrived at Denion City all those years ago? Don't you think it's odd it was Pavo who received the right to preside over Denion right after Arthicus was declared dead? Don't you think it's odd those very same doctors and magicians who declared Arthicus's cause of death earned a small fortune of rupees the following day?"

"What are you getting at?" Princess Zelda demanded; she could no longer hide the fear settling in her heart.

"It's obvious!" Suvica laughed. "Denion City was well renowned for its wealth, almost enough to rival Hyrule Castle's own treasure vault! Pavo is the greediest scum of life this world has to offer! He strolls into Denion City, and all of a sudden Arthicus falls over and dies! It's so obvious it's hilarious you don't see it! Pavo killed Arthicus! He bribed the doctors and magicians examining Arthicus's body into falsifying the reports so he could escape your precious _law_ and acquire one of the wealthiest cities in all of Hyrule! Sure, a '_righteous_' Noble might pop up once in a blue moon, but they're easily devoured by the numerous Nobles with hearts blacker than my own! This is reality! This is your precious Hyrule!"

Princess Zelda made no retort, no effort to fight against Suvi. Instead, she slouched her shoulders and let the inevitable weight of his words smash her to pieces. Malon felt as though she could drown in the sea of Princess Zelda's despair, silently churning and howling with every passing second.

Suvi, smug with unbearable amusement, spread his wings to flaunt his "victory." Malon found him ever-so-more irritable when he discovered his wings had healed as he took off to celebrate his undeserved recovery and unwanted triumph in Princess Zelda's depression.

"Fairy Boy!" Malon yelled. He'd been standing in front of Malon and Princess Zelda the whole time Suvi had been yapping away. "Why didn't you stop Suvi? He was being so mean to Princess Zelda!"

"Stop who?" Fairy Boy asked, as if he hadn't heard the racket Suvi made.

"Stop Suvi!" Malon repeated with grown angst. Did she say Fairy Boy was nice? She was starting to forget why. "We stole Princess Zelda from her home, and now Suvi is breaking her heart! We can't let him bother her anymore!" She declared, pointing a finger at the small figure soaring amongst the clouds.

"There was no point in stopping him," Fairy Boy replied with a shrug. Malon started to object, but he halted his tracks and turned around to silence her with a powerful stare. "Malon, we're searching for the remaining two Spiritual Stones, but we may end up exploring all of Hyrule along the way. If that's the case, it'd be inevitable that Zelda would learn about Hyrule's corruption, whether Suvica's making it up or not. Better she learn it sooner rather than later."

Malon tried to argue, but his logic was irrefutable. "But why did Suvi have to tell her?" She protested, trying to voice her disagreement from a different angle. "He's enjoying Princess Zelda's pain way too much!"

The princess spoke up. "Please, Malon, there is no need to—"

"You be quiet, Princess Zelda!" Malon snapped, momentarily forgetting her kindness in light of her spite. The princess wasn't stunned by her reject, but accepted her refusal as if she'd been expecting it. Malon mellowed, ashamed she'd hurt Princess Zelda even more. "I'm so sorry! It's not like that! You shouldn't have to listen to everything Suvi says! Besides, Fairy Boy could have put it more delicately!"

"Not really," Fairy Boy replied. "As unfortunate as it might be, Suvica is the only one among us who knows Hyrule the best. I've been in the Kokiri Village for all my life, so I don't know anything about this kingdom. Also, I'm sure if you knew everything Suvica did, Malon, you'd be the one explaining everything to Zelda and not him."

Malon bit her tongue; it was true. When it all came down to it, she rarely paid attention to the politics of Hyrule or what occurred outside Lon Lon Ranch. Her perfect little world at the ranch was all she ever needed, and it surprised her just as much as it astonished Princess Zelda to hear about some of the atrocities Suvi spoke about; she knew many Nobles were greedy, but never imagined one would kill another over greed. She wished she'd agreed to her dad's suggestion to enroll her at a school, few as they may be.

"He could always be lying," Navi pointed out, poking her glowing body out from under the rim of Link's hood.

"Perhaps," Fairy Boy agreed, "But did it sound that way?"

Malon allowed her spirits to fall. "No, I guess it didn't."

"And Zelda? I have a question I need you to answer."

"Y-Yes?"

"How does this Noble thing work? I know there are thirty-three Noble families, and that each head of every family is a part of the Royal Council or Royal Court. If that's so, how there are still Nobles running around ruling cities and villages?"

Zelda sighed, like she didn't want to speak at the moment yet had no choice in the matter. "The head of a Noble family is the person with the most authority within that family. They are the members of the Royal Council and Royal Court. The rest of their family, on the other hand, is generally allowed to do whatever they please, as long as it … it benefits the whole of Hyrule. Sometimes they stay in private castles of their own, or sometimes they request leadership over a certain city or town to watch over the populace and keep the peace. Take … Noble Pavo, for instance. His full name is Pavo G. Glustax, the first son of the Glustax family. His father is Uthax V. Glustax, head of the Glustax family and a member of the Royal Court. While the heads of the Noble families are all part of the Royal Council or Royal Court, the rest of their family is in charge of small portions of Hyrule. That is how it works."

"Thanks, that clarifies a few things," Fairy Boy said with a nod.

They resumed walking, continuing their trek in the general direction to Death Mountain, which was a small lump on the horizon. Malon and Princess Zelda followed close behind Fairy Boy, their exhaustion buried beneath layers of depressing gloominess (Princess Zelda more so than Malon).

After a while, with Suvi still enjoying his midday flight, Princess Zelda found her way out of the murky depths of her darkness and asked, "Link, may I have your permission to ask a question?"

Fairy Boy sighed. "Zelda, we're not in Hyrule Castle. You can drop the act."

Princess Zelda fumbled with the rim of her tailored dress. "I am lost. My previous delight with my escape has been sullied by a truth which I was not prepared to face. If Suvica speaks only the truth, and the Noble families are corrupt, then I do not know what to do. I always believed the people of Hyrule were suffering because of Ganondorf's influence, and that all would be well once he was stopped. I … I never expected this. I believe my father is ruling with a just hand, but the Nobles, and Ganondorf, are taking advantage of his blind justice."

"So what's wrong?"

"I do not know what to do. How can I save Hyrule from itself? How can I protect Hyrule from the very people who are supposed to be protecting it? I do not have the courage nor conviction to persecute these Nobles abusing the common people. What if they have underlying reasons for their actions? What if their terrible deeds have causes to justify them? What happens if I bring them to justice, and something more terrible occurs? To be frank, I do not believe I will be of any use to you. I fail to see how I can help you secure the remaining two Spiritual Stones or repel Ganondorf's coming reign. Perhaps it would have been best if I listened to the orders of my father and stayed behind at Hyrule Castle." Malon was mortified at the mere suggestion of Princess Zelda returning to Hyrule Castle as she was. If she went back now, with no change or redemption to her character, then what was the point in rescuing her in the first place? As great as Malon's chagrin was to the princess's lack of self-confidence, what Fairy Boy did next truly horrified her.

"Zelda, I apologize beforehand." Fairy Boy turned around to face the princess. He raised one, held down his index finger with his thumb, and flicked Princess Zelda on the forehead. The sudden physical abuse was so random she fell onto her bottom.

Malon was appalled. "Fairy Boy! What are you—?" Navi darted from Fairy Boy's hood and pushed her back a few steps with gentle bumps to her forehead.

"Shh!" Navi ushered while Princess Zelda staggered to her feet. "Let Link deal with this."

"Feel better?" Fairy Boy asked, playfully grinning at the princess. "You really love to make things so complicated for yourself, don't you? Did you forget our little conversation back at Hyrule Castle? C'mon, what do _you_ want? You know about a few corrupt Nobles, so how do _you_ want to deal with it?"

"I want to stop them … I want to help my people," Princess Zelda said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Then what are you confusing yourself over? If that's what you want, find the Nobles hurting your people and deal with them. It's that simple, you're not stuck inside Hyrule Castle anymore."

"The laws of Hyrule are not so cut and dry! I cannot act without solid proof and an official act and declaration of abdication signed by the Nobles responsible for their treachery!"

"So as the Princess of Hyrule, there's nothing you can '_officially_' do?" Fairy Boy affirmed.

"That is correct!"

"Then if Princess Zelda is useless, then act as Zelda, the girl who ran away from home to make a difference! Right now there's nothing holding you back anymore. There's no point in being restrained by people who can't stop you. If you want to help someone, help them! If you want to save your people, save them! If you want to take down the corrupt Nobles, do it!"

"That's … that's not possible …"

Fairy Boy sighed, with one hand on his forehead. "Fine, let's do this one thing at a time. Remember what you said when you saw Hyrule Field for the first time?"

Princess Zelda's face reddened. "I remember. It was a shameful thing to say, and I regret my actions."

Fairy Boy poked the princess on the forehead, hard. "You said what you wanted to say! You did what you wanted to do! That was the very first time I saw your true feelings! Do it again! Tell me again! How do you feel? What do you want?"

"Link, I'm rather baffled at what you're hoping to accompl—"

He interrupted her with another poke to her head. "How do you feel?

"Link! This is not—!"

_Poke_. "How's that? Come on, tell me what you're feeling."

"Child of the forest! You cannot possibly—!"

This time, Fairy Boy rapped Princess Zelda's forehead with a knuckle. "What do you feel now?"

"Feel?" She gasped as she covered her forehead with both her hands. "As a member of the royal family, I cannot let irrational feelings hamper my judgment!"

"Well, I didn't want to do this, but you've left me no choice," Fairy Boy muttered, curling his left hand into a fist and raising it in preparation to punch Princess Zelda. Malon was paralyzed by the momentous degradation she was about to see, and even Navi radiated pure shock. The princess cowered beneath Fairy Boy's clenched fist, squeezing her eyes shut and turning away, expecting the coming blow.

Instead, Fairy Boy took advantage of Princess Zelda's closed eyes. He lowered his fist and walked to her back before pinking her butt, really hard. Princess Zelda didn't squeal or mutter a complaint; this time, she actually jumped off her feet and smacked his hand off with an open palm (Fairy Boy was fighting down his smile). She faced him, her expression hardened by disbelief and resentment, shaping her muddled confusion into a spear of intense irritation.

"THAT HURT!" She screamed so loudly that Malon had to cover her ears. There was no more falsified sweetness or forced politeness. She didn't lower her voice or shimmy away in shame for acting so unlike a princess.

This was Zelda.

"YOU UNGRATEFUL, UNTAUGHT CHILD OF THE FOREST! WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE THREE GODDESSES DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? YOU'RE RUDE, LACK ALL FORMS OF MANNERS, AND SIMPLY DO NOT KNOW THE MEANING OF DELICACY!"

Fairy Boy didn't budge or twitch in the face of Princess Zelda's rage, but continued to fight down his grin. "And what about Suvica?"

"HE'S AN IRRITATING LIZARD THAT DESERVES TO BE CUT, QUARTERED, AND SOLD AS A PIECE OF BEEF JERKY ON THE SIDE OF HYRULE MARKET'S STREET VENDORS! HOW DARE HE MOCK MY KINGDOM! IT MAY BE CORRUPT TO THE NEAR CORE, BUT IT IS STILL MY HOME!"

Fairy Boy let his smile show. "It's good to hear you voice again, Zelda."

Malon saw the alarm on the princess's face as a mallet of revelation forced her to stopped to think on the words that left her mouth. "L-Link … I didn't … that was …"

"That was all you," he laughed, patting Princess Zelda on the shoulder. "See? Feels so much better to get it out of your system, doesn't it?"

"Did you—?"

"You might be right," Fairy Boy continued. "Maybe emotions do cause misjudgments, but not for you. I know you, Zelda. I've barely met you, but I know you. Your feelings are always for yourself and your people. You'd tear out your own heart if it would bring Hyrule peace. There's nothing wrong with showing others how you feel, because you'd only be showing Hyrule how much you care."

"But what Suvica said! What if he's telling—?"

"The truth? Maybe he is, but maybe he isn't. You can't believe everything he tells you. Actually, you shouldn't believe in everything he says until you confirm it for yourself. And, if he is telling the truth, then at least you've been prepared for it. Trust me, when you do discover what's true and what's not, don't run away. Ignorance is, in a way, bliss. We can stay ignorant to the plight of others just for our own self-satisfaction to continue with our normal lives. But what good will that do? People will die around you, and when you realize you could've saved them but did nothing until it was too late, it'll be the worst moment of your life."

Malon stared at Fairy Boy in a new light, surprised by how mature he sounded. "Fairy Boy sounds so smart."

"He's only talking from experience." Navi replied. "Back at the Kokiri Village, when the Great Deku Tree was still alive, we learned he could've been saved if Link had defeated Gohma sooner. But in the end, the Great Deku Tree died, and Link has been living with the guilt ever since."

"Was Fairy Boy close with the Great Deku Tree?"

"If I had to guess, it'd be like the relationship you have with your dad; parent and child," Navi said.

"I see." Princess Zelda said in response to Fairy Boy's words of wisdom. "What you say … makes sense. But what if I can't make the correct choices? What if make matters worse?"

"That's easy," Fairy Boy said. "You learn. Figure out what you did wrong and fix it. Clean up your own mistakes. Makes a mistake is easy, everyone does it. Having the courage to face it? That's what matters."

The princess gnawed on her lower lip. "What if the people of Hyrule don't like me? What if they don't want me as their ruler?"

"Who cares? You're doing what's best for them."  
"I care!" Princess Zelda protested. "I'm different from you. Perhaps you could do it. Perhaps you could do what's best for everyone while being hated by the very ones you're trying to protect. I don't have that courage. I may know what to do in order to help my people. No, I _do_ know what to do! But I wouldn't be able to bear the thought of Hyrule hating me while I tried to do what's best. What do you think I should do then?"

To that, Fairy Boy faltered. "No idea, actually."

"But your advice up to now has been very knowledgeable! You sound so … so wise! You talk as though you have a solution for everything!"  
"Really?" Fairy Boy looked surprised. "I'm not wise, I've only been saying what I thought was right. What should you do if Hyrule hates you? I'm really not the boy to ask. My village probably hates me, even though I left to protect them."

Princess Zelda widened her eyes. "What? Why?"

"The Great Deku Tree died because of me. I might've left to keep the village safe, but how can they _not_ hate me for what I've done?" Fairy Boy tried to look indifferent, but Malon could tell he was hurting inside. Then a small glimmer shone in his eyes. "I'll tell you this. All of Hyrule can hate you, spite you, and curse you, but I never will. I trust you, Zelda, and I know you'll always try to do what's right, unlike me. No matter how many people hate you, I'll always believe in you. You can count on it." The two of them gazed into one another's eyes; their stares were so intense Malon almost started to blush, but Link broke away before it went any further. "Wow, that felt awkward. How'd Saria pull this off?"

"Link," Princess Zelda whispered. "Did you mean what you said? You'll always believe in me, no matter what?"

Fairy Boy grinned, "No matter what. It might not be much, but you'll always have my trust and friendship."

"No, it's plenty," she assured, looking truly happy for the first time (not counting the time she screamed "IN YOUR FACE!"). "What you said to me means more than you could imagine."

Then, as if summoned by the Demon King himself to ruin this lovely moment, Malon spotted Suvi diving towards them with his wings folded against his body. He flung them outward at the last moment, blowing a pillow of wind into their faces as he abruptly slowed to a stop. From the persisting smugness smeared across his face, she surmised that he hadn't eavesdropped on their conversation.

"So? Want to learn more about the chivalry your dear Hyrule holds in such high regard?" Suvi smirked, gloating up to the princess while his wings retreated into his back.

"Suvica?" Princess Zelda said, turning away from Fairy Boy to direct her attention towards the sauntering dragon. "I deeply apologize beforehand."

The princess's confession caught Suvi off guard. "Huh? Um … why?"

"I am still a little unsure of what I can do for Hyrule and its people, but I thank you for what you've told me. It's been most enlightening. I mustn't hold onto any fantasies about Hyrule's situation. Please allow me to express my gratitude." The princess breathed, inhaling and exhaling with steadily deeper breaths.

"Hey, Princess, what are you—?"  
"YOU ARROGANT, POMPOUS, SCALY WINGED SACK OF MEAT!" Princess Zelda bellowed, her eyes flaring with inner strength; Suvi was visibly shrinking beneath her eyes. "I CAN SEE YOU HAVE PROBLEMS WITH HYRULE, AND I KNOW THERE ARE PROBLEMS WITH THE KINGDOM! BUT KNOW THIS! NO MATTER HOW ROTTEN HYRULE BECOMES, IT IS STILL MY KINGDOM! I'VE KNOWN THE NOBLES OF HYRULE WERE CORRUPT BEFORE YOU BEGAN YOUR POINTLESS PRATTLING! BUT I STILL LOVE MY KINGDOM! I WILL FIND OUT WHAT MY KINGDOM NEEDS AND I WILL LEAD IT TO PROSPERITY! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"

"Yes …? Suvi halfheartedly murmured.

Princess Zelda smiled in relief, breathing deep after her lively shouting. "As long as you understand. I'm not as caught up to Hyrule's inner plight as you are, and I would be grateful if you continued to tell me as much as possible. I will do my best to keep an open mind."

Suvi was still too dumbstruck at Princess Zelda's sudden change in demeanor to fully comprehend what she was saying.

"Wow, the princess grew a backbone." Navi rang in admiration. "I'm surprised you managed to change her so quickly."

"I gave her a little push," Fairy Boy said earnestly. "I've always known Zelda was strong willed. If she wasn't, she would've never made a plan to oppose Ganondorf in the first place. I only needed to grab a hold of her inner strength and pull it out a bit."

"Quite literally," Navi commented.

"I'm just glad Princess Zelda is feeling better," Malon sighed in relief. "I thought you were being mean at first, but you really knew what you were doing, Fairy Boy."

"Not really," he admitted, brushing his hand through his hair. "I couldn't stand seeing Zelda like this, so I spoke my mind about a few things. I think I overstepped my bounds a few times."

"No, you did not," Princess Zelda said as she walked up to Fairy Boy and Malon, standing between the two of them. Suvi was sulking behind them, looking like his favorite toy had been broken. "Thank you for what you said. I will always hold your words close to my heart. You wisdom is most appreciated."

"Stop that!" Fairy Boy moaned, as if the word "wisdom" was stabbing him through the chest. "I only said what was on my mind. That's not wisdom, it's only brash instinct. You give me too much credit."

"I'm surprised to don't take more," Princess Zelda noted. "Wisdom and knowledge is a great source of strength. Nonetheless, you've given me a little courage."

"You and Fairy Boy are really close," Malon said, watching the pair of them as she would a couple. "It must be nice to become such fast friends."

"I would be more than happy to be '_fast friends_' with you too, Malon. If you wish, you can put aside the honorifics and call me '_Zelda_'."

Malon became flustered at the ludicrous proposal. "W-W-W-Wha? I can't do that! You're a member of Hyrule's Royal Family! Even if we're friends, you're royalty!"

"Do you not wish to be friends?" Princess Zelda asked, giving Malon a pair of kitty cat eyes she never knew the princess was capable of (perhaps she taught the princess too much about manipulation).

"W-Well … if you insist, I can give you a nickname!"

"A nickname? Why?"

"Malon does that to all her friends, apparently," Fairy Boy answered. "If you want to be her friend, you've got to accept her nickname."  
"I … see?" Princess Zelda murmured. "Do you have one in mind?"

"Not really?" Malon replied feebly; what kind of nickname would she give the Princess of Hyrule?

Princess Zelda smiled. "If you cannot think of any, '_Zelda_' will have to do." Malon's hectic day finally settled down on a warm note.

* * *

Forget warm, it was scalding hot.

The sun was relentlessly glaring down at them, thickening the air into an uncomforting soupy broil. Malon was used to the occasional warm days back at the ranch, but never while slaving across the vast fields of Hyrule with an additional month of toiling strapped to her back. Her forehead was sleek with sweat and the back of her dress was moist, as if it were recently washed. Each step she took prod at a discomforting buzzing sensation prickling at her ankles, lengthening seconds into minutes and minutes into hours.

Zelda was suffering in a condition identical to Malon's, although she appeared to have taken a dip in a horse's drinking troth. The two of them lagged behind Fairy Boy and Suvi; the energetic duo was casually pacing themselves with nary a drop of sweat discoloring their skin or clothing. Malon knew where their endurance came from but still found it annoying to see them strolling along so easily while she and Princess Zelda labored behind them.

Fairy Boy occasionally used his magical pouch to pull out glass bottles of water for everyone to drink. Malon asked if she could hitch a ride inside his pouch, but he reluctantly told her his pouch could only house non-living items. Malon, not believing Fairy Boy's words, tried and disappointingly failed to fit herself inside the magic pouch hanging off his belt. When that didn't work, she tried sleepwalking the rest of their journey to Death Mountain, only to land face flat on the grassy plains on several occasions.

Talking, for the first time in her life, was an exhausting chore and a waste of breath, so Malon closed her eyes and brought up her sweaty hands to folded them in a pray-like fashion. She made a desperate plea to the Goddesses above, trying to put her flagging thoughts into a coherent line of words; she basically made a plea for help.

"Ahoy there! Need a lift, young ones?"

The voice didn't come from the heavens, but from behind them. Malon pulled her eyes open and flew around, sagging to her knees in blissful relief. Trotting towards them was a two-wheeled cart, towed by a pair of musky black horses and driven by an elderly old man brimming with a kindness tempered by time.

"We'd love to!" Malon piped before either Fairy Boy or Suvi could say anything to disagree (if they were planning to). She bolted around the horses and jumped into the open backend of the somewhat spacious cart, where she threw herself onto a pile of brazenly stacked blankets. When she got back home, she planned on talking her dad into constructing an altar for the Goddesses.

In the midst of enjoying the comfort of being off her feet, Malon spotted a particular bulge in the worn sheets and threw herself onto it, expecting fluffy resistance. What she hadn't anticipated was for the lump to cry, "Oof!" before physically throwing her off the back of the small wagon.

"That's my grandson," the elder in front chuckled after seeing Malon's bewildered expression. "Sorry about that, perhaps I should have told you he was napping at the back. He's my boy's boy, Rail. Say hello."

The sheets were tossed aside by the child beneath them, and Malon beheld a child unlike any other. If she had to guess, she'd say his age was around fifteen or sixteen. His shortly cut hair was a burning red almost as deep as Malon's (almost, but not quite), mimicking the cherry tint of his eyes. His expression was a little babyish, except for the permanently haunted appearance he wore and the diagonal scar drawing a shallow pink line across his face, stretching from his left temple, reaching across his nose, and ending at the right of his chin. Judging from the length of his legs curled up beneath the blankets, Malon knew he was taller than Fairy Boy and Suvi. Then there were his emotions; the way he scowled with his face and cautiously held his body. The boy was fuming with waves of anger, yet they weren't directed towards Malon or her any of her friends. It was as if the boy hated the world in general, and rage was his most complacent emotion.

As an introduction, Rail merely jerked his head in their general direction and slumped against the cart's railing.

"Come on now, Rail!" the elderly man reprimanded. "You can't be like that to our guests!" Malon took a closer at the elder. As far as she could tell, he was your typical grandpa with a hunched back, wrinkled skin, gray hair, and kind brown eyes. There were no common features between the grandson and grandfather, making it impossible to tell the two were related.

"I'm Link, Link of the Kokiri Forest," Fairy Boy introduced himself as he scuttled his way onto the back of the wagon.

"Suvica," Suvi gruffly coughed.

"Malon from Lon Lon Ranch!" Malon shouted with a salute.

"I'm … Zelda …" The princess panted, dragging her feet as she crawled onto the back of the cart. Upon hearing her name, Malon felt a shrill of alarm as the elder's wrinkled forehead crumbled even further and Rail's red eyes widened past his blankets.

"Zelda? _Princess_ Zelda?" the elder demanded.

Fairy Boy laughed before any pervading silence could further threaten Zelda's identity. "Would the Princess of Hyrule be traveling with her friends outside Hyrule Castle? Don't try to be funny, old guy! This Zelda is an old friend of mine, not Hyrule's princess!" Fairy Boy pat Zelda on the shoulder; she breathed in relief after he covered for her careless fumbling.

The elder's winkles lessened as his eyebrows returned to their normal position. "Ah, I suppose you're correct. Ha! Look at me, a senile old fool who thinks every child named Zelda is the princess herself! I don't even know what our princess looks like!" Zelda flinched. "Not only that, I can't tell if she actually exists! No one in all of Hyrule has ever caught of glimpse of her!" Now she shuddered. "Besides? Who says Princess Zelda is actually a young girl in the bud of her youth? She could be a raggedy old hag for all I know!" The old fellow cackled to his own jokes, but Zelda was fighting back a sob.

Suvi snickered to the princess's discomfort. "That's right old man, you never know. Now, you got our names, so it's time you tell us yours."

"Ah, true! Forgive me for my negligence! My name is Griffin, at your service"

"Griffin, where are you headed right now?" Fairy Boy inquired.

"Denion City, my boy!"

Malon, who rarely bothered to look at a map (since her dad and the horses did most of the navigating), didn't know where Denion City was. To her dread, however, she knew if the city wasn't in the general direction of Death Mountain, Fairy Boy would force everyone to restart their death-march all over again. Thus, her relief was understandably immense as Fairy Boy whispered the obvious question to Suvi, who replied with a thumbs-up.

"You don't mind if we tag along, do you?" Fairy Boy continued.

"Not at all! Probably a good idea too, since you're friends looked like they're about to fall over and faint! Get in!" Griffin chuckled, glancing at Malon and Zelda. All too happy to oblige, Malon scrambled back into the wooden cart, sitting next to Rail at the front end to make room for the others. Fairy Boy and Zelda sat next to each other on one side while Suvi plopped himself down on the other. As the kind elder got the wagon moving by spurred his two horses forward with a crack from his whip, he asked, "Say, where are you parents?"

Fairy Boy answered first. "Dead."

Suvi went second. "Ran away from home. I don't give a tail's tip about them anyways."

Zelda went third. "I was … kidnapped."

Malon finished it off. "I left my dad and stole their horses, sort of."

Griffin was subjected to a mixture of conflicting emotions, the reason why he was lost for a response. Rail, on the other hand, spat out a cold laugh.

Suvi was strangely insulted. "Something funny, kid?"

"Yeah. One of you, I can relate with. The other, I can't understand how she's feeling. The other two, you obviously don't know what you've got until you've lost it, and by then, everything's too late!" Rail snarled. His sullen scowl was twisted upward into a sneer, and his scar seemed to glow with a sense of longing and bitter resentment. Malon could already tell what happened to Rail's parents.

Fairy Boy pushed on. "You lost your parents?"

"Yeah," Rail growled. "Killed. You know what I'm going through." He stared at Fairy Boy, who treated him to a solemn nod. "Sorry to say, I can't tell how you're feeling," Rail continued on, giving Zelda a flinching-stare. "But you and her!" Now Malon and Suvi were beneath his scrutiny. "You ran away from your parents, and you abandon yours? Don't you realize how important they are to your life? Do you know how drastically everything changes once you've lost them? How long do you think you can enjoy your carefree, childish lives when your parents could be killed at a moment's notice? Are you going to tell me your parents are so insignificant you could carry on with your happy days without them?"

Malon spoke, not because Rail was insulting her appreciation and respect towards her dad, but because he was getting the wrong idea. "My mom is dead. She was _not_ insignificant, but I do my best because that's what my mom would have wanted for me! Please don't speak badly of my memories of her just because you know so little about my life." Though she spoke gently, it was the first time in a long time since she let a droplet of anger touch the depths of her heart. Already, she was regretting the feeling; hate was a disgusting, suffocating emotion which made her stomach turn inside out, burying her reasoning beneath layers of self-gratifying rationalization. Expressing even a little made her want to vomit.

Rail was properly abashed. There was a tone of kindness in his voice when he said, "I'm so sorry, it was wrong of me to assume." He turned to Suvi. "I guess you've also got your own circumstances?"

Suvi laughed. "Me? No, you're absolutely right about me. I'm living my childish life while thinking my parents and siblings are total trash. That's why I left, because they're nothing more than trash. And, to top it off, I know for a fact I'll be able to live happily once they've kicked the bucket."

"So how did your parents pass away?" Fairy Boy interjected before Rail could get his hackles up. "You said something about being killed. Were your parents killed by Gerudos?"

To Malon, the conclusion seemed reasonable. She never expected Rail to leap to his feet and start yelling, stitching together his words with hatred and revulsion. "Don't you dare discriminate against the Gerudos! Don't. You. _Dare_!"

Rail lunged at Fairy Boy, his rugged hands itching for his neck. Malon was afraid a fight would ensue, but Suvi was on his own feet in a split second. He grabbed Rail by the throat and dangled him over the edge of the moving cart. At first, Rail looked confident he could break free from Suvi's grasp, but as the seconds went on, his face continuously grew a deeper shade of blue. Fairy Boy and Elder Griffin (who stopped the horses when he saw his grandson choking) forcibly intervened before Suvi could killed Rail.

"Suvica! Let's _not_ kill the people who're helping us, okay?" Fairy Boy said as Suvi tossed Rail back into the cart. After making sure his grandson was okay, Elder Griffin gave them all a very stern warning before urging the horses to keep moving.

Even after escaping death, Rail's black demeanor was undying. "You … _cough_ … want to know who killed my parents? It was one of those so-called Nobles of Hyrule, that's who!"

Malon saw Zelda tensed as she braced herself for what was to come, but the princess kept her face calm and her ears open.

"What happened?" Fairy Boy asked.

"My father was the greatest warrior my village, Faylon, had ever seen!" Rail spat, massaging his neck. "He defended our village and families singlehandedly against armies of bandits and fake revolutionaries! He battled heavily armed squadrons of Moblins and defeated an Iron Knuckle in single combat! He was going to be promoted as a Royal Hylian Knight!"

Suvi cocked an eyebrow. "Your old man was of common birth?"

"Yeah, that's right!"

"I thought only Nobles could become Royal Hylian knights," Fairy Boy added.

"That's what makes it amazing," Suvi grudgingly admit. "Your old man must've been pretty impressive. Having a nameless peasant become a Royal Hylian Knight goes against the laws of Hyrule." Then he started laughing, forcing everyone to wait a whole minute before the dragon could calm himself down enough to speak. "Ah, it still cracks me up! Nobles spend all their time flirting with girls, flaunting false stories, and stuffing their bellies with _royal_ food. Almost all the Royal Hylian Knights are chubby bums who scream like babies at the first sight of blood! Glen the Courageous tries to bolster their ranks with actually-capable fighters, but with little success. He is the only decent Royal Hylian Knight with '_Noble_' blood in him. Psh, humans fussing over _noble_ blood and _common _blood. HA! Once you creatures start bleeding, the red coloring the dirt is all the same. It's totally hilarious to see your race squabbling over useless stuff likes _nobles_ and _commoners_."

"You speak as if you weren't a human, lad," Elder Griffin chuckled from the front. "Takes me a mighty long way back to my youngling days. I always pretended to be a monster or dragon while playing with my mates."

"If only he knew," Malon whispered, mostly to herself.

Fairy Boy overheard her ghostly murmur and quietly laughed to himself before continuing, "So your father became a Royal Hylian Knight?"

The shadows discoloring Rail's face became more prominent. "No, he was killed! My father was strong, in mind and body! After those damned Hylian Nobles started raising our village's taxes to spite my father, he rebelled against them! Those Nobles started spouting nonsense about laws and how my father's defiance was an affront to the Goddesses themselves! That's Dodongo crap! If they'd taken any more from my village, we would've never survived the coming winter!"

Zelda, huddled in a small ball of disbelief, murmured, "Was your father's name, by any chance, Gavdelt?" Malon gasped; she knew that name well. Suvi started snickering for reasons known only to him, but Fairy Boy stayed in the dark.

Rail's eyes flashed dangerously. "Yeah, that's him."

"You know him?" Fairy Boy asked the princess.

"Everyone has heard of Gavdelt the Treacherous," Zelda said in the same low tone, despising every word she uttered. "I heard about him from my … father. Gavdelt was a notorious man who slaughtered his fellow villagers and burned down his village to destroy the evidence of his crimes. They say he killed the brave Noble and his son who were sent to stop him. In the end, the Noble and Gavdelt slew each another in final combat."

"Those are LIES!" Rail roared, punching the cart's flooring with his bare knuckles. "The Noble taxing my village knew he could never defeat my father in combat, outnumbered or otherwise! That's why he took my whole village, my mother and sister included, hostage and threatened to kill everyone if he resisted! I watched my father, the greatest warrior to set foot on Hylian soil, _die_ by the hand of some scrawny rich boy's son! After that, the black-tongued pig didn't bother to keep his promise! He spit on my father's bleeding body and ordered the soldiers under his command to burn my village to the ground! I heard the screams my mother and sister made as the fire burned them alive! I tried to stop the black-hearts, but _this_ was what I ended up with!" Rail clawed at the scar narrowly trenched across his face.

"Hylian soldiers … burnt down your village?" Zelda gasped; Malon could feel the princess's disbelief burn her skin.

"How'd you survive?" Fairy Boy asked. "I've fought a few Hylian soldiers myself, and they're not so inept they'd fail to kill one boy."

"I was saved by a Gerudo," Rail replied.

It was Suvi who had the comical outburst. "A Gerudo? Ha! That's like saying a Volcano Dancer decided to go swimming with the Zoras! Gerudos are pirates who only care for themselves and their precious king! Why would one of them start acting nice and rescue a poor boy from a burning village?"

Rail was back on his feet to defend his suppose-savior, but was wise enough not to try and take Suvi on again. He took three deep gusts of air before sitting back down. "I told you before and I'll tell you right now: Don't criminalize the Gerudos! Just because many of them are wicked doesn't mean all of them are evil! This Gerudo was kind! This Gerudo had a heart all the Nobles of Hyrule tore out of their chests when they took their rotten positions of power! This Gerudo saved my life!"

Malon had to take some time to digest such controversial information; it was an awkward process. When she was really little, her dad used to tell her that if she didn't behave at home, super-evil Gerudos would come to her room and give her a spanking. Her mom, on the other hand, always said everyone had a good side within them, even the Gerudos, and that Malon should never form a discrimination against others based solely on rumors. After her mom died, there was only her dad to tell her bedtime stories about the evil-incarnate cow-hating desert pirates. Now Rail was telling her that out of all the evil Gerudos in Hyrule, there was one who was different from the rest.

Before she could get lost in the puddle of her own thoughts, Suvi snickered, "Does this angel have a name?" From the tone of his voice, he didn't believe a word Rail said.

Rail wasn't appreciative of Suvi's attitude. "Yeah, she does! Her name is Nabooru! Do you want to know what she did after saving me?"

"Demand payment?"

"No! She went into the burning homes of my village and rescued as many people as she could, my gramps included!" Elder Griffin nodded to confirm that statement. "After that, she went after the Nobles who killed my family and slaughtered them! She even took all their treasure and divided it amongst us survivors! Nabooru was never caught, so the Noble's death was blamed on my father instead!"

Rail ended his retelling, and Malon didn't know what to say. Neither did the others. Fairy Boy's face was made out of stone. Suvi was busy picking his nose and flicking boogers off the side of the wagon (Malon didn't need to read his body language to know he had no interest in Rail's past). Zelda was the only one who was devastated; her line dividing her sense of good and bad was starting to blur, and Malon didn't know what to say to comfort her, not in Rail's presence.

"Is it really that hard to believe?" Elder Griffin laughed, giving the reins a jolly crack to invoke a little more speed from the horses. "Gerudos weren't always known as the Desert Pirates, you know!"

"Oh, here we go again," Rail sighed, rolling his eyes in expectance.

"When I was a young man, the Gerudos were known as the Wings of Hyrule, the army of liberty who fought against the tides of darkness! Did you know the red wings on the Hylian flay symbolized the Gerudos when they were still the champions who fought for Hyrule?"

If anyone was shocked, it most certainly was Zelda. "Is that true?" She demanded, jumping to her feet and nearly falling off the wagon when the wheels struck a stone.

Elder Griffin laughed merrily as Fairy Boy pulled Zelda back to safety. "It's very true, my dear! Do you know how Hyrule was founded?"

Malon sure didn't, but the princess licked her lips and fumbled her fingers before answering, "There are many stories and legends about Hyrule's origin, but many believe in the legend of the Graced Light."

"Many stories?" Elder Griffin asked. "Which ones do you know?"

"All of them! I've read them all! The Star of the First Wave! The Garden of the Goddesses! The legend of the Skyward Hero! The Prelude of the Shadow King! The fable of King Halden! I know them all!"

"Interesting!" Elder Griffin cackled. "It's rare to find a child outside the Noble families who has such a keen knowledge in ancient myths and legends!"

"I … I like to read, that's all!"

"No doubt my dear. Tell me, which story to you believe best describes Hyrule's origin?"

"I enjoyed the tale of the Skyward Hero, but it is outlandish. I believe the history of the Graced Light is the most accurate. It is somewhat plausible and it is the history most of Hyrule's scholars support."

"Then tell us, child! Tell us the history of Hyrule as the Graced Light depicts it!"

Zelda took a moment to gather her thoughts, probably nervous to have so many eyes on her as she spoke. "Thousands of years after the three Goddesses created our world and its inhabitants, a group of individuals attempted to seize control over all of Hyrule. They were the Gerudos, and their leader was the Dark King, Ganon. The Hylians, Gorons, and Zoras attempted to fight against the Gerudos individually, but were no match against the dark armies Ganon summoned. Hopelessly outmatched, the three races knew they would have to join forces to match the Dark King's might. However, each of three races wanted their own leader to command over their alliance."  
"Kind of like in the Skyward Hero," Malon noted.

"Yes, exactly like that. The three races bickered back and forth while the Gerudos swept across Hyrule like a plague. Finally, unable to bear their quarrels any longer, the three Goddesses descended, blessing thirty-three Hylians with marvelous strength while bestowing one other with divine power. Seeing the Goddesses select their champions, the Gorons and Zoras bowed before the Hylians. The one graced with divine powers became King Halden, the first King of Hyrule, while the other thirty-three became Hyrule's first Nobles. Under their leadership, the Hylians, Gorons, and Zoras drove away the Gerudos while King Halden slew Ganon. Because King Halden and the thirty-three were blessed by the Goddesses, the Gorons and Zoras pledges their leadership to the Hylians, marking the founding and golden age of Hyrule."

Suvi scoff. "Lame! That's totally a rip off of the Skyward Hero story, without the angel or the Demon King!"

"The story of the Skyward Hero is a child's tale," Zelda clarified. "It's meant to further glorify the origin of Hyrule Kingdom."

"If it's the glorified version, why's the angel the main hero of the story and not King Halden?" Suvi pointed out; Zelda didn't have a response for that. "Well, whatever. Humans and their history, always trying to butter up stuff they've done to make it sound better. So, old man?" Suvi turned to Elder Griffen. "Exactly how are the Gerudos champions of Hyrule when they were trying to wipe out everyone else? I don't really care what you have to say, but I warn you now! Our girl—!" He punched the princess on the shoulder, causing her to whimper "— is a pretty reliable source! Don't start making stories up on us!"

"Don't expect him to stop," Rail grumbled.

"The only mention of the Gerudos in Hylian history is how they descended upon Hyrule like a pack of starved Keese." Zelda added. "That is how they are told in all the stories and legends. Because they came from Hyrule's Desert, they were hence called the Desert Pirates from that day forth."

Upon hearing Zelda's words, Elder Griffin's shoulders fell, and his hands lost what little strength they retained. Aged sorrow and time worn agony creaked from every bone in his body. "The Gerudos are the black mark of Hylian history, my dear. You will never find the truth in any scroll or ancient text. The closest you will ever come is the legend of the Skyward Hero."

"What? You expect us to believe in angels and mountains falling from the heavens?" Suvi scoffed.

"Indeed I do," Elder Griffin replied solemnly. Rail was dreary with repeated annoyance, probably from hearing this particular story over and over again, but Malon was listening with all her gathered concentration. Fairy Boy tried to look indifferent, but she could tell his keen ears were wide open. Suvi really didn't care what Elder Griffin had to say, but Zelda was silent with anticipation.

Elder Griffin cleared his throat, and Malon prepared herself for a long story. "Before I begin, tell me, do you all know of the fable of the Skyward Hero?" The unanimous answer was "Yes." Zelda told them the story of the angel who saved Hyrule from the Demon King back at Hyrule Castle. "Then I will tell you what is true, and what is not. It is true there was a Demon King who obliterated all who stood in his way, and it is true he tore Hyrule apart bit by bit searching for the Triforce in Goddess Hylia's protection."

"We know this part," Suvica yawned, rudely interrupting. "Let me guess what happened next. The humans, Gorons, and Zoras had a big group hug, joined forces, and helped the wimpy Goddess fight against the Demon King and his army."

Elder Griffin shook his head. "No, there was no alliance. The Hylians hid themselves in their castles, the Gorons fled to their mountains, and the Zoras refused to leave their underwater dwellings. All the races of Hyrule hid like cowards while Goddess Hylia fought for our sakes. If they'd only stepped forward to help, Goddess Hylia wouldn't have had to sacrifice herself to seal the Demon King."

"That can't be!" Zelda strongly objected. "Why would our ancestors refuse to aid the Goddess who fought during their time of great need?"

"Fear. The Demon King was an inhuman abomination. None but Goddess Hylia could face his might."

"But our history says otherwise! Didn't Goddess Hylia bless thirty-four individuals with divine powers to help her against the Demon King?"

"She did not. The blessing you heard of is naught but a lie devised by the people of that time to hide their unbearable shame. I doubt Goddess Hylia could spare any of her strength while she singlehandedly battled against the Demon King and his army. That's why sealing the Demon King was all she could manage, at the cost of her own life. With the Demon King sealed and the Goddess gone, the denizens of Hyrule emerged from their holes to rewrite history as they saw fit."

"Sounds about right," Suvi snickered.

"But as the tale of the Skyward Hero goes, the seal could not contain the Demon King forever. It would take him a thousand more years, but eventually, the monstrosity would break free from the Goddesses seal. However, his army wished to release their master immediately. They raided all of Hyrule, striking at the Hylians, Gorons, and Zoras who stood against them, searching for a way to quickly break the seal. Without the aid of the Goddess to help them, the three races had no choice but to raise their weapons and fend for themselves. Though their master was gone, the armies of darkness were without equal, easily crushing all forms of resistance opposing them. That was when he arrived, descending upon Hyrule at its darkest hour with his crimson wings."

"The angel sent by the three Goddesses?" Malon asked excitedly.

Elder Griffin chuckled. "He was no angel, but I'm sure he was sent by the Goddesses. Although he was a man like any other, his courage had no bounds, his wisdom seemed beyond measure, and the power he held was godly. He slew every monster standing in his way with his Master Sword, the great weapon left behind by Goddess Hylia. It was a weapon capable of banishing any and all forms of evil."

"Wait, wait!" Suvi cut in. "You said he descended upon Hyrule? Does that mean he flew from the sky with crimson wings? If he wasn't some sort of angel or monster, how the heck is that possible?"

"He did many things that were thought to be impossible. Not only did he fall from the heavens, he said he was from the future, a future where the Demon King was on the verge of breaking his seal. At first, no one believed him. Why would they? But what he said was true; he could freely travel between him time and ours. If time was a river, than the Master Sword was his boat."

"That's … extraordinary. So he came from the future to defeat the Demon King before he could break free from his seal?" Zelda asked.

"No, he traveled to the past to find his lover."

"Gah, that's it!" Suvi barked, getting to his feet. "I'm not listening to some sappy love story! I'm flying to Denion City!" Before he could sprout his wings (and freak out the unsuspecting Elder Griffin and Rail), Fairy Boy kicked Suvi's feet out from under him, tripping the dragon and forcing him to land back on his bottom.

"Go on, Griffin," Fairy Boy urged. "What happened next?"

"When the races of Hyrule heard the Skyward Hero's intentions, they were outraged. He possessed a weapon which could dispel the darkness from Hyrule once and for all, yet he would not use it for their sake. Some turned against the Hero, and many more tried to take the Master Sword from him, to use it for themselves. It was a futile effort, for the Blade of Evil's Bane had but one master; none could wield it but the Hero. Recognizing their meaningless efforts, and their inability to take the Master Sword from the Hero's grip, the Hylians, Gorons, and Zoras went back to defending their own territory. But there was one Hylian, one curious lad, who was interested in the Hero. He wanted to know more about the Hero, where he came from, and why he was willing to sacrifice so much for one person. The young man was Halden.

"Halden traveled with the Hero as he searched the black lands of Hyrule for the love of his life, slaying all demons standing in his way. With time and dedication, the Hero found his beloved in Hylia's Temple, where the Demon King was sealed. What Halden learned next changed his life; the Hero's beloved was actually the reincarnation of Goddess Hylia in human form."

"Now I know he's off his rocker," Suvi muttered.

"It gets worse," Rail sighed.

"The human Hylia, from the future, had returned to the past in order to bind her soul to the seal imprisoning the Demon King," Elder Griffin continued. "That way, she would ensure he would never be able to escape from his seal in the future. The Hero couldn't accept this, but Hylia knew how he'd be able to help her. Before she bound herself to the Demon King's seal, Hylia asked the Hero to return to their time and find the legendary Triforce, so he could use its power to forever seal the Demon King in the future and awaken Hylia in the past once the deed was done. The Hero agreed, and Halden asked to go with him, to the future, in order to help.

"He was not the only one. As Hylia entered her deep sleep, another individual revealed himself. His name was Ganon, leader of the Gerudos. During this time of turmoil, the Gerudos were not desert pirates, but warriors who bravely fought against the Demon King's army to protect Hyrule. Ganon had followed the Hero and Halden to Hylia's Temple and heard everything they'd said. The Gerudos cared for Hyrule more than anyone else, so Ganon demanded that the Hero take him as well, to protect Hyrule's future. The Hero agreed.

"As the three of them searched for the Triforce, they inevitably became fast friends, especially Halden and Ganon. The leader of the Gerudos captivated Halden in many ways, displaying feats of self-sacrifice and courage over and over again. Halden learned much about trust and chivalry from the Gerudo King. Once the Hero found the Triforce, Halden and Ganon promised each other that once they returned to their own time, their people would be allies and friends for all time. They watched as the Hero used the Triforce's power to summon a mountain from the heavens, placing it directly over the Demon King's seal and entrapping him for all time. With their task accomplished, the Hero, Halden, and Ganon returned to Hylia's Temple, which was called the Sealed Temple in the future. They awaken the sleeping Hylia, who'd been watching over the Demon King's seal for thousands of years in her enchanted slumber, and told her of their accomplishments.

"But the threat did not end there. The Demon King's most devote servant, a villain calling himself the Demon Lord, kidnapped Hylia and brought her back to the past, where the Demon King had not yet been sealed by the Triforce's power. The Hero, along with Halden and Ganon, returned to the past to pursue the Demon Lord, but it was too late; he'd already fortified himself in Hylia's Temple with the entirety of the Demon King's army to protect him. The Hero didn't care; he was going to rescue Hylia, even if he had to go through all of the Demon King's horde to do it. Ganon was already preparing the Gerudos to aid the Hero, ready to confront the Demon King's army in final combat; they pledged to be the Wings of Hyrule, the feathers of liberty which would sweep aside the dark horde. The Hylians, Gorons, and Zoras, however, did not wish to engage in battle, not while the odds were against them and defeat was almost certain.

"That was when Halden proved himself to be a capable leader. He went to the monarchs of the Goron and Zoras and moved them with his words. He did the same with the Hylians, rallying them to fight alongside the Gorons, Zoras, and Gerudos. With an army at his command, the Skyward Hero led them into the final confrontation against the Demon King's army. It was a bloody, gruesome, and gallant war. The Hero was unstoppable, plowing through the demon's numbers with undeniable power. I do not know whether it was the Triforce or his feelings for Hylia which kept him strong, but he managed to break past the army and reach the Demon Lord. While Hyrule's armies fought off the Demon King's horde, the Hero battled the Demon Lord. Halden, Ganon, the King of the Gorons, the Queen of the Zoras, and thirty-three other Hylians watched the battle with their own eyes. The Hero managed to defeat the Demon Lord, but while they battled, the villain had already sacrificed Hylia's soul to release the Goddess's seal. Everyone watched the Demon King rise once again, bolstering his armies with his dark aura. Defeated seemed inevitable. Everyone lost the will to fight.

"Everyone but the Hero. He knew Hylia's soul was trapped within the Demon King's body, and that the only way to save her was by defeating the Demon King once and for all. Everyone thought he was insane. Halden and Ganon told the Hero to run, to hide, to help their armies escape from the growing darkness. The Hero merely stood his ground and faced the Demon King, and for his courage, the Demon King promised the Hero a fair one-on-one battle. All of Hyrule watched as the Demon King took the Hero into the heavens, where they clashed in the skies above. Their sword swings scarred the world, and their clashes brought lightning from the sky. It was a fight unlike anything anyone had ever seen before. Finally, the Hero drove the Blade of Evil's Bane through the Demon King's heart.

"The war ended. The Demon King fell, his armies disappeared into the void from which they came, and light shone upon the land again." Elder Griffin spoke with such longing and affection towards this particular scene that Malon could feel her own tears start to form.

"So he dropped a mountain on the Demon King in the future and went into the past to personally kick his ass," Suvi mumbled in a tone of respect. "I definitely like this guy."

"But that wasn't the end, was it?" Fairy Boy said, catching onto Elder Griffin's growing look of disgust and regret.

"No. Halden, Ganon, the leaders of the Gorons and Zoras, and the thirty-three Hylians stood beside the Hero as he held Hylia, whose soul had returned to her mortal body. It was then the thirty-three devised their foul-hearted scheme. As the Hero left to take Hylia back to their time, to the future, the thirty-three plotted to ambush the battle-weary Hero. They wanted to kill him, take his Master Sword, and claim Hylia as well. They wanted the sword which could do what Goddess Hylia could not, and they wanted the mortal Hylia, for she housed the soul of a goddess. However, Ganon overheard their plot and moved to stop them. The Hero and Hylia left for their future while Ganon fought to keep the thirty-three at bay. When they were gone, Ganon had been grievously wounded by the traitorous swords of the thirty-three. Halden rushed to his friend's side and demanded to know what had occurred. Ganon told Halden the truth, and for the first time in his life, Halden was deeply ashamed of his own people. He understood their fear when they cowered behind Goddess Hylia as she fought against the Demon King. He understood their initial reluctance to help save the mortal Hylia from the Demon Lord. But he couldn't fathom their reason for turning against the Hero, the man who saved all of Hyrule.

"The thirty-three apologized, saying they regretted their rash actions spurred by greed and fear. Halden knew they had to keep this treachery a secret, because if word got out about the thirty-three's actions against the savior of Hyrule, conflict would arise, and in Hyrule's currently strained state, the issue could erupt into civil war. But Ganon refused to keep silent, stating everyone needed to know the duplicity of the thirty-three, even if the world was split asunder as a result. If the truth wasn't revealed, Ganon swore he'd use the Gerudos to make the thirty-three come forward. Halden begged his closest friend to keep the conspiracy a secret, to avoid further conflict, but the Gerudo King was stubborn. In order to keep the frail peace, Halden did something he'd regret for the rest of his life: He killed Ganon, stabbing him with the very sword they promised their eternal friendship upon." Elder Griffin's voice cracked as dried tears tripled down the corner of his dispirited eyes.

When the elder found his voice, it was unmoving and cold. "After Ganon died, they knew war with the Gerudos was inevitable. That was why Halden and the thirty-three decided to lie, for the sake of Hyrule … no, for their own sakes. They accused the Gerudos of being secret servants of the Demon King, and that Ganon died attempting to murder the Hero. Outraged, the armies of Hyrule turned against the Gerudos and systematically destroyed them. They banished those who survived to the Hylian Desert, expecting the merciless climate to drive the pirates to extinction. With both the Hero and Ganon gone, the thirty-three told the largest lie in Hylian history. They said Goddess Hylia had returned to them, revived by their '_noble_' souls, and blessed them and Halden with divine strength. With that falsified power, they said they helped the Hero slay the Demon King in battle. The Goron King and Zora Queen were outraged by the deceit, but understood the necessity in order to preserve what little of Hyrule was left. Thus, Halden was hence known as King Halden, the First King of Hyrule. It was how he was proclaimed king, and how the ancestors of today's Nobles gained their position of power.

"That is Hyrule's true history."

Malon couldn't say anything, and neither did anyone else. Although Suvi tried to look less-than-interested, he couldn't conceal his feelings of surprise. Fairy Boy spared a look of pity for the Gerudo. Rail, who'd heard this story more than his fair share, was pretending to sleep with a bored expression.

Zelda was taking it the worst. Her face was paler than a ghost's and her breathing ragged and shallow. She was sinking in a swamp of distress, disbelief, and pain. Malon was certain the princess had heard the short and sweet version of Hyrule's history all her life, so to hear Elder Griffin's version must have turned the princess's world upside-down and inside-out several times over.

She noticed Malon's concern, because the moment their eyes met, Zelda dropped her mortified expression and treated Malon to an apologetic smile.

Fairy Boy managed to speak first. "Griffin?"

"Yes, my boy?"

"How do you know all this? You can say the sky is green and the water is red, but that doesn't mean you're telling the truth. Do you have any proof that what you've told us is true?" Perhaps Fairy Boy asked his question for Zelda's benefit, for she stared at the elder as if her life depended on it.

Elder Griffin used his old-man laugh. "My boy, is there any way to prove that Hyrule's clean history is the truth, either? No, it's simply writing on a scroll that others consider as history, a piece of parchment which can either tell the truth or lies. My story is the same. If you wish for proof, seek it out. You do not need to believe my tale, but please keep it in your heart, for this old fool's sake. You've heard my story with an open mind, and for an aged storyteller such as myself, that is the greatest evidence of proof you've given me."

"You're a descendent of Halden, aren't you? That's why you know all this," Fairy Boy inquired. Malon gasped, Zelda's eyes almost popped out, Suvi gave Elder Griffin an interested glare, and Rail was knocked out of his false slumber and into a stunned stupor.

Elder Griffin didn't answer immediately. To be precise, he didn't answer at all. He merely chuckled a bit before keeping his cracked lips sealed. Malon really disliked it when old people tried to look all mysterious by not answering serious questions.

Then the elder said. "My boy, what did you say your name was?"

"Link."

"And what of your last name?"

"I don't have one."

"Really? Who are your parents? Your mother, your father?"

Fairy Boy sighed. "I don't know who my parents are."

"Wait," Rail interjected. "You told me your parents are dead."

"The one who raised me died," Fairy Boy elucidated. "I've no idea who my real parents, my mother and father, are."

"Where did you say you were from again?" Elder Griffin pressed on.

"I call it the Kokiri Forest, but you call them the Lost Woods."

That part even got Rail's attention, as soon as he realized he was sitting with one of the mythical children of the Lost Woods. Elder Griffin merely nodded slowly, mumbling, "Link … Link … I swear I've heard that name before." Then his wrinkled face stretched into disbelief. "Link! No, no! It can't be! But Link … and Zelda!" His sunken eyes snapped onto Zelda, who flinched at the sudden attention. "It can't be! My boy! What does the sign up ahead say?"

Malon peered past Elder Griffin and down the horse-trodden trail to see a fork in the road, split by a wooden sign so far away it was brown dot drowning within a sea of green.

"It says '_Fountain Village, turn left_' and '_Denion City, turn right_'," Fairy Boy answered with a single glance. "So?"

Now it was Malon's turned to stare in astonishment. Since when could Fairy Boy read Hylian? Just two days ago, back at Oron City when the two of them first met, Fairy Boy didn't know the Hylian Alphabet! Or should she be more surprised at the fact that he just read the letters on a small sign miles and miles away? Nah, doing the impossible was what Fairy Boy did best. The part where he learned how to perfectly read Hylian in two days was far more surprising.

"When'd you learn how to read, Fairy Boy?" Malon whispered in a low undertone, well aware he could hear her.

Fairy Boy didn't move his body, but his eyes caught Malon's and a grin played on his lips. With a signal Malon failed to catch, Navi darted out the corner of Fairy Boy's green hood and nestled herself in Malon's hair. To the onlooker's eyes, mainly Elder Griffin's and Rail's, it looked like a tussle of wind blew at her hair.

"I taught Link how to read as we were traveling from Oron to Lon Lon Ranch," Navi explained after making herself comfortable in her hair. "He was a fast learner, making me proud to be his teacher."

Malon pouted a little; it took her months to learn how to read, and Fairy Boy learned how to do so in two days? Really, really not fair.

Elder Griffin stared at Fairy Boy a while longer, until he finally asked to see the back of Fairy Boy's left hand. He obliged, and the elder's bony fingers snapped around Fairy Boy's wrist, dragging his hand beneath the elder's crumpled nose. That was when Malon noticed something on the back of Elder Griffin's left hand: A tattoo, brand, birthmark … she couldn't tell. What she could discern was that the mark was in the shaped of a black double-edged sword. Before she could ask about Elder Griffin's interesting birthmark, the old man gasped.

"The Candidate." He breathed that single phrase before releasing Fairy Boy's hand and refocusing his attention back onto the horses hauling their wagon. That was all Elder Griffin was going to say? Did old people really love being mysterious _that_ much?

Now things were really getting awkward. First the dreary history lesson, then the mysterious storyteller with an interesting tattoo, and now something about a "Candidate." After all these scrupulous secrets and unwanted surprises, no one wanted to talk. Elder Griffin looked more lost in his head than ever, Rail was staring at Fairy Boy, Suvi was testing how far he could spit a ball of saliva, Zelda stayed huddled in the far corner of the wagon, Fairy Boy was polishing his wooden shield, and Navi was snoozing in her hair. Nothing but the creaking of wooden wagon wheels occupied the air for the following hours.

Thankfully, Suvi helped temporarily alleviate Malon's growing boredom with a small question. He took a seat next to her and whispered into her ear, "Hey, Malon? How'd your mom die?"

It was such a random question that she felt the need to peer into Suvi's yellow eyes for a full minute before the cuddly dragon started to squirm in her gaze. "Why do you ask?"

"It's been bugging me, that's all!" He hissed. "First you say it's a secret, then some overgrown pigeon back at Hyrule Castle kept pestering me about it. When you told Rail about your mom, I got even more curious. So can you tell me?"

Malon put on a small smile; perhaps now was finally the time. "Sure! If you really want to know that badly, I'll tell you. You see, around—"

"Wait!" Suvi's palm clamped over her mouth. "Don't tell me now! Only _I_ want to know, and there's a certain pest on board with all-too-good ears!" He glared at Fairy Boy.

Malon peeled Suvi's hand off her mouth, a little miffed to discover his fingers smelled of ash. "You don't want Fairy Boy to know? Why?"

"Because I'll be irritated if he does. After we get to Denion and I toss Link into a barrel, nail it shut, and roll it into Lake Hylia, then you can tell me. Got it?"

Malon nodded, shaking Navi awake in her hair. "Yep, got it."

Suvi nodded in appreciation. Denion City was approaching them from the horizon, and they'd arrive at the city's gates within a matter of minutes.

It nagged at Malon like an itch she couldn't scratch; she wanted to tell Suvi about her mom, she wanted him to know the truth, but if he didn't want to listen right now, then she could be patient. She would let fate take its simplest course.

* * *

EDIT: Woohoo! Finally, Chapter 10 of the Three Spiritual Stones FanFic is finally out. I'll tell you know, but the history lesson in this chapter is not from the game or any internet source. It was my own, in-the-moment, fanfiction writing. I know the history seems a little confusing at first, but I'll make more sense as the story continues.

EDIT: HISTORY HAS CHANGED! NO! Oh well. Since I loved the Skyward Sword game so much, I just had to give it some mention in this story. (7/4/12)


	11. Chapter 11, Sheba Moontear

**Chapter 11**

**Sheba Moontear**

Suvica irritably scratched at his head as the overgrown pigeon's words continued to ring like a bad song.

_I know everything, puny dragon. If you believe you can maintain your feelings towards that child and your facade of ceaseless arrogance, then ask her that which you do not what to know: Ask her what happened to her mother. Hear her words, and suffer the consequences_.

Then he remembered the words big boy pigeon said before that.

_You like that girl Malon_.

And Link was a play-toy of the Goddesses. Serious? A Thunder Dragon harboring feelings for a human? That was why owls never grew that big, because once they were too old, they started spouting nonsense on a whim's notice. If he liked Malon, he wouldn't have harassed the Princess to tears with his made-up stories about Hylian Nobles. Instead, he would've offered to carry Malon when she was tired, and he wouldn't have brought up the sore topic about her mother's death. The perfect proof he was nowhere close to liking Malon.

With that cleared up, Suvica moved onto the old man's rambling about Hyrule's dark history. It was obviously nothing more than the droning fairy-tale of a senile old geezer wanting a bit of attention; it was nothing Suvica was going to think deeply about. A human with the Triforce? Yeah right. Hylians framing Gerudos for a crime they didn't commit? Talk about a role reversal. The first King of Hyrule was actually friends with the leader of the Gerudos? So much for friendship. All in all, the story was a bunch of nonsense cooked up by a dying old man.

Suvica waited impatiently for the slow moving wagon to reach Denion City. Sometimes, he couldn't understand how humans could get by life without flying. They moved so slowly on the ground that it made him sick. Using his allotted time, Suvica decided to plan out the rest of the journey to Death Mountain, the dwelling place of the Gorons. Senile or not, the old man and his wagon saved them days worth of walking, but they still had quite a ways to go before reaching the base of Death Mountain. Perhaps they could steal themselves some horses once they were in Denion City and ride them to death until they reached their destination? It seemed like a good plan, since it would save them weeks worth of traveling by foot. But Malon had a soft spot for horses, so he discarded the idea for her sake.

"Wait, WHAT?"

Link was on his feet in moments, his toothpick sword and tree-bark shield in his hands. "What's the matter? Is someone attacking us?"

"Yeah, my head is attacking me! It's driving me crazy!" Suvica snapped. He wasn't going to kill any horses for Malon's sake? That was it; the first thing they were going to do when they left Denion was swipe some four legged beasts and ride them to the brink of death and beyond. That was the plan; screw anyone who disagreed.

"You okay, Suvi?"

He froze; back at Oron City, when the other girls called him Suvi, it didn't bother him, since it was merely an annoying way to address him. When Malon called him "Suvi," it made a tingle run down his back. Being near Malon was not beneficial to his health.

"None of your business!" Suvica tried to snap, as he usually did with Link. Even to him, it sounded more like a pained squeal.

"Aw, do you really want to know how my mom died that badly?" Malon cooed.

"That's disgusting, kid," the arrogant Rail smirked. Suvica had half a mind to stride over to the cocky Gerudo-lover, grab him by his head, and drag the kid to the moon. Who did this brat think he was talking to?

"I'm also curious about that," Link added, not helping at all. "And I'm not letting you shove me into a barrel, nail it close, and toss me into a lake. I'll slice your wings off before that happens."

Suvica seriously hate Forest Boy's hearing. "Oh, yeah?" He snarled, stomping over to Link and shoving his face into his. "You got lucky in our last fight! I'll beat you into a pulp in round two!"

Forest Boy wore his annoying grin. "Bring it on. I'm learning a few tricks too, you know." This was a part of Link which really aggravated Suvica's nerves. Malon was probably too kind to show fear, but even the Princess had the right mind to let a little fright glint in her eyes whenever she looked at him. He was a Thunder Dragon for crying out loud! No matter how much he looked like a normal human brat, he was still a monster! People who knew his true identity should fear him, not challenge him! So why did Link never show fear? Not only towards Suvica, but also in combat against armed adults that could slice him in two with a single swing! Where was Forest Boy getting his courage? He initially followed Link with the hopes of having the pleasure of seeing the kid crack beneath the weight of the world, not to watch him laugh and dive into it head on.

"We're here!" the Old Geezer Griffin chuckled. Listening to old people laugh made Suvica's scales stand on end; why couldn't they roll over and die already? He looked forwards, observing the enormous stone walls surrounding Denion City, almost rivaling the Great Gate of Hyrule protecting Hyrule Market. This was one of the many cities Suvica had flown over as a dragon, so he knew the basic layout. The wall surrounding Denion was several hundred meters long and shaped in a protective circle. The city had something Suvica liked to call the Poverty Level. The center of the city was where the rich sipped on their expensive wine, and the outer perimeter was where the homeless dwelled in shabby huts. When Arthicus ruled Denion, there was no need for the Poverty Level, since everyone lived in equal prosperity. When Pavo took charge, the difference between the poor and the rich grew more distinct.

"Fairy Boy?" Malon asked; why did it annoy Suvica when Malon asked for Link and not him? Human emotions were so bothersome!

"What is it?"

"There are archers up there, right?" Malon pointed at the top of the wall.

Suvica also looked up; there were indeed soldiers armed with bows and arrows positioned atop of Denion City's wall; nothing out of the ordinary.

"There are," Link confirmed.

"So why are they aiming towards the city and not away?" Malon asked.

She was right. Normally, a city's archers aim their bows outward, alert for any possible enemies that may threaten the city. Instead, these archers were directing their glares and arrows towards the city. They weren't acting like protectors, they were more like jailors.

"That's so not good," Suvica murmured.

"I agree," Link added. It irked Suvica when the two of them agreed on something. "Griffin, get us out of here! We can't enter that city!"

Geezer Griffin curiously looked over his sagging shoulders and at Link. "Why not, my boy? Something troubling you?"

"There's something very wrong about this city!" Link quickly whispered back. "If we enter, you might not be able to leave! We need to get away, now!"

Too late. An archer noticed their cart posted outside the lowered wooden gate to the city and snapped his fingers, calling the attention of his fellow bowmen.

"Look sharp lads! We've got some fresh blood!" The first archer laughed. Some of the other bowmen chuckled along with the first, but their mirth was a forced fake. They were different from the cackling archer. Some of them smelled clean, like normal peasants who had weapons jammed into their hands. The first archer was nothing like them; this one stank of blood, a sure sign of a killer who loved the sight of death and gore. "Let's give them a warm welcome, my boys!" At the first archer's command (he was probably the leader) the handful of the other marksmen raised their arrow-armed bows and pointed them at Suvica and the others.

"What's the meaning of this?" Geezer Griffin barked in his wheezy voice. "Are you threatening us to leave?"

"Oh, on the contrary! We're threatening you to come _into_ our beloved city!" the first laughed. Definitely a killer; he had the psycho laugh along with the smell of blood. One plus one always equaled eleven.

"That makes no sense!" Geezer Griffin huffed.

"It doesn't need to make sense, damn old fart!" the leader snapped. "You'll understand once you stay for a while! Now please come in. Denion is on short supply of working bodies! Even children and old men like yourself can lift a shovel! So why don't you be an upstanding citizen of Hyrule and enter without asking too many questions?"

Suvica snarled. A human was giving _him_ orders? He bent into a slight crouch, readying to spring forth his wings and tail. He was going to fly at these pathetic humans and tear them limb from limb.

Link stopped him, grabbing his shoulder and hissing into his ear, "There's too many of them. The moment you spread your wings, they'll turn you into a pin cushion! You won't get close to even one of them! Calm down!"

Suvica didn't work with logic, he worked with what he could touch and break. A group of humans and their flying sticks could never hope to take him down (ignoring the arrow he received to his butt a long time ago). However, if the archers started shooting, there was a chance a stray arrow could hit Malon. Still pissed, Suvica lowered his stance and yielded, seating himself onto the wagon with a scowl.

"Griffin," Link called to the geezer, "Let go in. We can't run, not anymore. All we can do is follow their orders."

It wasn't everyday a grownup followed a child's advice, and without question. "As you wish." Geezer Griffin replied, flicking the horses' reins as soon as the thick wooden gate was slowly raised by several guards.

Once they passed the gate (which slammed close behind them), Suvica got a better sniff at the archers posted above them. There were too many oddities. Some of the soldiers smelled like genuine warriors: sweat, metal, and horses. Other smelled more like farmers: dirt, dirt, dirt, and worms. The rest had the same stench of blood as the conceited archer who talked down on Suvica. The answer was obvious: They were convicts and bandits dressed in the armor of Hylian soldiers. The Noble ruling over Denion was hiring outlaws to pose as Hylian soldiers, but why? There was no way the city was suffering a shortage of soldiers, not after the King divided Hyrule's main armory to bolster every defendable city, town, and village.

According to Suvica's Poverty Level, they were in the poorest area of Denion, the outskirts of the city. It was worse than it sounded. Houses of stone, clay, and wood were crumbling to time, nature, and brutal assaults. Many of the humans he saw appeared fed and well dressed, but wore looks of such dejection they could've been mistaken as corpses. Large portions of the stone streets were uprooted, cratered with holes and carved up with trenches. It was after he observed the streets that Suvica noticed similar slash marks on the buildings around them. It looked as though Denion had been attacked by a swarm of monsters, and from of the bones littering the ground like gravel, either many people died or the attack was caused by the skeletal undead. At first, he believed the bones belonged to the weak humans who couldn't properly protect their own lives, but that would've made no sense; the remains scattered across streets smelled of fresh earth and a hundred years of buried soil. These had to be the remnants of an undead attack, but how could that be? There was no way the frail undead of the night could penetrate the defenses of Denion City, so they must've been purposely let in, but for what reason? What was wrong with this city?

"Are those … human skeletons?" The Princess asked in a dead quiet voice as Geezer Griffin continued to steer their wagon deeper into Denion City.

"No, they're not. At least, not recent ones," Suvica answered, leaning over the edge of the wagon to scoop a skull from the ground. He gave it a closer sniff: Definitely undead. "It belongs to a skeleton that's been rotting away in Hyrule Field for a long time."

"An undead skeleton of the night?"

"Yeah, for sure."

The Princess bit her lips. "That's impossible. The walls of Denion are sound and unbroken. It would be impossible for any undead of Hyrule Field to enter this city."

"Not only that," Link added, using his super-eyes to look farther into the heart of the city. "Only the outer region of the city seems to have been attacked. The inner part of the city is unscathed."

"Only the rich can live in the center of Denion. Are you're saying the undead kicked around the poor chaps and left the fat and wealthy folks alone?" Suvica asked, just to clarify.

"Something like that, yeah."

"Great, now even the dead are getting bribed and hired to do a Noble's dirty work," Rail scowled.

"So Nobles are buying the souls of the dead and hiring them to attack the poor people of Denion?" Malon asked with a shiver. "I never knew magic or rupees could control the dead. I'll take dad's advice and start saving instead of spending."

"Hold up," Link said. "We don't know if a Noble is using the undead or not. Maybe something happened and the undead broke in on accident but were driven away before they could invade deeper into the city. We could be over thinking things."

Rail's hands were around Link's front collar in a flash. "Are you _defending_ these corrupt Nobles? Are you?"

Link was equally fast, drawing his sword and smashing the hilt into Rail's hands, forcing him to let go. "I'm not defending anyone, I'm stating a fact. We don't really have any proof that Nobles are actually manipulating the dead. If you want to know the truth, figure it out, don't speculate."

Rail rubbed his bruising hands as he scowled. "Fine! That's exactly what I'll do!" He jumped off the back of the wagon, ignored Geezer Griffin's pleas to come back, and darted down the bone littered streets of Denion.

The moment he disappeared from sight, Link was next on his feet. "We're following him. Everyone get off."

"Whoa, whoa! Why?" Suvica demanded.

"There are soldiers blocking the way leading deeper into the city. They're rejecting everyone who can't pay some sort of fee. It sounds like the price goes up for every person trying to enter," he explained. Suvica stood up and looked down the street. Forest Boy was right. A tall iron fence was protecting the inner circle of Denion City, segregating the poor from the rich. Four soldiers (all bloody murders from the smell of it) were guarding the front gate, kicking away people who were desperate to get into the inner circle of the city. The only those who paid a ludicrous sum of rupees were allowed access.

"Don't worry, grandpa! We'll get him back!" Link shouted with unnecessary volume, attracting the attention of the four soldiers ahead of them. Then he lowered his voice back into a whisper only Suvica and the others could hear. "Griffin, you've only got enough rupees to get yourself deeper into the city. Get going! We'll find Rail and sneak our way in. You should be safer the closer you get to the center of Denion City."

"Safer? So the Noble here really has bribed the dead?" Malon asked.

"I don't know about bribing, but they're definitely making use of them."

Understanding crawled into Suvica's head. "You knew the Nobles here were using the undead, but you said they weren't in front of Rail's face to make him angry and run off. Now we've got an excuse to get off this wooden wheelbarrow and get out of sight without attracting too much suspicion!"

"The dragon is learning!" Blue Fluffy gasped from within Link's hood, sounding insultingly surprised.

Link jumped off the wagon first, closely followed by Malon and the Princess. Suvica got onto his feet, but when he took another look at the four fake-soldiers, one of them was marching towards them, seeping with killing intent as he drew his sword.

"Great, I suppose an _accident_ is going to happen to us," Suvica mumbled. The guard's killing intent was directed towards Suvica, not the old geezer. He supposed Geezer Griffin would be able to make it deeper into the city unscathed, so he bound off the wagon and followed after the others.

He chased after Link, who, after sprinting down a particularly long and ruined alleyway, darted into a rundown building decorated with scratch marks, doubtlessly caused by boney undead fingers. He kicked down the door and ran to the stairs, heading towards the second floor with Malon and the Princess at his heels. When Suvica reached the fallen door, he looked behind him to see the fake-soldier swaggering towards them.

"Come here, little children! This nice man is going to take you all back to your parents! Wouldn't that be nice?" That's what the fake-guard said out loud, but the guy was swinging his sword with the intent on using it.

Suvica knew this type of scumbag well; many of the Thunder Wings told him about criminal adults who took pleasure in slowly torturing children to death. The sight of the wannabe soldier didn't threaten him, but there was something about the soldier's sword that grabbed his attention. There was blood stained on the sword, fresh blood, a human child's blood. That's all it was. A human child. Just a human child. The soldier, a mere bandit with Hylian armor, recently killed a child for fun. That's all. Just a child. Nothing more than a human child. Just a human child. No different from June, Sagar, his Thunder Wings, the Princess, or Link,

A human child … just like Malon.

Suvica's vision blanked, and a roar echo from his throat.

When he snapped back to reality, the bandit-soldier was at his feet, and Suvica's fists were smeared in the soldier's blood. He couldn't see the fake-soldier's face, since the man was faced down and whimpering, but his teeth were scattered across the ground.

"Over there!"

Suvica snapped his head towards the commotion. A small squadron of soldiers had spotted him with the toothless bandit-soldier at his feet.

"He's resisting justice! Kill him!" One of the soldiers down the alley screamed. Suvica took a sniff; half the soldiers were peasants while the other half were bloody criminals in Hylian armor.

"Suvica, what are you doing?" Link shouted, poking his head from the building's second floor window. His eyes went from the fallen soldier at Suvica's feet then to the small regiment charging towards them. "Get in here!"

Normally, Suvica would have laughed in Link's face before obliterating the fools who dared to challenge him. Right now, he was too taken aback to fight; he tumbled past the crumbing house's threshold and hobbled up the stairs to Link and the others.

"You're hurt," Forest Boy noted when Suvica joined them, pointing at his leg.

Suvica looked down, noticing the dagger lodged in his right thy. It was probably the soldier's, not that it mattered much. Malon gave a little gasp at the dagger protruding from his limb and asked if he was alright, but he ignored her. He grasped the knife's handle and yanked it out. Dragons didn't bleed well, so the wound sputtered a few flicks of blood before stopping completely.

The Princess was nagging him before his wound disappeared. "Suvica! Why did you attack that guard?"

"He was following us. I was under the impression we were trying to be discreet, so I got rid of the nuisance." Suvica scowled, lying through his teeth. He'd never tell the truth, he'd never admit that he lost himself to a Blood Haze and attacked the fake-soldier for killing a human brat.

"There was no need for such violence!" The Princess protested. "We would have easily been able to avoid attention if we had moved fast enough! You did not need to attack a soldier doing his duty!" She was totally oblivious to the fact that the soldier wasn't even a real Hylian soldier.

"Well, can't be helped now, can it?" Suvica said in his best, mocking laugh as they heard of parade of metal-clad boots rush into the room below them. "Time to get moving, don't you agree?" Link nodded, pulling the Princess along when she looked like she wanted to keep arguing. Suvica absentmindedly trailed after them

Why did he do it? What he'd done wasn't like him at all. For the first time in his life, as a dragon and a human, his sheer killing intent (his Blood Haze) was activated by the desire to protect. He'd entered the Blood Haze many times before, when bloodlust clouded his mind to the point of pain, when his demand for death and gore destroyed his rational mind to turn him back into a proper monster. But he'd always used the Blood Haze for his own personal wants, like when he attacked resistant castles, or if he met someone who _really_ pissed him off (the bragging brat at Hyrule Market had come close). Now it had awakened by the desire to punish a killer guised as a Hylian guard.

This wasn't him.

He didn't care for others! He didn't fight for others! He didn't protect others! He fought for himself, and no one else! No, he couldn't think about this. The more he thought about it, the more human he felt, and that disgusted him beyond anything else. He directed his attention to running, hoping their pressing situation would keep him distracted.

Link was leading them to the ceiling of the abandoned wreckage of a home, with the fake-soldiers a floor below them and gaining; Suvica stalled them by smashing apart the next wobbling staircase they climbed. He really needed to spread his wings and go for a fly right now, to do a few nose dives and barrel rolls to clean out his head.

Putting aside his longing for free flying, Suvica followed Link to the rooftop of the demolished building they'd climbed, using the additional height to get a better view of the city. Denion City was, quite literally, divided in two. It was like having two separate worlds stuck in one city. The outer circle of the city resembled a ruined dump yard, with more than half the houses destroyed and the other half barely standing. The streets were a gravely mess, unfit for anyone to cross. The few people he saw stank almost as bad as Fugly from Lon Lon Ranch; they probably haven't washed themselves properly in years.

The inner circle of the city was the exact opposite. While the outer area was poor, the central city was loaded. The buildings were disgustingly clean and fancy, the roads were most likely lined with gold, and the number of unnecessary monuments dotting the inner city (bronze statues, marble fountains, the works) were almost revolting to see. A classic example of how humans loved to show off. The people of the inner city were well dressed, had way too much make-up, and wore that horrendous gas they called perfume, making Suvica's nose sore even when they were around a quarter of a mile away. The iron fence separating the world of riches and poverty was a tall barrier of metal bars guarded by cut-throat thieves dressed as soldiers. No one from the poor outer circle of Denion could enter the luxurious center without paying some sort of fee.

"I can't believe this," Princess Zelda gasped, looking at the difference between the two worlds. "What is wrong with this city? How can there be such a barrier between the poor and the wealthy?"

"Literally," Blue Fuzzy mumbled.

"Fairy Boy? What makes you think the Noble of Denion is bribing the undead to do their bad work?" Malon asked, cautiously peeking over the build's crumbling edge and at the ground several meters below. "How come you don't think someone accidentally broke the gate and let some undead in?"

"I thought so at first, but that can't be the case." Link replied. "If it broke once, then it'd be believable. If it breaks several times, then I can't see how it's accidental. You can tell there are places that have been repaired after a first undead attack, only to be broken again by a second wave of undead."

Suvica took a sniff; Link was right. There was the scent of fresh paint and new wood was coming from many of the torn down and uninhabitable buildings.

The Princess was pale; the sight of human distress was a portrait of ecstasy to Suvica's eyes. "Link, are you saying a Hylian Noble is using the Dread Nights for the selfish purpose of tormenting the poor citizens of Denion?"

"I can't tell for certain, but I'm pretty sure that's the case. We'll find out the truth if we manage to get closer to the center of Denion."

"We cannot leave these people to suffer!" The Princess protested, indicating the poverty stricken people of the city.

"And we can't help them either." Link pointed out. "Unless we know exactly how the undead are being manipulated, there's nothing we can do." It was fun to see the Princess crumble beneath Link's logic; it almost lightened Suvica's mood.

"But how are we going to get into the rich part of the city?" Malon asked, pointing at the central area of Denion. "Look! There's a big metal fence in our way with lots of soldiers! I can't see how we can get in."

"You can let me at them. I'll knock them all to the moon," Suvica offered, cracking his knuckles. Yet for some reason, he was unable to muster his usual enthusiasm at the prospect of beating humans senseless. At least the Princess openly opposed to the idea.

"If there's no way in, we make one. C'mon, let's go, the soldiers below are starting to gain on us." Link's idea of "let's go" was to jump off the rooftop and jam his sword into the side of the house, allowing him to slowly descend towards the ground as his blade dragged against the weak wooden frames. Suvica copied Link's method (because it looked cool), jumping off the building's roof and digging his fingers into the dry clay exterior as he fell. His descent was a bit slower than Forest Boy's, but just as effective. Malon and the Princess hopped down once Suvica touched the uneven ground; he caught them with his summoned tail and lowered them to the street. The moment the four of them were on the ground, the soldiers pursuing them stomped their way onto the rooftop they'd previously occupied, missing them by seconds.

They walked towards the deluxe heart of the city, following Link's lead. Suvica had no idea how, but Forest Boy navigated the streets like he'd been here before. Before he could ask how Link knew the layout of Denion so well, Forest Boy ordered them to halt at the end of next block. He peeked around the corner before beckoning for them to look at what he saw. Suvica and the two girls leaned around the corner of the creaking and abandoned food store; they were only a few yards away from the iron fence dividing Denion City in two. There was only one soldier patrolling this small portion of the barrier, and from the smell of him, he was another cut-throat killer.

"What now?" Malon whispered.

Link replied by pointing his finger towards the shadowy figure sulking towards the oblivious fake-guard. When the soldier's back was turned, the stealthy boy lunged, clamping his hand over the guard's mouth before slamming the soldier's head into the untidy street. Once the fake-soldier was out cold, the boy grabbed him by his feet and dragged him into the nearest rundown building, hiding him from sight. Task completed, the boy approached the unguarded iron fence and tried to squeeze past the narrowly spaced bars without success.

"Who is that?" Blue Fluffy wondered.

"Who else?" Link said with a grin, stepping towards the figure and whispering, "Rail!"

The boy spun around, pushing himself away from the iron fence to face Link. It was indeed Geezer Griffin's runaway grandson. He had some decent moves for a teenage human.

"What are you doing here?" Rail hissed, keeping his voice soft to avoid attracting the attention of the fancifully dress humans waltzing about the sunlit streets on the other side of the barrier, merely several feet away from where they stood.

"We could ask the same!" the Princess whispered as they all approached Rail.

"I'm looking for a way in! The gates are no good, because those corrupted soldiers demand payment from anyone who wants in, and I'd rather die before paying a single green rupee to those scumbags! That's why I'm trying to find another way!"

"By squeezing between the bars?" Suvica laughed. The iron poles of the fence were barely a fist apart from each other. "Yeah, I'm sure that'll work well!"

"Then how would _you_ get in?" Rail fumed, glaring down at Suvica (Rail was about a head taller than him). "No, forget that. Why are you kids here?"

"I followed you," Link replied, giving the iron bars obstructing their way a few taps. "It was easy, all I had to do was follow the sound of your breathing and footsteps. The guards at the iron gate were demanding seventy rupees per person as an entrance fee, and Griffin barely had enough for himself. That's why I baited you into running away while the rest of us chased after you. I did that to avoid suspicion, but—" He spared Suvica a glare, "—it didn't work out that well."

"Wait, _how'd_ you follow me? By my breathing?" Rail snapped incredulously. "And you _baited_ me into leaving my granddad? And how the hell do you know how many rupees he had?"

"He kept it in the small wagon we were riding in. I saw it when I got bored, so I counted them."

"You did _what_?"

"It's not like I stole any of them!"

Rail growled, but his savagery mellowed seconds later. "You tricked me into running from my granddad so he could get into the more comfortable zone of the city. I should thank you for that much, at least. But that still leaves us trapped out here!"

"Suvica?" Link said; Suvica knew what Forest Boy was asking of him.

"You sure?" Suvica jut his head towards the wealthy pedestrians on the other side of the iron fence. "If I break those bars, they're going to make a bit of noise."

"Break the bars?" Rail interjected. "What are you talking about? They're made out of steel and iron, not clay!"

"Leave it to me," Link replied, ignoring Rail's complaints as he pulled out his slingshot and a deku nut from his fit-it-all pouch. Suvica knew how lethal that little nut's blinding light was after he tried to eat one; it was disconcerting yet rather exciting to see a beam of light shoot from his mouth instead of lightning. "Ready?"

Suvica turned away and shut his eyes. He knew Malon and the Princess were doing the same, but Rail still sounded dubious.

"What are you all doing? This isn't the time to be playing around!"

"Close your eyes, Rail!" Link hissed.

"Why? What's one little nut going to do?"  
Link sighed, and Suvica couldn't help but grin. "I warned you."

Moments later, a burst of red flared into Suvica's closed eyes, followed by the girly shrilling of terrified adults. He opened his eyes to see all the rich folks in the immediate vicinity screaming like little girls as they clawed at their eyes. Rail (who had shut his eyes in time, to Suvica's great disappointment) gaped at the effects of the deku nut.

"Now!" Link shouted.

If Rail was surprised by Forest Boy's nuts, he'd seen nothing yet. Suvica stretched his arms as he grabbed two of the fence's arm-thick poles and pulled. The steel screeched and groan in protest, but his strength could not be denied. With a giant tug, Suvica ripped off two of the fence's poles, leaving a child-size opening in the fence. He thoroughly soaked in Rail's horrified expression (_that_ was how humans were supposed to react around dragons).

"Let's go!" Link urged the moment Suvica pried the two bars free. He pushed Malon and the Princess through the opening first before following after them. Suvica grabbed Rail by the back of his pants and tossed him through the fence (Rail was stunned motionless) before he stepped through. He noticed a few homeless children and adults staring at him and the hole in the iron fence with disbelieving eyes; whether they used this opportunity to sneak into the rich section of Denion or not was their problem.

They darted between the bodies twitching and screaming in blind pain, making their way deeper into the prosperous area of Denion City. It was mind boggling to see the stark difference; one second, they were tripping over cracked and uprooted gravel roads, and the next they were prancing down gem-decorated streets lined with silver lampposts and golden statues. As they venture deeper into the city's paradise, running around pearl estates and side-stepping curious rich-folk, the rancid smell of perfume got worse. Suvica had to screw his eyebrows together and plug his nose with his fingers to prevent himself from going insane. How could humans _possibly_ use this horrid gas they called perfume? Was their natural body odor so terrible they had to restore to this artificial reek?

To further his dismay, Link stopped running after they'd put a large amount of distance between them and the hole in the iron fence, taking a breather at the foot of a store (more like a mansion) that sold (what he thought was) fake eyelashes (seriously, that's just disgusting). The curious tendencies of human never ceased to disgust him.

"What do we do now?" Malon asked, lightly panting as she took a seat on the massive front stairs of the store/mansion. At least she was enjoying the noxious fumes.

"We hide," Link replied, turning his head about as he took in their surroundings. "Suvica attacked one of them, and then we broke into the center of the city. Sooner or later, the guards will know we're here and they'll hunt us down. We stick out rather badly, so we need to keep our heads low."

Stick out rather badly? Everyone (from the babyish child to the wrinkled old folks) wore clothes used by the insufferable higher class, flaunting their gold tunics and silk capes as they walked like there was a needle up their asses. Suvica and the others were peasants in comparison; of course they stood out like a crooked scale.

"But where will we stay?" the Princess said, falling off her feet as she sat beside Malon, breathing hard. "Perhaps we should find Griffin. If he paid his fee and the guards let him through the gate, then he should be here somewhere. Rail, what do you think? Rail?"

The astonished boy was slowly shuffling his feet, scooting away from Suvica and Link. "W-What are you two? What was that thing? How did that little peanut give off a blast of light like that? And you! Those bars were so thick only a Goron could've bent them, yet you ripped them right out! What in Hyrule's name are you two?"

"I'mf nying!" Suvica snap past his plugged nose. "Tha fell is wrong wif thif mity? Finks like a FoFongo's rap here!"

"What I used was called a deku nut," Link hastily explained. "Remember when I said I was from the Lost Woods? These things are common there. And Suvica is a dragon in a human body, which is why he's so strong. Any more questions?"

From the way Rail's facial scar squirmed, it was pretty obvious he had loads more, but he was smart enough to know it was a bad time for that. "Before the day is over, I expect to have a lot of answer. For now, we run. I say we split up. They can't catch us all at once if we do."

"I disagree, we should stay together. There is strength in numbers," the Princess countered. Little miss royalty was seriously starting to grow a spine; just yesterday she could barely voice her own opinion without asking for someone's permission.

"Suit yourselves. I'm not a part of your secret little band, so I'll do what I think is right. Stay alive," Rail said as he sprinted away; his smell was completely consumed by the wretched perfume poisoning the air, so Suvica lost him the moment he turned the next street corner.

"Now wut?" Suvica gagged, choking as a wisp of vile odor made its way into his nose. "I fay we leave, furn 'round an nefer come back!"

"Why don't we stay there?" Malon pointed down the polished street. They all looked to see what she was pointing at; it was another mansion with Hylian gibberish scrawled above the doors, and Suvica couldn't read. Come on, he was a dragon! Why did he need to know human letters? He thought he'd formed a comrade of illegibility with Link, but the forest brat betrayed him in a matter of days.

"Why fhere?" Suvica coughed, pretending he could read the sign. He felt it would be wrong to appear stupid in front of Mal … er … the others.

"It's a hotel!" Malon exclaimed, as if that clarified anything.

A bead of sweat wet Suvica's back. A hotel? What was that? He never ate, stepped on, or used one of those before. "Like I said, why there?"

"Suvica is right," the Princess said, coming to his rescue; maybe he'd lay off the harassment next time. "We lack the funds to acquire a single room, and I presume their prices have reached extortion levels."

Link surprised them all by holding up several bags of rupees. "Think these will cover it?"

Malon leaped to her feet. "Fairy Boy! You never told us you were rich!"

"Fare nid you net fose?" Suvica demanded; last he remembered, Forest Boy got his last payment of rupees from Fatty, who paid them both for saving his and Malon's life. But those rupees went to a random beggar on the side of Hyrule Market's streets. So where did these come from?

"Don't you remember?" Link said, talking directly to Suvica. "The people in Hyrule Market started throwing rupees at us when they thought our conversation was some sort of skit. They threw a lot more after you tossed that Lavin kid over the rainbow,."

Suvica was never going to underestimate the power of sideshow performances again. "Fawsome! Net's get foutta near!"

"But if you were already rich before we reached Denion, why didn't you pay the entrance fee?" Malon asked, quite confused. "Why'd we run away and sneak our way in?"

"Because those soldiers didn't need these rupees," Link replied simply.

"We should give them to the poor people of Denion, the people that are unable to pay the entrance fee the guards demand!" The Princess declared, loud enough to attract a few unwanted eyes.

"No," Link refused, dropping the wallets brimmed with rupees into his infinite vortex pouch. "Doing that is only a temporary solution for the poor, and I'm more worried about us than them. I'm sorry if I sound crude, but we need to get our feet on some firm ground before we do anything drastic."

"Fan fee flease no to that fotal?" Suvica roared; the noxious vapors were starting to reach critical levels as perfume drenched humans started to gather around them in curiosity."

"I still doubt we will be able to rent a room," the Princess continued with her protests. She'd really gotten too chatty; Suvica preferred it when she was a meek little girl with the weight of her destiny crushing her. "We are four children without any guardians. How will we be able get a room without raising suspicion?"

"Feave it nue me! Fink, nive me nall the furpees you not!" Link obliged (Suvica was rather amazed he understood everything he said) without question; the level of trust was uncomforting. Regardless, the moment Forest Boy's rupees were in Suvica's hands, he kicked his way past the crowd around them, knocking over the wealthy snobs as he approached the "hotel," and shoving the double-oak doors open. The moment he crossed the threshold, every hair in his nostril screamed at him to run away. The awful reek of perfume hit his nose a hundred times over.

"Something wrong, Suvi?" Malon asked behind him when he refused to move another step forward.

"N-N-Nofing!" He huffed, trying to use as little air as possible. He stomped his way across the spacious room, smearing the red carpet beneath his feet with his dirty sandals. The moment he reached the front counter, he jumped into the maplewood desk at the far end of the room.

The human on the other end of the counter blinked, as if he couldn't believe Suvica had the audacity to step on _his_ table, and then asked in a condescending tone, "May I inquire what your desire might be, sir?" His curly oiled mustache twitched as he inspected the damage Suvica did to his carpet.

"We want a room!" Suvica snarled, using all the bravery in his body to unplug his nose so he could speak clearly; he couldn't risk wasting time using muffled words, not while the reek of perfume slowly killed him. "Just one room, human!"

The human didn't take kindly to Suvica's attitude. "Excuse me, _sir_, but you must specify. We have three separate classes of rooms. The first is the Commoner's Barn, a standard living space with the bare necessities that _should_ be affordable for ruffians such as yourself, _sir_! The second type—"

"Which room has the biggest window?" Suvica demanded, grabbing the human by his fancy coat collar. A big mistake; the human was slathered with that gaseous gunk, forcing Suvica to release him as if he were doused in acid.

"That would be our most expensive room sir, the Chamber of Royalty!" the human snapped, straightening his bowtie (serious, who the hell wore one of those?). "It is a room fit for the King of Hyrule himself, charging two hundred rupees for the initial rent and fifty rupees per day for each day you stay!"

Suvica heard someone whisper, "Extortion!" behind his back; most likely the Princess. He didn't care, because that room had the biggest window. He threw the numerous bags of rupees Link had given him into the counter in front of the human's face. The contents spilled out, revealing a flood of blue and red rupees. Suvica couldn't count to save his own life, but he was pretty sure Link had given him at least 500 rupees. The human arrived to the same conclusion; his eyes went wide, his mouth dropped, and he stared at Suvica with glutinous greed.

The words left Suvica's mouth before he could change his mind. "Give me the room now, and you can keep these!" He shoved his hands into his pockets and dropped the Princess's jewelry (the one's he snatched when Link was cutting up her royal dress) onto the heap of rupees.

With a sappy smile and sickeningly respectful voice, the human scooped up all the rupees and gold trinkets before pushing a gilded key into Suvica's hands. "Top floor, my lord! Feel free to stay as long as you wish!"

"Don't count on it!" was the last thing Suvica snarled before squeezing the gold key in his hand and leaping for the flight of stairs in the corner of the decorated lounge. He tore up the flight of staircases so fast he arrived at the roof, one floor above their rented room. The hotel's rooftop was renovated into a small spa, crammed with even more humans drowning in perfume. After screaming a curse, he flew back down the stairs, discovered the single silver door on the top floor, and ran towards it. He tried shoving the key into the silver keyhole, but he'd accidentally molded the priceless key into a formless lump of gold inside his clenched fist. No matter. He kicked the silver door from its hinges and rushed towards the window, tossing them open and sucking in some not-so-poisonous air.

"I HATE THIS CITY!" He bellowed, causing everyone within a mile radius to jump in surprise at his voice. He breathed, savoring every wisp of fresh air he could manage. He felt like he'd traveled through Hyrule Market's sewage system and had finally made it to the end, towards freedom.

"Are you alright, Suvi?" Malon and the others were at the knocked down door. Malon looked concerned, the Princess was furious, and Link and Blue Fluffy were busy holding back their laughter.

"I'm _so_ not alright!" Suvica shouted. "How can any of you stand that smell?"

"Smell?" Malon sniffed at the air. "The perfume? Isn't it nice?"

He screamed, pounding his head against the large window frame.

"It's an annoying smell, but it isn't that bad," Forest Boy noted.

"Glad to see my sniffer is more sensitive than yours," Suvica scowled, hanging his head out the window after he was done tormenting its frame. "Link, we're leaving this city, like right now! Screw the people and their problems! If I stay here another day, I'll go the city walls myself and tear it down stone by stone, just to make sure the undead destroy this stinky city!"

It was only natural that the Princess assaulted his ears with insults about his behavior and his ego, but Suvica let her words drone in his ears like an unneeded background hum. After a while, Malon helped the Princess calm down, and the two of them walked into the room's oversized bathroom to clean themselves up.

"Did you have to give that guy _all_ the rupees?" Link asked, standing next to Suvica at the window to enjoy the view of the city. If you ignored the blatant corruption and the poor peasants banging on the iron fence, begging to get into the wealthy area of the city, it was a nice scenery.

"It just happened," Suvica murmured.

"And Zelda's jewelry? I didn't even know you still had those on you."

"I was desperate." He didn't feel like explaining himself. Allowing his body to relax, Suvica withdrew his head from the window and slumped to the floor, which was covered by fancy rug probably worth more than half the city. This one room took up the entire top floor of the "hotel," so it was really big. It didn't need much describing since everything in the room shared three common factors: Big, fancy, expensive. The bed, chairs, tables, silverware, vases, planets, paintings, curtains, windows, blankets, drawers, everything! Big, fancy, expensive. After they'd cleaned themselves up a bit, the two girls were set on exploring their newly rented room. Malon was merrily bouncing up and down on the big, fancy, expensive bed, while the Princess was eyeing everything critically, muttering words like, "Waste," "Food," "Civilians," and "Puppies."

"Link, tell me honestly. How long are we going to be here?" Suvica moaned. "If it's for more than a day, I'll jump out this window, and I won't be busting out my wings."

"If it bothers you that badly, we can leave right now," he replied, leaning on the window still. "I thought this place would be heavily locked down, but I was wrong. The guards are not match for us, so leaving shouldn't be much of a problem."

Suvica perked an eyebrow. "You sure? There are lots of people who need help here. I'm sure your nice-guy side is screaming to come rushing to their aid."

Link laughed. "Not really."

Suvica scowled as Link's last two words echoed in his mind. "Not really? What do you mean by that?"

"Why do I have to help these people?" Link explained, gesturing to the peasants living in the outer rim of the city, the people suffering in poverty. "I don't know them, I don't care about them, so why should I help them? Helping them won't get me another Spiritual Stone. Saving them won't help me defeat Ganondorf. Nothing I do for this city will help the Kokiri Village in any way whatsoever. I don't gain anything from helping them, so why should I? I might stay if Zelda wants to set this city straight, but that's the only reason."

This wasn't right. This wasn't how a nice guy was supposed to act. Link was supposed to be a super nice guy who helped everyone and everything. Heck, he went as far as beat Suvica around just to rescue a little fairy. If Link was willing to go so far to save one puny imp, how could he turn his back to an entire city of people suffering from the cruelty of Hyrule's Nobles?

In the back of Suvica's head, he was starting to better understand Forest Boy_._ He was nice to fairies because he was brought up to be that way; it was in his nature. Although he had a moral compass, a line ensuring he'd never go psycho and start some random massacre, it only had one target: Ganondorf. Forest Boy only cared about two things: His friends and Ganondorf's death. If his friends needed help, he'd supported them with all his might, but if a stranger needed his aid, Suvica was willing to bet Link would give them the cold shoulder.

"You're not what I expected," Suvica scowled, poking holes in the floor's majestic rug with his pinky.

"What were you expecting?"

"A damn hero! I thought you were some brat who believed he could save all of Hyrule from some evil menace, like how the Skyward Hero defeated the Demon King! But you don't give a Like-Like's ass about Hyrule, do you? No, all you want is Ganondorf's head."

"Wasn't that obvious?"

"No!" Suvica got back on his feet so he was eye-to-eye with Link. "I've seen a lot of humans who thought they could be big-shot heroes if they slew the big nasty black dragon. The moment they faced me, I knew how shallow they really were! All talk, no walk! But not you! When you set your mind on something, you do it, no matter what stands in your way! If you weren't a kid, you'd be exactly the kind of hero Hyrule needs! You'd be fighting off monster, pirates, and criminals while exposing crooked Nobles and liberating the peasants! But you don't care about any of that, because all you want is revenge! I'm a damn dragon, and even I can tell you've got all the makings of a hero! So how come you never act like one?"

Link was laughing after Suvica exposed all his thoughts about him. "A hero? Don't make me laugh any harder, I might die."

"Forest Boy, for once, I'm actually being serious! I don't get you! You rescue fairies from dragons, you give money to beggars, and you kidnap a Hylian Princess to show her the world in order to make her a better ruler! If you can do all that, why can't you do more? Why don't you bother helping the people of Hyrule?"

"Basically, you're wondering why I don't act more like a hero?"

"Yes!"

"Because I'm not," Forest Boy said simply. "I'm a kid who ran away from home to find the one responsible for his father's death. I rescued Pinky because I couldn't stand seeing her imprisoned. I gave my rupees to the kid back at Hyrule Market because I didn't want them. I took Zelda from Hyrule Castle because seeing her act so weak and frail angered me. Everything I've done, I've done for my own selfish reasons. But saving Hyrule and stopping evil Nobles? What's that got to do with me? All I want is Ganondorf."

Suvica kicked the wall in exasperation, breaking off a large chunk of the flawlessly painted surface. "Damn it. Now I feel like an idiot for following you. You're no Nice-Guy, you're only doing what you want while hunting for revenge."

"Ha, too bad for you. My turn to ask a few questions," Link said. "Why did you start following me? I know you want to kill me, but if that was the only reason, you'd have attacked me a long time ago."

Suvica scowled, debating with himself whether he should bother to answer or not. Eventually, he knew he had time to spare. "It's a hobby of mine, tracking down nice guys and showing them the truth of the world."  
"Truth?"

"Yeah, the truth that no matter how self-righteous they think they around, their measly justice doesn't do squat. They think they can make a difference? I tell them otherwise. I don't do anything, I only show them the proof they refuse to see. I love breaking their spirits, watching them crumble in my hand before they start accusing me for all the treachery in the world before attacking me. Watching their faces distorted in pain while they put their lives on the line to kill me is the best entertainment this world has to offer."

Link's laughing persisted. "And that's why you're mad at me? Because I'm not self-righteous in any way, so you can't break me?"

"You act on spur of the moment whims," Suvica scowled, glaring down at the fancy folk below them. "The only think you're here to prove is that you can kill Ganondorf. You don't even care if you save Hyrule along the way. There's nothing to break."

"Does that mean you plan on leaving? You ready to go your own way now that you're no longer interested in me?"

Suvica sighed as he did the one thing he hated to do: Think. He thought long and hard about Forest Boy's question. He couldn't break Link's sense of justice, since it didn't exist in the first place. Now what? He wouldn't be able to have any fun tormenting Forest Boy like this.

Fun?

He thought harder, trying to remember all the fun times he had as a dragon. He was a fight-junkie, always taking pleasure in battles of life and death. Fighting with the Iron Knuckle had been pretty exciting, even though he almost died in the process. Leaving home to burn down a few human cities had been pretty fun too. Shattering the spirits of glory-hunting knights who came to slay him had been entertaining; one knight in particular thought Suvica was the one responsible for his loved one's death, when in truth it was the knight's closest friend who murdered his wife (his betrayed expression sent shivers across Suvica's scales, which is how his hobby started). As a human, his "fun" memories diminished. He still kept up with trying to break the hearts and souls of justice-spouting warriors, but it wasn't as pleasurable as it was before. He made the mistake of meeting June, who pestered him to start the Thunder Wings. After that, his enjoyable memories waned greatly. The responsibility of looking after human brats bored him to no end; he had a few recollections of entertainment as the leader of the Thunder Wings, such as the times when he regained portions of his form dragon powers, but those were merely momentary respites.

Then Link came to Oron City, challenging him in a battle that made his rusty arms creak and his blood boil. He followed Link because he wanted the pleasure of breaking his "Nice-Guy" attitude, but that no longer held true. The last few days were the most exciting of Suvica's human life. Beating down Gerudos, drinking barrels of alcohol by the gallons, kidnapping the Princess of Hyrule, fighting off Royal Hylian Knights, and now their mission to retrieve the Spiritual Stones; it was one fun experience after another. What would Suvica do if he left? Return to his boring life as the leader of the bratty Thunder Wings? Hell no! Too many exhilarating things happened around Link, and he wasn't about to give that up any time soon.

Suvica turned to Forest Boy, feeling his lips bend into a sneer. "I'm not leaving. You're too damn interesting to leave alone. It's been a long time since I've met anyone as insane as you. I'll stick with you until Ganondorf is dead."

"So you don't plan on killing me anymore?" Link asked.

Suvica barked in laughter. "Oh, I'm going to kill you, make no mistake about that! Do you know what I love more than breaking humans? Fights! I love battling to the point of death and back again, ripping my enemies apart while they rend and tear my scales and flesh! I've been surrounded by weaklings for so long I'd forgotten how much I love the feeling of bones snapping beneath my claws! The only reason I started breaking a human's sense of justice was because there was no one who could give me a proper challenge! You're strong, Link, and you'll only get stronger! How can I pass up the chance to kill you?"

"If that's the case, why are you going to wait until after I kill Ganondorf?"

"Because I bet there're going to be a lot of strong enemies standing between us and him! You got a chance to fight Gohma, the legendary arachnid that's been extinct for hundreds of years! How I would've relished at such a chance to fight the Parasitic Armored Arachnid! If Ganondorf summons more monsters like that you stop you, you can count on me to be there!"

"So I'm pretty much the last boss for you, aren't I?" Link chuckled.

"Damn straight," Suvica sneered. "Until then, I can't just leave and let you get killed. Remember our bet? If I'm mistaken about three things, you get to take one of my scales?"

Link nodded. "I remember."

"Then remember this! _I'm_ the one who's going to kill you! Not Ganondorf, not some random monster, or even the King of Hyrule! It'll be my hands that choke the life from your body, and don't you forget it!"

There was no fear in Link's eyes, no hesitation or doubt in his smile. Instead, he grinned back and said, "I look forward to that day, Suvica the Thunder Dragon."

Suvica cackled, feeling his long forgotten desire for blood and battle beat through his three hearts. "So do I, Link. Until then, I've got your back."

"And I've got yours," Link nodded. "After all, I can't have _you_ dying on _me_, now can I?"

"Forest Brat."

"Sparky newt."

Suvica couldn't resist a wider smile. His father once told him that having a rival, and foe who could match your every blow, was beneficial to a dragon's health. Suvica always doubted any human or dragon could possibly fill that void. Now he had Link, and he couldn't wait for the day he ripped Forest Boy's head from his shoulders. Until they, he'd bide his time.

To be honest, it was a very odd note to stop their conversation on. After pledging to kill one another, Suvica and Link were still standing around the window like best buddies. He wasn't the chattering type, but he couldn't help but feel awkward at the pause spreading between them.

"Link, remember Geezer Griffin?"

"Geezer Griffin? Your nicknames are worse than Malon's."

"Shut up and listen. What you do think about him?"

"I think he's old," Link shrugged. "Really, really old."

His answer only irritated Suvica; anyone could see the old man was ancient. "Fine, he's old. How old do you think he is? Seventy? Eighty? Heck, he could be a hundred."

Link gave it some thought; he was taking this age-guessing game too seriously. "I can't say for sure, but I'm willing to bet he's thousands of years old."

Malon, who was still playing on the spacious bed, jumped a little too high after hearing Link's words and hit her head on the ceiling. The Princess was examining a very big vase at the time, and accidentally pushed it over in surprise when she heard Link, smashing it into smithereens.

Suvica laughed. "Ha! Good one, Link! What are you going to say next? That he's King Halden himself?"

"I'd say so." Link nodded.

It took Suvica a moment to realize Link wasn't joking. "You're serious?"

"Well, yeah." Link looked to Malon and the Princess, who were both waiting for him to explain. "Am I the only one who thought there was something strange about his story?"

"If you mean by how ridiculous it sounded, yes!" Suvica replied.

"I mean the way Griffin old it." Link clarified. "When Zelda old us the story of the Skyward Hero, she told it like a story. But when Griffin talked about his version, it was like he was narrating his own past. "

The Princess practically teleported to Link's side. "Link, you can't honestly expect us to believe that kind old man is actually the First King of Hyrule!"

"I think he is."

"But Fairy Boy, what makes Elder Griffin the ancient King Halden?" Malon asked, crawling over to the three of them while rubbing her bruised head. "I mean, sure, the way he told the story sounded kind of … personal, but that doesn't mean he's King Halden!"

"He could be really senile," Suvica suggested. "Makes more sense than him being Hyrule's first king."

"It's only guesswork," Link assured them. "I noticed a few things and came to my conclusion." Everyone continued to stare at him, desperate to know what those "few things" were. Suvica admitted he was also a bit curious. "Alright, alright. Like I said before, he didn't tell his story as a storyteller; he told it as someone who had actually been there to see it. The way he expressed his emotions when he told his story convinced me he must've lived to see it."

"But that's speculation," the Princess insisted.

"That's true," Link agreed. "But remember what he said about the Gerudos being the Wings of Hyrule?"

The Princess nodded. "Yes, he said they represented the red wings on the flag of Hyrule."

"And?"

The Princess paused. "And what?"

"What else did Griffin say about the Gerudos?"

The Princess looked lost. Malon chirped in a few random answers, but none of them were actually relevant. Suvica tried to think about what Geezer Griffin said as well, but he hadn't been paying attention to the old geezer's story.

When none of them said anything, Link filled in the blanks.

"Griffin said the Gerudos were called the Wings of Hyrule when they fought on the front lines by the Hero's side."

Suvica still didn't get it. "So?"

"He said the Gerudos were called the Wings of Hyrule when he was _young_." Link finished. There wasn't any need to describe what happened next. An over-energetic ranch girl and dedicated Princess of Hyrule realized they'd met the founder and First King of Hyrule, as well as a previous companion to the Skyward Hero who slew the Demon King. They did the obvious thing to do: Faint.

Suvica had a less dramatic reaction. "I still say he's senile."

* * *

Suvica and Link carried Malon and the Princess to the bed (which could fit a hundred humans). They let the two girls snooze in peace while recovering from the initial shock.

"I still don't believe it," Suvica said as he placed Malon beside the Princess. "I mean, the whole story sounds ridiculous to begin with! He's probably nothing more than an old man who's lose a few of his marbles."

"Suvica, can you tell how someone is by how they smell?" Link asked, placing a pillow behind the Princess's head.

"Yeah, so?"

"How old did Griffin smell?"

Way too old, like a mummy that had been around for a million years. Suvica didn't say that out loud, letting his silence tell Forest Boy that the matter was dropped. In the end, even if Geezer Griffin was the First King Halden, nothing really changed. He was still a wrinkly old man that smelled of prehistoric underwear. Unless he developed some serious kung-fu over the many centuries and became an awesome warrior and worth foe, Suvica wasn't the least bit interested in him.

He slumped into the nearest chair (it was basically a cotton stuffed throne) as he took a breather; as much as he still hated to admit it, he was getting used to the stench of perfume. When the hotel owner came up to see how they were all doing, he was shocked to see the expensive silver doors knocked to the ground and his invaluable vase in pieces. The owner went into a fit of rage, demanding to know what had occurred. When Suvica told him he'd pay for the damages later, the owner went back into ass-kissing mode, saying he eagerly await his payment.

After Ass-Kisser waltzed away, Suvica tried, to his utter contempt, to persuade Blue Fluffy to fly down to the ignorantly rich people below and swipe a few of their wallets (they were bound to be loaded). Link dissuaded the idea, pointing to a group of fake-soldiers gathered on the shiny streets. He told Suvica they were warning everyone that a thieving band of "dirty commoners" had snuck into the inner city and were wanted for assaulting a soldier.

"How long do you think it'll take Ass-Kisser to realize we're the '_dirty commoners_' the soldiers are looking for and alert them?" Suvica asked, hoisting himself from the throne/chair and standing near the open window.

"Never."

"Seriously? The four of us totally fit their profile. Actually, we're the only ones who do! Do you see anyone else who's remotely dressed like us? Ass-Kisser _has_ to know we're the intruders!"

"Someday, you're going to tell me how you come up with your nicknames. It's true that he knows, but he doesn't cares. He loves his rupees way too much. The moment he turns us in, he'll be forced to return the rupees and jewels you gave him as '_evidence_.' He doesn't want that, so he's keeping his mouth shut. He's even hoping we'll pay him for his silence."

"How do you know all this?"

Link tapped his ears.

"Why do I ask?" Suvica sighed. "Rupees really are power. You could buy someone's soul with enough of them." He watched the countless number of pricey cloth wearing snobs stroll bellow them. "We really need new clothes to fit in. I bet there's not a single person here who's dressed like us '_poor_' people."

Link stopped his sword practice on the middle of the table, jumping off to join Suvica at the window. "Looks like you're wrong. Look there."

"Where?"

He stretched one arm out the window and pointed. "There."

Suvica squinted his eyes, peering past several extravagantly clothed humans to spot a lone adult female seated near a marble fountain depicting a naked human male. Link was right, this female wasn't dressed richly. All she wore was simple black blouse with a long dark dress trailing on the sleek road. Her clothes probably cost five rupees, max.

A human female wearing black clothes? That reminded Suvica of her, the witch_._ He chuckled at the prospect; maybe if she had the same black hair, small nose, and pale white eyes, she could have been her. He hadn't seen the witch who turned him into a human for several years. There was no way they could coincidentally meet up in one of the most corrupt cities in Hyrule.

Suvica took another look at the ordinarily dressed female. He saw her clothes, her body features, and then her head. The moment his eyes reached her face, his innards turned to magma. His hands clenched at the window frame with such intensity it cracked beneath his grip. The human did have long black hair. She did have a peculiarly small nose. She did have those unmistakable ghostly white eyes.

It was Sheba Moontear.

She was the human who sealed Suvica into a meat suit. Was her presence the reason why his emotions were going out of whack? Was she doing something to him, watching his frantic emotions while laughing to herself from a distance? No, none of that mattered now; Sheba Moontear was in his sights. After escaping from the witch's clutches, he regained a fraction of his dragon powers. This time, he could defeat her. This time, he would thrust his hand into her chest and wrap his fingers around her heart and force her take the seal off his body. Screw his human body, screw his human promises, screw his human companions.

He could be a dragon again.

A roar instinctively tore its way out of Suvica's throat, a blood curling howl screaming of hatred, vengeance, and blood. Everyone who heard his war cry turned their heads. He knew that if he revealed himself now, the whole city would know what kind of monster he was.

Perfect. His wings and tail exploded from his back, smashing through the walls of the hotel and sending heaps of rubble onto the streets of Denion. Humans shrieked, running about like little pests. Yes, YES! The feeling was coming back to him, the feeling of pride as humans looked up to him as an obelisk of terror. He jumped from the huge hole he tore in the hotel's wall, gliding to the street, watching as the humans scattered like bugs before his descent. He landed with a hard _smash_ on the street, cracking the ground with his feet in the most boastful way.

Sheba Moontear hadn't flinched at his arrival, nor did she seem surprised at his ability to call forth his wings and tail.

Instead, she smiled as he slowly approached towards her. "It's good to see you again, Suvica. I see parts of my spell have come undone." Sheba Moontear glanced at Suvica's wings and angrily whipping tail. He hated her voice; it was like a sob song that penetrated his heart, making it ache.

Suvica shook his head, concentrating on the sound of the frightfully screaming humans around him. "I've already broken several parts of your seal! Undo the rest now, or I'll face my wrath!"

The witch continued to smile. "You should already know how to undo the rest of the seals, Suvica. Form bonds with humans, grow to care for them, protect them, and my spell will fade away. Your wings and tail are proof that you have protected several people you care about."

_My Thunder Wings … Malon!_ A part of Suvica's mind betrayed him, letting their faces flash in his eyes. He shook his head again, shaking them from his mind. The witch was doing something to him, using her magic to make him see things while she fiddled with his brain.

"I don't care for your roundabout solutions!" Suvica bellowed, cracking open the street with a whip from his tail. "I want you to get rid of this seal, NOW!"

Sheba Moontear took another glance at him before sighing. "I thought you changed, but now I see I am mistaken. It seems the stubborn pride of a dragon is not so easy to change after all."

"I'm warning you, witch! I'm much stronger than I used to be! I'm no longer completely sealed in this body! Even if I couldn't defeat you in the past, I've regained enough of my power to kill you now!" Suvica lifted his wings and pushed, jetting out a stream of air behind him as he launched himself forward, his hands outstretched and grasping for the witch's throat.

He never got that far. One moment, his eyes could see nothing but Sheba Moontear, right in front of him. The next, she was behind him, grabbing his tail and swinging him over her head before smashing him into the ground. It couldn't be! It was always like this. The moment he thought he had her, he'd find himself thrown and defeated before knowing what happened. This couldn't be! He was stronger now! He was faster! How could the witch still surpass him?

"My poor Suvica," Sheba Moontear said, as if scolding her rebellious child. "You could not defeat me as a full dragon, so how could you hope to touch me as a partial one?"

Suvica lashed out with his tail, whipping it towards the witch's chest, hoping to catch her off guard. It didn't work. His tail, which could shatter a boulder in half with a flick, was easily caught with one hand by Sheba Moontear. She didn't stop there; once she had a firm grip on his tail, she spun, dragging Suvica along with her. The acceleration almost frightened him as his world became a spinning blur of colors while the witch swung him in circles. When she released him, he was thrown into one, two, three buildings. His head and wings jarred and shook as he collided through each regally constructed shop.

His injuries were brutal, but his rage refused to let him yield. He brushed aside the rubble with his wings and charged at the witch again, flying past the holes his tossed body made while throwing a clenched fist at the witch's face. She disappeared again, and this time he felt her elbow strike him in the back, between his wings, shoving him into the ground.

Despite the pain, Suvica lurched to his feet. The moment he did, Sheba Moontear's knee rammed into his face, snapping his head back and picking his body several feet off the street. Before he could tumble back down, a fist rammed into his chest, sending spit, sparks, and blood flying from his mouth. Several of his ribs snapped as the attack ruthlessly knocked Suvica back towards the earth.

He was curled into a ball and grasping his chest in pain as he saw the witch's feet slowly approach him from where he was laying. How could a human be so strong? When the witch stopped directly in front of his face, he had to twist his head upward to look at her. She wore that same look of pity on her face, like she couldn't help but feel disappointment in Suvica's actions. Not only that, but she was looking down on him. A mere _human_ was looking down on _him_.

Refusing to admit defeat, he grabbed one of the witch's ankles, determined to break it in his grip. Sheba Moontear raised the leg he was clutching and flung him off her foot with a shake. Suvica was thrown off, but before he could get far, the witch snatched his dangling tail again and swung his body in a wide arches above her, smashing his body into a heap of broken limbs and bent wings into the paved streets of Denion. He felt something snap in his right wing, but he jammed his teeth together to stop his scream of pain from escaping.

"Please surrender Suvica," the witch said softly. "With the mentality you hold now, you cannot defeat me. You could never defeat me. Even if you regained your original body, I could just as easily defeat you then as I did now."

Suvica shoved his feet beneath his tattered body to force himself to stand. All these years, he sought for a way to defeat Sheba Moontear, yet nothing changed. She remained overwhelmingly powerful, and he remained as a bug beneath her gaze, waiting to be stepped on by the heel of her foot. He knew he was going to be defeated, just like always, but he sure as hell wasn't going to surrender. He was a dragon. He would fight like a dragon, act like a dragon, and die like a dragon.

In a last act of defiance, Suvica tiled his head back and breathed in. The witch quickly understood what he was up to, but she was too slow to stop him. Summoning every last spark of electricity in his body, he fired a massive lightning bolt from his maw, shooting it directly towards Sheba Moontear. The electrical blast exploded with devastating power, charring the ground with a circle of black ash, yet in the center of that circle stood the witch, completely unharmed. She used magic to protect herself, forming a transparent blue dome to ward of his attack with ease.

It was over.

"Heh," Suvica chuckled past his aching body and burning throat. "I got … you to use magic. Guess … I'm improving … after all."

The witch dispersed her magic barrier with a snap from her fingers. "Indeed you are. I have underestimated your tenacity. I'm afraid I have no choice but to shatter your jaw in order to stop you now. I'm sorry, Suvica."

"Die," Suvica spat. He couldn't move his wings, his tail felt dislocated, and his arms and legs were so heavily bruised that twitching them hurt. The only thing keeping him on his feet was his pride, but it wasn't enough to get his body moving. He could only watch as the witch got closer, her fist aimed directly at his jaw.

_Damn … how am I going to eat pancakes now?_ was his final thought.

Scratch that.

Suvica's real final thought was _Wooah!_ A blue ring of magic came shooting from somewhere above him, landing right between Suvica and the witch. If the witch had struck too soon, the magical disk would've broken her arm. In this case, she jumped back just in time, putting more distance between herself and Suvica while looking around for the attacker. Suvica didn't need to look to know the source; that was Link's Disk Attack (still a lame name). He was annoyed Forest Boy was jumping in at the last second to save the day, but a little grateful his jaw was spared.

He slowly craned his head to the side, watching Link jump from the hole Suvica made on the top floor of the hotel, hitting the ground and breaking his fall with a well executed roll. As soon as he got back to his feet, he stood in front of Suvica and faced Sheba Moontear with his toothpick-sword and bark-shield at the ready.

"I don't recall … asking for your help," Suvica coughed with a few flicks of blood dripping from his mouth. He could feel his injuries healing, but the extensive damage severely slowed the process.

"I don't recall helping you. I'm only stopping a crazy strong lady from beating up you up. Don't forget, defeating you is my job. " Link replied.

Suvica laughed, but stopped when his ribs screamed at him. "What's the difference?"

"The injured lizard get's to be quiet now. Is this the one who turned you into a human?"

"Yeah, be careful. If you're going to fight her, you should know she's strong."

Link chuckled as he raised his shield. "I noticed when she started throwing you around. Still, I've always wanted to meet her. I'm actually more curious as to why she made you look like me."

This time Suvica laughed past his pain. "My safety is secondary to your curiosity. I feel insulted."

"I'll make you a pancake."

"I'll hold you to that." He didn't like admitting it, but he was also curious as to why the witch trapped him in a human body resembling Link's; it couldn't have been a coincidence. He looked past Link to see how the witch would deal with him.

Now, Suvica didn't care much about human emotions or facial expressions. Still, as a dragon, he learned what face humans put on when they were terrified. As a human, he learned how humans looked when they were sad, happy, or surprised.

Sheba Moontear's face fell under the surprised category. No, it was much more than that. It was more of an unreserved look of respite and alarm. Suvica had only seen the witch express the following emotions: Understanding and neutrality. Beyond those two, nothing else existed for the witch until today. Her mouth was opening and closing like a suffocating fish. Her hands were trembling, her body shaking, and her knees knocking. There were even tears gathered in the corner of her eyes.

"Um, Suvica?" Link whispered when he saw the witch shaking like an electrocuted Zora out of water.

"What?"

"You didn't, by any chance, zap her when I wasn't looking, did you?"

"Did you look away?"

"No."

"Did you see me successfully zap her?"

"No."

"Then I didn't."

"So what's going on?"

"No idea."

"Navi?"

"I'm here, Link," Blue Fluffy peeked out from the corner of his hood.

"You know what's going on right now?" Link asked his partner.

"I saw Suvica getting owned. It was awesome."

"I'll kill you, Blue Fluffy."

"No, not Suvica, her." Link gave his head a slight jerk towards Sheba Moontear. "You know why she's acting so funny?"

Blue Fluffy also pondered the witch's strange reaction. "I don't really know. Heart attack?"

For the second time today (damn, today was a weird day) Suvica did the impossible: He started to think. Why would the witch put him into a body resembling someone else's? Why would the witch suddenly clam up at the sight of Link, the very child she based Suvica's human form on? Seriously, Sheba Moontear was acting like a mother who'd just found her long lost child.

His mind hit pause.

He really wanted to think more on what he just said to himself (he really did), but now was no longer the time. Fake soldiers were starting to flood into the battle zone, weapons drawn and faces set in murderous sneers. One of the soldiers shouted, "That's him! That's the brat that attacked me!" Suvica didn't see who was shouting, but he got the idea.

"Looks like we've got to flee," he said aloud.

"You don't say, genius." Blue Fluffy muttered grimly.

"I'll get us out of here. Get back into the hotel! I've got a plan!" Link declared, sheathing his sword and shield and wrapping one of Suvica's heavily injured arms around his shoulder. With Forest Boy's help, Suvica managed to limp towards the hotel's front doors while an army of blood-drinking soldiers pursued them. Before Link hauled him into the hotel, Suvica took one last glance at the witch. She had one hand outstretched, like she was trying to reach for them, for Link. Her face was pained, like she couldn't bear to see Link running from her. Sheba Moontear and Link of the Lost Woods; he finally understood their relationship.

Mother and child.

* * *

EDIT: Chapter...11? I think so. Yep, Chapter 11. Here's Chapter 11 of the Three Spiritual Stone fanfiction! New character! Sheba Moontear! I know that in the game, Link's mom died after pleading the Great Deku Tree to take baby Link in. Well, since this is my fanfiction, and since it seemed cool to see a living relative of Link's in the story, I added Sheba Moontear. Plus, with her alive, I've got a lot more opportunities to expand the story.

Awesome! Look forward to Chapter 12! Will be told from Link's point of view.

EDIT: Now you all know how I feel about perfume. Plus, I redefined the relationship between Suvica and Link. Now that Suvica knows Link better, he sees Link isn't the hero Hyrule has been waiting for (yet). Thank you for reading (7/4/12)


	12. Chapter 12, A Time for Secrets

**Chapter 12**

**A Time for Secrets**

Link had only one pervading thought in his mind, even as he dragged Suvica's bruised and battered body into the Kingdom Come Hotel: _Who was that? _Sure, he'd been surprised when Suvica suddenly blew up the wall and flew from the room, but it couldn't compare to the astonishment he felt when he saw the object of Suvica's hatred. Link had pointed out the clothing, but he never took any notice to her face. When he did, his mind blanked.

He knew this person. That adult dressed in black, with night-black hair and moon-pale eyes. His conscious mind told him over and over again that this was the first time he'd laid eyes on this person, but his heart screamed, "_I know her!_"

Link could barely focus on their current situation, blankly pushing Suvica into the hotel and locking the grand double-doors shut behind him. _Who was that? Who was that? Who was that?_ He couldn't get her face out of his mind, that look of sorrow, that gesture pleading for him not to run away. He did his best to look calm, but inside, he was a vortex of chaotic emotions. What were these feelings? Sorrow? Pain? Nostalgia? Longing?

He was afraid, afraid he'd never see her again. He was afraid the once glance he gave her was the only look he'd ever get. His heart pound with one dull ache after another, and it took all his mental restraint to stop himself from turning around and running back to her.

"Link!"

Zelda's voice lanced across his consciousness, piercing his shrouded mind. The princess and Malon were leaping down the stairs two steps at a time, both of them wearing expressions of dread.

Their arrival was all Link needed to get his priorities straight; he couldn't let them get captured or hurt. His mind cleared, his heartbeat steadied, and his determination steeled his body.

He could worry about Suvica's witch later. Right now, he needed to save his friends. "Malon, Zelda! Get Suvica upstairs, back into our room!" Link glanced at Suvica's bowed head; the dragon had passed out. Simply walking back towards the hotel used what remained of Suvica's strength.

Malon was the first to help, grabbing Suvica's other arm and taking part of the burden off Link's shoulders. Zelda ran to the front doors, which thudded and groaned as soldiers pounded against the other side, placing one hand on the polished surface and whispering, "Nayru's Love!" He could feel Zelda's magic work, stemming from her chest, sliding to her arm, and streaming across the door. When she was gone, the hotel's double-doors were reinforced by a barrier of blue magic. With the door temporarily indestructible, the Denion soldier on the other side had no way in. At least, not for long. Link could hear a voice shout, "Where's the back entrance?" and another reply, "This way, sir! Follow me!"

"What should we do?" Malon nervously asked, her eyes shifting from one end of the room to another. "I think we're surrounded!"

"Zelda, I need you to help Malon take Suvica to our room!" Link said, pulling himself out from under Suvica's arm. Zelda took his place, but almost crumpled beneath Suvica's weight due to her lack of strength.

The two of them heeded his orders, carrying the dead weight Thunder Dragon. When he was in his normal human form (with his wings and tail hidden away) his weight was the as Link's. Since he'd passed out with his wings and tail sticking out, Malon and Zelda were stuck under several more pounds of unneeded weight. Still, they were going to have to make due.

"What are we going to do?" Navi asked as Malon and Zelda dragged Suvica towards the stairs. "Don't tell me you're going to fight all those soldiers!"

Link grimaced. "No, I won't. They'd tear me apart. I could use my Spin Attack, but every time I use my magic I use a portion of my physical strength as well. No, I've got another idea. Navi, how good is your nose?"

"Very good! Whoa!" Navi swerved as an arrow came shooting from a window, almost piercing her glowing blue body. Link whipped out his Fairy Slingshot, armed it with a deku seed, and retaliated at the shooter. His seed shot into the archer's eye, causing the marksman to fall back screaming.

"I need you to sniff out and tell me if there's any more of that perfume Suvica was complaining about. Preferably in bottles or barrels. We need them!"

Navi glowed an incredulous color. "Are you going to _stink_ the soldiers to death?"

Link almost rolled his eyes. "What do you think?"

"I think I should find you that perfume." She buzzed her wings at full speed, darting upstairs and starting from the top floor. While she searched floor by floor, Link heard the soldiers' footsteps circling around the hotel, towards the back. Remembering what they'd said about a back entrance, he dashed for the rear doorway in the kitchen behind the lobby room. He bolted the door shut and pushed a few food filled crates behind the door in order to keep it shut. The moment he was done, soldiers turned the door handle, and when that failed, they pounded away at the obstacle.

"Link! I found them!"

Link ran back towards the lobby as the soldiers started hacking the door apart with their swords and spears. Navi was hovering over the counter, using her flying body to draw a glowing arrow towards one of the many cupboards. He hopped over the counter and pulled open the mini-doors to reveal several rows of bottled, liquid perfume.

"It was right here this whole time, yet you started at the top floor?" Link asked with a playful grin, grabbing all the bottles of perfume and stuffing them into the Pouch.

"Last I remembered, the smell was strongest at the top. I couldn't smell the ones here because they were bottled." Navi snapped back, looking slightly irritated with herself. "And just to let you know, the other tenants in this place are freaking out. They've locked themselves in their own rooms and refuse to come out. Now tell me and tell me quick: What do you need perfume for?"

"I'm going to—" He was interrupted by the sound of smashing glass. The Denion soldiers, who couldn't break down the doors, were forcing their way in through the windows. Thankfully, the windows' small frames and the soldiers' bulky armor didn't mix with one another. Resolving to show Navi what his plan entailed rather than explain it, Link ran towards the base of the stairs leading to the higher floors of the hotel and began throwing the perfume bottles at the center of the room. The glass containers smashed apart as they hit the rug, spreading the smelly liquid across the floor. One of the soldiers almost made his way through the window he squeezing through; Link rewarded his efforts with an accurate perfume bottle to the face. The soldier howled like he was being burned alive as the liquid got into his eyes, nose, and mouth.

"This stuff really is dangerous," Link noted, furiously chucking one bottle of perfume after another into the gathering pool in the center of the room. Every now and then he threw a bottle at a soldier close to entering the lobby room via the windows. His accurate aim hampered their progress greatly and he persisted with his efforts until he'd used all the perfume bottles stashed in the Pouch; more than eighty bottles. By now, the collective smell of perfume was overpowering, fogging up the air while making breathing a painful chore. It was a good thing Suvica is out cold.

Link considered scouring the hotel for any more bottles he could get his hands on, but knew play time was over. He heard the rear door in the kitchen break open the same time the blue barrier reinforcing the front door disappeared.

"Let's … _cough _… go Navi!" Link shouted past the smog of perfume. Navi, who was looking a nauseous green, weakly fluttered towards him. She never made it to his hood as her wings gave out midflight; Link caught his fairy partner before she fell to the floor and held her gently in his hands. The front door was soon kicked in, and soldiers poured into the hotel. They stopped several feet from the small lake of perfume piled in center of the lobby, scrunching their faces and plugging their noses with their fingers. With the preparations set, Link grabbed one of the several candle-lit lanterns hanging from the walls.

"What are you … doing?" Navi asked, her voice pained as the perfume overwhelmed her sense of smell.

Link couldn't resist a grin. "You smell that?"

"You mean a glob of really bad smelling water?"

"There's that. But I smell flammable liquid." With that, he threw the lantern into the pooled liquid perfume. Even before the lantern struck the ground, he was bolting up the stairs with Navi shielded in his hands. He didn't need to see the perfume being set ablaze, because he could feel it. From the second floor, his skin cringed at the spike in temperature while the ignited flames roared. Several of the soldiers howled in pain, but Link didn't pay them any mind; they shouldn't have come after him and his friends.

He raced up the stairs and arrived at the only room on the top floor. Suvica was still unconscious and sprawled on the bed, but Zelda and Malon were leaning their heads out the open window, watching smoke billow from the first floor below.

"Link!" Zelda exclaimed when she noticed him and Navi enter the room. "By the goddesses, what did you do?"

"I started a fire."

Her eyes widened. "Did … did you harm … no, never mind, now is not the time. How will we escape? The bottom floor is burning, and it is only a matter of time before the fire brings down this building. We cannot rely upon Suvica, for his wings are in the worst shape I've seen to date. Do you have a plan to get us out safely?"

"Always." Link replied, placing Navi in her hands before heading towards one of the giant vases in the room.

"What's the matter with Navi?" Zelda asked, keeping stride with his steps.

"She has a big nose, that's all."

"Please Link, what are you planning?"

"You'll see. Since this is a city filled with a lot of rich people, there's no way they'll let the fire I started destroy one of their precious hotels. They'll put it out for sure. Until then, we've got to use what time we have to our advantage."

"Advantage? How?"

Link grinned. "Watch and learn, my princess. Malon, get Suvica off the bed and wake him up. I need that blanket and his foul mouth."

* * *

Heath wondered when his life took such a drastic change. Was it when Noble Arthicus died? Was it when that scum Pavo took over Denion City? Was it when Pavo let these low-life bandits, thieves, and murders wear the proud armor of a Hylian soldier? Was it when he was ordered to "relocate" the poor, hard-working people of the city into the Black Ring? Or was it when he watched his own family, his wife and son, get nearly killed by the undead in one of Pavo's sick "punishment games?"

He used to be an upstanding Hylian soldier, serving Noble Arthicus, upholding justice for his kingdom. Now he was reduced to hunting down children, poor children, who snuck into the Gold Haven to find a better place to live. There was no escape for them now; they were cornered, and several of his fellow "soldiers" sustained burns from the children's otherwise ingenious fire plan. However, these burned killers wanted blood; they were going to rush into Kingdom Come Hotel and slaughter those children for the sheer pleasure of it. The fire was being put out with relative ease as citizens from the Black Ring were being dragged in for manual labor. They formed a line between the burning hotel and the closest fountain of water, passing buckets of water to one another before splashing it against the flames. Heath looked around, watching the other higher aristocrats point laughing fingers at the tattered citizens of Denion. If Heath wasn't dependent on his pay as a soldier to buy his family out of the Black Ring, he would've gladly hacked apart these higher class scum and danced on their dead bodies.

"Look out!"

Heath snapped out of his thoughts, looking up to watch a vase worth thousands of rupees get thrown out of the torn-open wall on the top floor of Kingdom Come Hotel. Several of the cutthroat-soldiers scattered to avoid the falling artifact, but two scumbags weren't so lucky.

"Nice shot, kid," Heath muttered with a bit of respect. But the priceless projectiles didn't stop; next were the pillows, chairs, tables, silverware, plants, paintings, and bars of soap. Not only that, one of the children was shouting at them, spewing insults and rude names their parents would've been ashamed about. From all the shouting and furniture throwing, there was no doubt those kids had holed themselves up on the top floor of the hotel. What were they doing? They were supposed to be using this chance to escape! Then a terrible thought crept into Heath's head: Perhaps the children had forfeited their lives and were making a final stand.

Heath's conclusion solidified as the children showed no signs of stopping their assault of furniture and rude names.

In no time, the fire in the lobby room was put out. The lower citizens were kicked back out into the Black Ring, and the soldiers-mocking bandits were flooding into Kingdom Come Hotel with their weapons drawn; Heath did his duty and joined their ranks. Yet before they reached the second floor, everyone paused when an earsplitting crash came from the top floor. The pause only lasted for a second before the criminal-soldiers went back to flaunting their swords while shouting for blood. Heath threw in a few fake battle cries while flailing his sword like a caveman; perhaps if he reached the top floor before the others he could protect the children.

No luck with that. Several false-soldiers reached the top floor before he could. When they entered, Heath expected to hear the bloody cutthroats shout out a few shrills of joy while the children screamed in terror.

Neither happened.

Instead, the criminal-soldiers who entered only gave out a few confused murmurs. When Heath barged into the room, he understood why. It was almost cleared out (since all the furniture and room decorations had been used as projectiles) except for the King's Bed and the Knight's Drawers, two room appliances too large for any child to lift, much less throw.

"Where are they?"

"Those brats couldn't have gotten away!"

"Find them! Find them and kill them!"

"Over here! I found something!"

Heath and the other bloody-bandits pushed their way into the needlessly large restroom; he gave himself a few seconds to understand what he was looking at. A gigantic tear ripped open the backside of the bathroom wall. It looked as though someone ripped it open with a massive sword. Heath might've supposed the dragon child was responsible for this destruction, but he knew that was impossible. When he arrived, he watched Lady Moontear defeat the monstrosity; from the extent of the dragon child's injuries, there was no way the beast still had the strength to stand. So who could've created this fissure?

"Look at this!" one of the soldiers pointed. The blanket from the King's Bed had been cut and tied together to make a rope. One end of the make-shift rope was tied to the sink, while the other end hung outside the gash in the wall, leading to the ground below.

"They escaped!" Heath shouted, hoping the cutthroats around him couldn't detect the relief in his voice.

"Follow them, damn it! I want their heads on a plate!"  
"Those brats burned my face! I'll make sure to return the favor!"

"Let's leave this dump! We've got kids to kill!"

Although Heath applauded their efforts in escaping, he knew these children still had no hope of eluding death. These false-soldiers didn't follow any rules or regulations, but when they wanted blood they were keener than blood-hounds. The city was locked down, so they had no means of escaping Denion. It was only a matter of time before they were caught and killed. All they had done was delay the inevitable.

"Come on! Let's get them!"

"They're not in here, so there's no point in staying! Move it!"

Heath moved his body with a heavy heart and dragging feet. No matter where these kids went, as long as they were in this city ruled by that scum Pavo, there was nowhere for them to run. He gave the spacious condo one last glance before leaving with the others. He was the last one to go, waiting for the blood-drinking trash of Denion to depart first. When he crossed the threshold, a thought came to light.

One of those children also had the power of a monster, for how else could he create such a large gash in such a sturdy wall. If that were the case, why didn't they fight back? Why did they flee without demonstrating their unearthly might? Perhaps Heath had missed something, perhaps there was more to this escape than he expected. He shook his head laughed. The notion was preposterous; their fleeing criminals were naught but children, so how could any of them devise a ploy that could outsmart an adult?One thing was for sure; those children weren't in this room.

* * *

The moment Link heard the armored footsteps echo away and out of the room, he rolled his body and shoved. The spacious drawer slowly slid open, and he crawled out. He took a deep breath as he closed the bottom drawer and pulling the middle one open, revealing Zelda, Malon, and Navi; they scurried out with looks of relief.

"It worked! That was a really cool idea, Fairy Boy!" Malon applauded, dancing in her white dress. "We make it look like we ran away when we were actually still in the room! They won't come back, will they?"

"They won't. They think we're somewhere else, and in their minds, this room is the last place we'd been in. That's why it'll be the last place they look," Link assured and he pulled open the top drawer. Suvica, wide awake with his broken wings and tail withdrawn into his body, was seething inside.

"They gone?" He asked, his voice teething with violence.

"They're gone."

"Too bad. I was hoping to tear off a few heads, yours included." Suvica spat, trying to pull himself out. His strength failed him, so Link helped carry him out of the large clothes dresser.

"Tear off my head? I saved your jaw _and_ your life," Link reminded.

"And then you bashed my head with your toothpick to wake me up, tortured me with all that perfume on your body, and then started slapping me with your boot! I've never cursed so much in one day!" Suvica took in a sharp intake of air when Link pulled the dragon to his feet.

"I never knew soldiers held such hatred in their hearts," Zelda murmured absentmindedly to herself. She heard everything the Denion soldiers said while they hid in the drawers.

Suvica forced out a laugh from his broken ribs. "Soldiers? They stink of blood and guts! They're nothing more than cutthroats dressed in armor! Most of the normal soldiers probably threw down their swords, so the Noble running Denion filled their missing ranks with thieves, bandits, and murderers."

Zelda sighed. "That is disappointing to hear."

"How come you're not getting depressed, like always?" Suvica demanded. "Seeing your gloomy face is one of the few pleasures of my life."

The princess gave the wounded Thunder Dragon a hard stare. "You've trained me well, unfortunately."

Suvica laughed to that.

"Fairy Boy, how'd you know perfume burned like that?" Malon asked. "Do you have perfume back at the Kokiri Village?"

"It wasn't anything complicated. There's a fruit that grows outside the Kokiri Village called a Vodna Fruit. I broke one open before and almost burned down part of the Kokiri Forest. The stuff you call perfume had a similar smell to it, so I thought it'd be flammable as well." Link answered, helping Suvica sit on the bed.

Malon made a face. "I always liked perfume, but now I'm not so sure."

Link grinned at her reaction, but his mirth quickly died down as his instincts felt a set of eyes watching them. He could feel their eyes on his back. His ears picked up the softest sound of shuffling feet, so soft it could've been mistaken for a breeze; Link's ears were never mistaken.

"But what should we do now?" Zelda asked, recalling his attention. "We have escaped for now, but that cannot last for long. They will find us as long as we stay in this corrupted city, and we have no way to leave."

"Maybe she can help us," Link suggested, turning towards the knocked down silver doors. Everyone followed his gaze, and a lean female figure stepped into view; Link's chest ached as nostalgia flared inside him.

It was the female who'd beaten Suvica black and blue, standing at the threshold of their room with her eyes focused solely on Link, just as his attention was completely captured by her. She was really pretty, despite with her abnormally pale eyes. Her black hair flowed smoothly along her shoulders and her face held a mixture of sorrow, regret, and relief.

While Link puzzled over the identity of the female before them, Malon jumped forward and answered that question for him. "Mrs. Moontear! It's so good to see you again!" She cried as she threw her arms around the female

"Malon, it's been too long," Moontear greeted, returning the small gesture of affection.

"You know who this is?" Link demanded.

Malon looked away from Moontear and nodded happily. "This is Sheba Moontear! She helped me when my mom died! She's a really nice lady!

"She's a witch!" Suvica bellowed from the bed, struggling to get his battered body back onto his feet.

"Calm down, Suvi! You'll hurt yourself if you move too much!" Malon pleaded, jumping onto the bed and lightly pressing down on his shoulders with her hands to keep him still. The dragon settled down thanks to her efforts, something that surprised the female immensely.

A smile shone on her face, and Link could feel his heart throb in response. "Perhaps I was wrong after all, Suvica. It seems your heart has been changing." Her voice called forth emotions of yearning and reminiscence Link had never experienced before. His heart pounded with increasing intensity, unconsciously causing his hand to claw at his chest. Memories, degraded by time, flashed in his eyes, causing a small headache to burn behind his eyes. The memories were so faint and obscure he could make nothing of them, but there was one fact he could not refute: He knew this person.

Moontear caught a glimpse of Link's bewildered face. "Perhaps I should fully introduce myself. My name is Sheba Moontear," she said, giving a little curtsy. "Since you know Suvica's true identity, then you must also be aware that I am the one who sealed the Thunder Dragon into a human form. Some of you many have a few questions, but I ask that you be patient. The soldiers of Denion are searching for you. All of you will be safer at my place."

Suvica was the first to protest, squirming past Malon's hands and sitting his body upright. "Never! I'd rather die before accepting your help!"

Link spun around and knocked Suvica out with a back kick to the dragon's face. "We'd love your help." He said as soon as the dragon was unconscious again.

Sheba nodded gratefully. She didn't look disturbed by Link's violent kick; in fact, she looked rather pleased. "Please gather around Suvica."

Everyone complied. Since Malon was already sitting over the unconscious dragon, Link sat to Suvica's left and Zelda took his right. Navi rested on his lap, whispering that she needed to wash the smell of perfume from her wings at the soonest possible moment.

Sheba extended her arms, like a gesture to embrace them all, before whispering, "Farore's Wind." Threads of green magic flowed from her finger tips, swirling around them as a light gale of wind. As the magic continued to stream from Sheba, Link noticed she was dissolving into her spell, becoming one with the whirl of wind encasing them all. He nearly jumped off the bed when he realized his own body was dissolving into flecks of green light, along with Zelda, Malon, Navi, and Suvica. As the process continued, their bodies disappeared as they became one with the mild torrent surrounding them. When Link's body completely dispersed into the small storm, so did the others.

Flowing within the river of magic was the shortest and strangest experience Link had ever undergone. He had no physical body or eyes, yet he could still feel and see everything around him. He couldn't see the others but he knew they were close by. He watched as the ground shrunk beneath them as they flew higher and higher. Once they were circling over the entirety of the city, their ascent stopped as they slopped downward and rocket towards Denion. They zigzagged past buildings, statues, and people at such a high speed they would've crashed into every obstacle they crossed if they still had their physical bodies. The trip ended when they dove into a house located in the wealthy center of the city. Link had a fraction of a second to see the structure before they ran into it. It was the only rundown house in the rich center of Denion City. It was a small, three-story building patched together with the carpentry skills of a novice, with a single window on the third floor and no fancy decorations. The building was so short in comparison to the mansions neighboring it that the two manors on either side of the small house used it as a support stone to connect the two buildings.

The whole trip, from the hotel to the diminutive home, took two seconds. Taking a tour of the city in the span of two seconds in an astral body left Link a little disoriented. As soon as Sheba's magic reconstructed his physical body, he found himself in a pitch black room. A foot behind him, he heard a body hit a soft surface; most likely the unconscious dragon. A few feet to his right, someone yelped after a flutter of papers reached his ears; definitely Malon. Directly in front, someone tripped and bumped into him, burying their face into his chest. Link grabbed the individual and steadied himself before they both fell over; from the shape and size of her body and waist, Link could tell it was Zelda.

"Forgive me, I left the lights off," Sheba's said, her voice coming from beside him. She had one hand affectionately placed on his shoulder, but drew away when a blaze of light momentarily blinded him. After his eyes adjusted to the several candles haphazardly stationed all across the room, he saw how small Sheba's home really was. A solitary bed, crafted from the most basic of materials, was pushed again one corner of the room, taking up a fourth of the floor. A worn out yet sturdy table, with its two stools, took up another half the room; the hand-carved table was buried beneath bubbled tubes brimming with varying potions and stacks of parchment. Taking up the remaining fourth of the floor was a stone stove; there was barely any leg space between these three home appliances. The shabby door leading outside was wedged on the cracked wall between the desk and the stove. In total, Link guessed the room was around six by ten feet wide, with the ceiling seven feet above them. He was interested to see greenery thriving on the ceiling, dangling down a large diversity of medical herbs he couldn't identity (which was surprising, since he lived in Hyrule's largest forest for twelve years). There was a ladder, missing a few pegs, in the corner of the room beside the bed, leading to a second floor of Sheba's little cave. Link had a gut feeling that the second floor was even smaller than the first. The last thing to catch his attention was a little shelf above the creaking table; it was filled with an assortment of random trinkets, ranging from rusted copper rings to wooden teeth. A picture, encased in an ivory frame, stood out amongst the self's baubles, but Sheba took the photo and laid it face-down before he could see what it was.

"Wow, this place is tiny," Malon said after unburying herself from a particular pile of papers she knocked off the table. "Why didn't you stay at your old place, Mrs. Moontear? It was so much nicer!"

"I go where I am needed," Sheba replied, letting her fingers linger on the lowered picture frame. "It is as simple as that."

Navi hovered in a circle around the small jungle spawning from the ceiling. "Qwiqwi lilies, deku fig roots, Hylian resin leaves! These are all super rare, super potent medical plants! Where'd you find all of them?"

"I have my ways."

Zelda, who noticed her face was inches from Link's, pushed herself off and landed uncouthly on the bed, where Suvica was passed out. "I-I-I'm sorry!"

"What for?"

"N-N-Nothing in particular!" she stuttered, needlessly straightening her hair. When she calmed down, she took their surroundings into consideration. "Where are we? A storage area?"

Sheba, seated in one of the two stools at the table, smiled. "My home, to be correct." Zelda was on her feet and apologizing several times over. "No need to worry, my dear. My humble residence is the smallest within Denion. I prefer it this way. A life of riches and comfort is not for me. Tea, anyone?"

"I'd like some," Link agreed.

"Me too," Zelda added.

"Me three!" Malon chipped in happily.

Sheba obliged. Link, Zelda, and Malon had to press themselves against the warm walls to make room for Sheba as she shuffled through her cramped home. She turned on the cold stove with a snap of her fingers, causing everyone to jump when a small fire ignited itself. First the magical barrier that blocked Suvica's lightening, then the teleportation magic which brought them here, and now the fire. Sheba was clearly a proficient magic wielder.

"Where did you get your magic?" Link asked, hoping Sheba would reveal more about herself.

"I was born with my arcane abilities," Sheba answered, magically summoning a tin kennel and three small cups from a cupboard under the bed; the kennel bumped into Link's leg as it floated out. "For me, using magic is as natural as breathing. I've been able to harness its power since I was a baby." She plucked a few of the non-medical plants hanging above them and dipped them in the kennel before drawing a steady stream of water from the faucet on the side of the stove. After adding all the ingredients, Sheba closed the top of the kennel and let it sit in the stove's flames. "It will take a few minutes, so please make yourselves comfortable until then."

Finding comfort was almost impossible with five people stuffed inside a clay cabinet, but Link tried his best. He took a seat on the stool near the table, while Zelda remained on the edge of the bed with her legs folded to her chest. Suvica still passed out behind the princess, so Malon preoccupied herself by repeatedly poking Suvica's nose.

As a minute passed, the only noise to be heard was the soft growl of the stove's flames, Suvica's snoring, Malon's poking, the stomping of armored boots outside, the humming of Navi's wings, and the faraway wailing of the Kingdom Come Hotel's owner.

"I'm surprised," Sheba said, breaking the semi-silence. "Is it not customary for guests to introduce themselves to their host?"

Zelda was already stumbling over herself; she was acting oddly nervous around Sheba. "I-I'm terribly sorry! My name is Zelda! These are my companions, Link, Malon, and Navi the fairy! I'm sure you're already acquainted with Suvica."

"Zelda? As in Princess Zelda of Hyrule?"

"N-N-N-N-No! Not me! No way! I'm just Zelda! Common girl Zelda! Farm girl Zelda! There is absolutely no relation between me and Princess Zelda! None! Nothing!"

_Overboard_, Link thought, resting his chin on his hand with his elbow propped on the table.

"It's very interesting for a girl of common birth to hold a royal name," Sheba noted with a smile. Link knew Sheba saw right through Zelda's fumbled attempt at a lie; the question now was what she would do with such information. "And you are a fairy of the Lost Woods?" She asked, turning to Navi.

"That's me," Navi said with a nod.

"It's nice to see you again," Sheba said with a smile. "I'm glad your rebirth went as you hoped. Your name is Navi now?"

Navi's blue glow flickered. "Yes."

Link looked back and forth between Navi and Sheba; whatever secret existed between the two of them, he was sure they weren't planning on sharing it.  
"It's a lovely name, much better than your previous one," Sheba said; there as a crafty twinkle in her eyes. When the tea kennel started spewing steam, she doused the fire with a wave from her hand and poured the tea into the three cups. She handed Zelda and Malon theirs with a smile, but when she passed Link his, she gingerly placed the cup on the table in front of him, like she was trying to avoid all physical contact.

"Thanks," Link said thickly, rather put off by her distant attitude towards him. Sheba's only response was to nod. He felt irritation sprout in his chest, but his annoyance slowly soothed away when the scent of the tea reached his nose: Fresh leaves and mint. Carefully, he tipped the cup towards his lips, taking a small sip. The taste was nostalgic, like everything else about Sheba. Zelda and Malon were enjoying their drinks as well; Malon was already asking for seconds.

"Mrs. Sheba!" She exclaimed as she eagerly awaited for more tea. "Why are you at Denion? Last time we met, you were running a little medicine shop in Narnin Village!"

"As I said before, I got wherever I am needed," Sheba replied, handing Malon her refill. "I'm sure you saw the state of Denion City, the gap between the wealthy and the poor. There are many who need my help, which is why I'm here. Now, what brings you children to Denion City?" Zelda turned to Link; she didn't know whether it was wise to tell Sheba the truth or not.

Link answered in her place. "We're headed for Death Mountain. We want to meet the Gorons."

"That's a perilous journey for children such as yourselves."

"We did have a Thunder Dragon with us," Link said, motioning towards the unconscious Suvica. "Did you have to beat him so badly?"

Sheba put on a sad smile. "It's been three years since I last saw Suvica. I met him four years ago when he was a wild dragon, a slave to his destructive impulses, an eager servant to his own desires. I hoped to show him that the world is more than just the strong killing the weak, so I made him human."

"That's astounding," Zelda breathed, looking extremely impressed. "The magically quantity for such a feat must've been astronomical! The numerous layers of Inherited and Original spells, piled atop of one another while coordinating in flawless magi-motional constructs, couldn't have been easy to pull off!"

There was a mischievous gleam in Sheba's pale eyes. "You certain know a great deal about magic for a farm girl, little Zelda."

The princess's mouth yammered open and close as she tried to find a suitable excuse for her knowledge of magic.

"You could have just killed him," Link interjected. Zelda snapped her mouth shut and Malon flinched at the coldness in his words, but Sheba's smile persisted.

"And what would that have achieved? I kill one dragon, and many more might attack in revenge. I reform one dragon, and perhaps I can seal the rift between our two species. After I changed Suvica into a human boy, I had him travel with me for a year. We wandered all across Hyrule, acting as a doctor and her … assistant. I hoped Suvica might have a change of heart from his experience."

"I don't think it worked out that well," Link said, draining the last of his tea and spinning the empty cup on the tip of his index finger.

"Suvica's favorite phrase is '_once a dragon, always a dragon_', and I doubt that's changed during the time we've spent apart." Sheba said, taking the towel hanging beside the stove and dousing it in cold water. She passed it to Malon, saying "Here, place that on his forehead." Malon slapped it onto Suvica's face. "Dragons are hardy creatures, but they are not indestructible. Their regenerative powers are limited; if they are too badly wounded, they cannot heal all their injuries."

"I'm curious," Zelda spoke. "Why would you want to reform a dragon? For what purpose would you go through the trouble of turning a dragon into a human? It's just so … illogical."

Sheba's laughter flowed within their small abode. "It is because it is illogical that I tried. We can never experience change unless someone is willing to act, regardless of how hopeless the situation seems. Dragons are very avatars of destruction and power, so why would one willingly stoop to a human's level in order to understand us? To a dragon, we are little more than ants nibbling at their claws. I made Suvica human because I hoped he would become a friend to Hyrule, and not a destroyer. Would that not be wonderful?"

"Definitely," Malon agreed readily, making sure the damp towel on Suvica's forehead stayed in place.

"But why?" Link asked. "It sounds a bit too … random. You found a dragon and suddenly decided to make him human so he won't hate us? I'm betting he hates humans even more than before."

"I had to try, no matter the odds placed against me," Sheba said firmly. "Have you never embarked on a task that was destined for failure?"

Link tensed as the melancholy in his belly was burned away with a scorching hatred. Did Sheba know something about the Great Deku Tree and his demise? His chest smoldered as he resisted the urge to blurt out the Great One's death and throw all the blame at Sheba. He didn't know where this feeling of fault was stemming from; the Great Deku Tree's death was Ganondorf's fault, his knew that. So why did he feel like accusing Sheba of every hardship and painful moment in his life?

"Yes," Link said tersely, turning his head away from the others so no one could see his internal conflict. "It was the worst moment in my life, knowing I could've saved someone if I'd only acted fast enough."

"Then you may understand why I did what I did. Suvica is still a young dragon; there is still much time left before he becomes something he will never be able to turn away from. He could become the one dragon who speaks on the behalf of Hyrule, preventing another Reign of Fire."

Link looked back to Sheba, driven by curiosity. "A what?"

"The Reign of Fire, the day fire rained from the skies and dragons ruled over the land of Hyrule," Zelda replied. "Hundreds of years ago, there was relative peace between Hyrule and the dragons. Then out of nowhere, they attacked, lead by a dragon who hated Hyrule with a vengeance. He was the strongest of his kind, a Fire Serpent Dragon by the name of Volvagia. Under his merciless reign, the dragons nearly razed Hyrule to the ground. Thankfully, the Gorons forged a weapon from their finest steel. It bore no enchantments of enhancement or durability, yet it was a weapon some say is equal to the Skyward Hero's Master Sword. With that weapon, the King of the Gorons slew Volvagia and joined the ranks of Hyrule's legendary heroes.

"Unfortunately, the Reign of Fire destroyed much of Hyrule, and to this day, the people fear the day another dragon invasion arrives," Sheba said. "Many were understandably terrified when Suvica appeared from Ash Mountain, the dwelling place of the dragons, and began destroying whatever he pleased. It is also the reason why I spared his life and made him human. As a human, he can understand us, and hopefully become the defender Hyrule needs from another Reign of Fire."

Link nodded; it made sense. Suvica was rather terrifying the way he was. He didn't want to image him as a complete dragon with a thousand more of his brethren flocking into Hyrule.

"But your seal appears to be unraveling," Zelda pointed out. "I am sure you've already seen his wings and tail. He has even regained the natural ability to breathe lightning. Is it because he's breaking your seal?"

"He is, but not in the way he believes. I modified the seal on his body so that it will gradually crumble away. The more self-sacrificing, the more human, he becomes the more my seal will disappear. The fact that he's regained so much of his former body is proof of his change. I'm rather proud of his progress. It's rather like …" Sheba's eyes were fixed in front of her. "… like watching my child grow up."

Link's heart tried beating its way out of his throat, but he held it in.

"But what if he keeps doing just that?" Zelda asked, looking worried. "What if he comes to understand how your seal is coming undone and uses that to his advantage? He could begin rescuing others not for the sake of becoming more human, but in order to break your spell on him. He'll return to his original form while still carrying all his hatred towards Hyrule!"

"That won't happen," Sheba assured. "In order for portions of my spell to unravel, Suvica must _want_ to protect someone else, and it cannot be just anyone, it has to be someone he deeply cares about. Additionally, he cannot regain his true form through good deeds alone. The final portion of my seal, the part of my spell that completely binds away his dragon form, can only be broken with a certain event."

"Which is?"

Sheba smiled. "A secret."

"What? Why?" Zelda asked, looking disappointed to miss out on such vital information. "I promise I won't tell Suvica! You can trust me!"

"I know I can," Sheba nodded. "But I cannot tell you while the dragon in question is eavesdropping on me."

Before the meaning of Sheba's words had time to sink in, Suvica shot onto his feet, causing the princess to jump into Sheba's arms in surprise. "Damn you, witch! You couldn't make things easy, could you?"

"Why would I do something like that?" Sheba asked sweetly, patting the startled Zelda on the back. "How long have you been awake?"

"The moment you started talking about the Reign of Fire!" Suvica snapped. "I don't buy it! Your spell isn't coming undone because I'm acting weak when I feel like it! It's breaking because your measly seal can't hold me any longer! Just you wait, witch! I'll break out of this meat suit in a month, and then I'll come back to crush you!"

Suvica's threats only amused Sheba further. "If you truly believed you were undoing my spell with your own power, you would not have attacked me earlier, demanding that I undo my seal."

"S-Shut up! It only did that because I wanted to be free _now_ instead of _later_!" Suvica argued. "In fact, why don't we start where we left off? I'll going to rip—!"

"SUVI!" Malon's hands were on Suvica's shoulders as she yanked him back into the bed. "You're still hurt! You don't get to fight anymore, not until you're healed!"

"Y-You can't stop me!"

Malon slapped the wet towel onto Suvica's face. "Hmm, that's true. Mrs. Sheba? Does Suvi have any weaknesses?"

"Don't compare me to some human with a weak ankle!" Suvica shouted, trying to wriggling his way out of Malon's hands. Whether it was because he was too injured to summon any strength or because he didn't want to accidentally hurt her, the flailing dragon continued to stay beneath Malon's grasp.

"The left side of his stomach is very ticklish," Sheba answered.

"Oh really?" Malon giggled, looming over Suvica as her hands drifted towards the designated target. All of sudden, she was the hunter and the dragon was the prey.

Link couldn't resist a good laugh as Suvica turned as white as the bed sheets beneath him. "You wouldn't … you wouldn't! NOOO! GAH! HA HA HA! STOP … NO … REALLY! HA HA, STOP! I CAN'T … HA HA … I CAN'T! NOOOOOO!"

Several minutes later, Suvica was meekly twitching in the corner of the bed, with foam spilling from the corner of his mouth. Malon, on the other hand, looked as though she had the time of her life, and was beaming appreciatively at Sheba.

"Are … are all dragons this vulnerable to tickling?" Zelda asked, scooting away from the foaming dragon to sit on the creaking stool across the clustered table from Link.

"No, but I had to give Suvica's human body a certain vulnerability to keep him under my thumb," Sheba said with one hand over her mouth to stop herself from falling into a pit of hysteria.

With Suvica, once again, out of commission, Link asked the question that was bugging him the most. "Why does Suvica look like me? If you're the one who gave him his human body, then you're the one who made him look like that."

Sheba answered his question with a steady voice, but she was a little too quick to reply. "Believe it or not, it was by random chance. Suvica's physical form happened to coincide with yours, Link. I know the chances of such a coincidence are miniscule, almost non-existent. But it exists, and no matter how small the odds are, as long as it does, it means there's a possibility of it occurring. I was just as surprised to see a boy with the same face as Suvica's. Believe me." Zelda and Malon accepted Sheba's words without a trace of doubt, but Link was nowhere close to accepting her lies. Her answer was too quick, too perfect. It was like she'd expected his question and had prepared her response.

He wasn't buying any of it, and resumed his glare at the elusive Sheba.

"Are any of you hungry?" Sheba asked, abruptly changing the topic.

"A little." Link grunted.

Zelda nodded. "Just a bit."

Malon was drooling. "Totally!"

Suvica was screaming. "Never! I'll never eat your poisoned gunk, witch!" The dragon had recovered from his ticklish ordeal, wiping the froth gathered around his chin with his shirt.

"Sit down and eat," Link ordered. "Sheba's offering us a place to stay and a warm meal to boot. Why should we say no?"

"I'm not staying another minute in this witch's cave!" Suvica tried getting onto his feet, but Malon dropped on top of his chest, pinning him down while enthusiastically wriggling her fingers, daring the dragon to defy her. "Never mind. I'm hungry. What's for dinner?"

"I suppose after the commotion you've caused today, you could all use a hot bowl of soup," Sheba offered; she clapped her hands to call forth an assortment of pots and bowls from beneath the bed. "Also, it'll take some time for the ruckus to die down, so laying low at my home is a reasonable idea."

"Never, witch!" Suvica cried, the same moment everyone else willingly agreed to Sheba's suggestion; he glared at them all with a look of betrayal.

"Don't put on such a sour face, Suvi," Malon said, patting his head. "I'm sure you'll be up in a jiffy." Link was sure Suvica didn't want to be "up in a jiffy," he wanted to get out right now. Regardless, after his one-sided fist festival with Sheba, the dragon lacked any strength whatsoever to do so. Since he wouldn't be getting his way, Suvica resigned himself to their stay, but not peacefully. He continued to squirm and pout under Malon's watch eyes, occasionally blowing several sparks into the walls.

As Suvica entertained Malon with his ability to make smoke rings, Zelda leaned across the table, pushing aside a pile of scrolls to see Link's face. "Link?"

"What's up?"

"I wanted to thank you, for everything you've done," Zelda said, folding her hands and twiddling her thumbs. "If it were not for you, I'm sure we would have all perished back at Kingdom Come Hotel."

"You don't need to thank me. You're all my friends. There's no way I was about to let any of you die. Besides, burning all that perfume was actually kind of fun," Link said lightly, keeping his eyes focused on Sheba. He could tell she was listening, even while dicing a pair of potatoes with a kitchen knife (her knife blurred from the sheer speed it was moving at).

"We both still stink to high heaven," Navi grumbled, making herself comfortable on his head.

"Nevertheless, I still feel the urge to express my gratitude," Zelda continued. "But if you could tell me one thing: How do you do it?"

Link turned to Zelda; her eyes were focused on her folded hands. "Do what?"

"Stay calm? How can you formulate a plan in such a dire situation? I must admit … I panicked. I was afraid. My mind was fogged with fear, and I could barely see straight, let alone think of a means of escape." Zelda sounded troubled; she couldn't forgive herself for being so helpless. "How did you do it? How can you devise such brilliant plans? How can to be so … courageous?"

"Courageous?" Link took a moment to stop and think. He'd never thought about it until now, but when he took a step back and replayed his actions from a different view, he supposed "courageous" was one way to put his impulsive behavior. When did he start acting, as Zelda put it, "courageous?" Maybe when he faced Gohma, a gigantic armored spider with a bulging red eye? No, not then. Perhaps when the Great Deku Tree asked for his courage to break his curse? No, before that too. How about when he was eight and almost drowned in a small body of water deep in the Kokiri Forest (all he had to do was learn how to swim). No, it was before that as well. What about when he was five years old, exploring the Kokiri Forest for the first time while being hunted by a pack of Wolfos? No, it was before even that. As Link shifted through his memories, going deeper into his past, something resurfaced. He didn't know when this happened, he didn't know where, but he recalled a voice, whispering to him as clear as day: "_Have courage, my little Link, have courage_."

"Link?" Zelda's voice brought him back from the depths of his mind. "Are you okay? If I am bothering you, then you don't have to answer if you wish."

"No, no it's not that," Link said, shaking his head. "I just … remembered something." He directed his words towards Sheba and watched her shoulders stiffen. "Let me ask you something first: What do you think the greatest source of strength is?"

"A source of strength?" Zelda repeated, "I'm not sure I understand. Do you mean a legendary weapon? Or perhaps a powerful spell?"

"No, I mean—how to say this—an attribute, I suppose," Link explained. "Let's say you had to pick from, I don't know, rage or righteousness. Hm, that's a bad example. What about—?"

"Power, courage, or wisdom." Sheba spoke as she displayed her impressive culinary skills (dicing ingredients at the speed of light while using magic to thicken and perfect their dinner's broth). "Which would you chose?"

"Why those particular three?" Zelda asked.

"Because these three traits are the divine characteristics of the three Goddesses. There is Din the Powerful, Nayru the Wise, and Farore the Courageous. Do you know of the Royal Titles? The Powerful, the Wise, and the Courageous? They are titles given by the King of Hyrule to three individuals who, he believes, embody these characteristics. That is why Ganondorf (Link's fists unconsciously clenched at the name), the Commander of the King's Royal Guards, is sometimes known as Ganondorf the Powerful, while Glen, the bravest knight of Hyrule, is called Glen the Courageous. These titles are considered sacred because they embody the spirits of the Goddesses."

"I … I never knew that," Zelda murmured. "I've always questioned the origins of the Royal Titles. Thank you for telling me!"

"Who's the Wise?" Link asked, noticing how Sheba mentioned only two of the three Royal Titles.

"There used to be someone blessed with the title of The Wise, but that person has long since vanished," Sheba replied quietly; she absentmindedly dropped a bowl from the stove, but managed to catch it before it hit the floor. "The King of Hyrule searches for someone worthy enough to carry on the legacy of the previous bearer of The Wise, but to no current avail. But enough about that, were the two of you not asking one another a question?"

"Pardon me? Oh, yes! Link, you asked which of the three divine attributes I think provides the greatest source of strength?" Zelda said. She started to speak, but hesitated as something held her back. "Could you tell me yours, first?"

Link shrugged. "Sure. You wanted to know why I act brave? It's because I believe in courage. I don't care about power or wisdom, but I trust in my courage to keep me moving forward. That's all."

"That's … all?"

"Were you expecting a better reason?" Link chuckled, enjoying Zelda's baffled expression.

"What? Well … yes. You are courageous because you believe courage helps you more than power or wisdom? That's rather … amazing. I always believed in knowledge and wisdom, using your mind rather than your sword. But courage … it is something I lack." Zelda finished with a sigh. "But how does being courageous help you devious such marvelous plans?"

"How doesn't it help? I stay brave in the face of danger, so that no matter what I'm up against, I can keep a calm head on my shoulders so I can come up with a way to overcome my obstacles. I try not to panic, not to let fear get the better of me."

"Not even sometimes?" Malon piped in.

"Not ever," Link confirmed. "If I did, I wouldn't have been able to go skydiving with Suvica and lived to tell the tale."

"Shut up, Forest Boy," the dragon groaned.

"Does your courage also help you when you're practicing with your weapons?" Zelda asked. "It must be terrifying, wielding a blade that can just as easily hurt you as much as anyone else."

That gave Link a bit of a pause. "Practice? I haven't practiced with my Kokiri Sword for a day in my life."

Now it was Suvica's turn to bombard him. "Don't lie, Forest Boy! It's irritating enough for me acknowledge I lost to you! I won't let you say you're a novice with that toothpick! I've watched you fight! You've definitely polished up some skills with a sword! You must've worked your tail off to get that good!"

Link wasn't sure if he should step on Suvica's pride any further. "Actually, I've been using my Kokiri Sword for …" He counted the days. "… less than three weeks. When I fight, I'm only swinging my sword around in a way I think works best." Suvica and Zelda looked at him with disbelieving stares.

Malon, on the other hand, was hopping up and down. "I get what you mean, Fairy Boy! It's like when I'm riding a horse or steering a wagon! I don't really know what I'm doing, but my body still moves the way I want it to, making everything work out nicely!"

"Yeah, exactly like that!" Link exclaimed, glad there was someone who understood him. Suvica's and Zelda's faces only grew longer.

"You're both naturally skilled," Sheba stepped in, handing each of them (except Suvica) a spoon and bowl of soup pleasantly simmering with a heavy aroma of broth. Sheba poured herself a bowl before magically levitating the rest of the large pot into Suvica's hands. Link thought the scalding hot metal would burn Suvica's hands, but the dragon didn't seem to notice the heat. Instead, he picked up a ladle and fed himself one giant spoonful at a time. "Malon is talented in horseback riding, while Link is gifted in swordsmanship."

"If you received proper instructions from a teacher, you'd be a master swordsman in no time," Zelda added, tasting her soup with a smile. "Not to mention your potential with magic. I've no doubt you'd be the fiercest warrior in all of Hyrule in a few years."

"Thanks," Link said, enjoying his own dinner one spoonful at a time. The soup had a delightful taste and texture that stayed in his mouth even after he swallowed.

"Do you think I can become a master horse rider if had a teacher?" Malon asked eagerly, spilling a few drops of her soup onto the floor in her excitement. She rushed to bend down and clean up her mess, but an enchanted washrag beat her to the chase.

"I believe you're already a master," Zelda guaranteed. "No one in all of Hyrule can ride a horse like you." The princess's encouragement made Malon blush.

"A genius swordfighter," Suvica mumbled, lifting the enormous cooking pot to his lips and draining the rest of the soup. "Makes me feel a little better about losing to you. Are there seconds?"

Sheba let her cooking pot float from Suvica's hands and land back onto her stove, where she got to work fixing up another batch of soup at mach speed (now Link knew why she cooked so fast; keeping Suvica fed was a full time job).

"Link, may I ask you another question?" Zelda asked after she finished her first bowl and waiting for more.

"You don't seem to be running out any time soon," Link chuckled, licking his own bowl clean.

"I'm sorry, I'm simply … lost. What will we do now? We are trapped within the walls of Denion City with its entire militia searching for us. I do not see how we can leave in order to continue our journey to Death Mountain."

"Do you want to leave?"

"I … I know what our priorities are and how important it is that we reach the Gorons as soon as possible," Zelda quietly replied. Link raised his free hand and made a pinching motion; Zelda immediately rectified: "No! I mean … no, I don't wish to leave. The state of Denion City is intolerable, and the level of corruption goes beyond forgiveness. I wish to stay and help the poor people, but I know how urgent our current mission is. I don't know whether we should leave or stay for an unknown period of time."

"Then we stay," Link said simply. Honestly, he relished the opportunity to stay in Denion a few days longer. Though he initially wanted to leave with all haste, as he told Suvica before, he changed his mind the moment Sheba Moontear came into the picture. Her mere presence was invoking memories and emotions he never knew he had; he was willing to stay a few more days in order to discover who Moontear really was. Thankfully, Zelda's desire's concurred with his own, so he was more than eager to agree with her.

"A-Are you sure? Although I truly do wish to help the people of Denion, reaching the Gorons on Death Mountain is of …" Zelda chewed into the words with self-loathing. "… of greater importance."

"We can stay," Link repeated.

"You're an interesting lass," Sheba lightly laughed, chopping the vegetables and strips of meat on her cutting board at such speeds Link could hear the blade hum. "You say you're a mere farm girl, yet you care so much for the people in other cities. It would be nice if Hyrule's Princess Zelda shared your dedication."

"W-W-What? O-O-Of course t-that'd be—!"

"Zelda, stop," Link said, cutting off the princess's stammer. "Sheba already knows you're _the_ Princess Zelda. I bet she knew the moment she saw you. There's no need to pretend anymore."

"Oh … oh," Zelda whimpered, looking more flustered with each passing second. "I … I suppose I must re-introduce myself. I am Princess Zelda of Hyrule."

"It's an honor to meet you," Sheba replied, dipping her head in respect as the large pot of soup stirred itself. "I am curious as to why the never-before-seen Princess of Hyrule is so eager to reach the Gorons. Please tell me, why are you _really_ going to Death Mountain?"

"We're searching for the Spiritual Stone of Fire," Link replied before anyone else could start fumbling over their tongues to come up with a convincing lie. Zelda and Malon were dumbstruck by his forthcoming answer, but Suvica shouted, "Where's my damn soup?"

"Interesting," Sheba said slowly; Link could see her mind racing to connect the dots he'd given her. "Why? The Spiritual Stone of Fire is a sacred treasure of the Gorons. For what reason would you ask of it from them?"

"We're trying to stop Ganondorf from claiming the Triforce." Again, the two girls were gaping over Link's inability to avoid the truth. "Ganondorf killed the Great Deku Tree, the protector of the Kokiri Village, for this." He pulled out the Kokiri Emerald from the Pouch; if Sheba was startled by the stunning gem in his hand, she didn't let it show. "Now he wants the other Spiritual Stones to open the Door of Time to enter the Sacred Realm and claim the Triforce. That's why we're going to Death Mountain, to get the stone before Ganondorf does. You might not believe us, but—"

"I believe you," Sheba sighed; she acted as though she'd already known about everything Link said. "I've known about Ganondorf's desires before any of you were ever born. You can say I tried to stop him, as well."

"What?" Zelda cried, accidentally knocking her empty bowl onto the floor (a magic broom swept it away and gave her a new one). "You knew? Then why haven't you—?"

"—told anyone?" Sheba finished. "My princess, can you name anyone, outside of this room, who would believe my words over the Commander of the King's Royal Guard's?"

Zelda stayed silent, thanking the magic broom of its hospitality.

"Then why don't you stop him?" Link demanded. "You're strong! You beat Suvica like he was nothing! ("Hey!" the dragon shouted) You could defeat Ganondorf before he gets anywhere near the Triforce!"

"I can't. The reason is simple: Ganondorf is stronger than me. I fought the Gerudo King once, for the first and last time in my life. He took that which I cherished most in my life and ripped them away from me in an instant. I was powerless before him. The only reason I'm alive today is because he wasn't interested in finishing me."

Sheba's words dug a hole in Link's hopes. He'd seen her power firsthand, yet she was nothing compared to Ganondorf? If this were true, what hope did he have against the Gerudo King? He clenched his teeth, refusing to let doubt cloud his goal. He didn't care how powerful Ganondorf was, because one way or another, the Gerudo King was going to die.

"Don't."

Link snapped out of his rage by Sheba's voice. "Don't what?"

"Don't go after Ganondorf. If you plan on retrieving the Spiritual Stones to keep them from Ganondorf's hands, I applaud your efforts. However, if you're doing so to lure him away from Hyrule Castle only to face him in combat, then don't. You'll never defeat Ganondorf."

"I won't know until I try!" Link loudly protested.

"You're underestimating the Gerudo King," Sheba chided, pouring them each a new bowl of soup and handing the rest of the pot to Suvica. "What you're doing is no different from running towards your goal without watching the ground. Your recklessness will be your undoing."

Despite all of Link's raging emotions, her words drown them in a sea of surprise. "Where … where did you hear that from?"

Sheba eyed him curiously. "You mean watching your goal without looking at the ground? It's a line I used to say all the time when I was younger. It's strange, today's the first time I've said again in … a while." Her disinterested left her oblivious to Link's staggering state of mind. He'd used the exact same words on Glen when they were fleeing from Hyrule Market; the words came to him out of the blue, he only used them because it was a proper analogy. So how did Sheba know the very same line? Could it be …?

"All the same," Zelda spoke, equally ignorant of his wavering soul. "We cannot stay in Denion for too long. What if Ganondorf travels to Death Mountain and convinces the Gorons to give him the Spiritual Stone of Fire?"

Link bit his inner cheeks to focus on Zelda's words. "Nothing much. We'll just go after the next Spiritual Stone. You said Ganondorf needs all three Spiritual Stones, so as long as I've got the Kokiri Emerald, he can't open the Door of Time." He put the Kokiri Emerald back into the Pouch; his appetite abandoned him, and the soup in his hands was no longer as appealing as before.

Zelda didn't look reassured. "What if Ganondorf does claim the Spiritual Stones of Fire and Water and comes after you to take the Spiritual Stone of the Forest?"

_Then I'll have my chance for revenge_, Link thought; no matter what, that would never change. Aloud, he said, "If that happens, I'll come up with a plan. Right now, I don't see why we should prepare for something that might not happen."

The princess relaxed, sipping her meal without any burdens. "I suppose you're correct. If we're going to remain at Denion for the time being, what shall we do?"

Link chuckled; was Zelda going to ask for his opinion on every matter? "Do what you want, you don't need me talking over your shoulder for every little issue. If you don't know where to start, ask yourself: What do you want to do?"

Zelda didn't hesitate to answer. "I want to help the poor people of Denion. I cannot abide the way they are treated."

"Good, start on that tomorrow."

"Why tomorrow?"

"We do have soldiers combing the city for us. Right now isn't the best time to act. Besides, we're tired. Well, at least I am. If you want to do something, do it after a good night's rest." Link turned to Sheba with caution. "The soldiers won't find us here, will they?"

"No, they won't," she replied, taking her cooking pot once Suvica was finished and rinsing it with water. "I have a certain reputation that prevents soldiers from knocking on my door."

"Can I take a look outside? I want to know what the soldiers are up to," Link asked, pointing upward towards the upper floors; he remembered the window on the third floor of the abode while teleporting in.

Sheba nodded as she gathered their bowls and washed them with soap and water. Link got up from his stool and climbed the ladder leading to the second floor right above the bed posts. Navi followed him while Zelda asked Sheba if there was anything she could do to help.

Link's assumption before had been correct; the second floor was indeed smaller than the first. His hood brushed the ceiling when he stood straight. Apparently, this floor served as Sheba's storage area. It was neatly packed with folded blankets, tidy clothes, fresh food, medical herbs, clean bandages, and proper cooking utensils. Link recalled how well fed and clothed the poor people of Denion appeared, and now he knew why; Sheba was secretly providing them with all the clothes and food she could gather.

There was a porthole in the ceiling of the second floor, leading to the third level. Link walked over to it, careful not to bump his head on stray beams of wood supporting the floor above. There was no ladder or stairs this time, so he grasped the edge of the square hole and pulled himself up into the third floor. This was the most spacious area of Sheba's home by far. It was about as large as the bottom floor, but the only objects populating this section of the residence was a small bathtub pressed against the wall of the room, a dresser filled with Sheba's clothing on the adjacent wall, and a locked chest right beside it. The lonely window was posted in the wall opposite from the tub. He pulled the shutters open and leaned on the wooden frame, gazing at the sunset of Denion City.

The falling sun cast an orange-red hue across the city, letting the mansions of Denion radiate with undeserved beauty while drowning the outer slums in an aura of sorrow. Under a different ruler, Link was sure Denion City's sunset would've been a sight worth seeing.

"Navi?" He called to his fairy partner, perched beside him.

"Yes?"

Link hesitated before asking, "What do you think of Sheba?"

His partner also had a moment of pause before she could speak. "Depends on what you mean."

"Do you know her?"

"Yes, I do."

"Did you meet with her before you were my partner?"

"In a way, yes."

"Is she important to me?"

"That's for you to decide." Link sighed, consequently pushing Navi to ask, "Link, what's the real reason you came up here? You're not spying on soldiers, so I'm guessing you want a little one-on-one time, away from everyone else."

"I know Sheba! I'm positive I've never met her before today, yet I'm so certain I know her! I can't make any sense of it, and it's driving me crazy! She acts like she doesn't know me, but that can't be true! She made Suvica look like me! She acts like she's afraid to get close to me! We even say the same preaching lines!"

A disconcerting quiet settled between them as Link waited for Navi to say something. For a while, all he heard were the chubby chortles of the overdressed adults roaming the streets that glowed with the sunset.

Finally, Navi said. "Link, do you really want to know the truth about Sheba?"

"You'll tell me?" Link asked, feeling his heart beat harder and harder.

"I don't want to tell you," Navi admitted. "But I won't let you suffer while I play innocent and hide the answer from you. Give me a moment, you need to see something." His partner took off and darted down the hole leading to the floors below them. After a few seconds, she came back with a photo frame attached to the underside of her round body. It was the same photo Sheba hid from him the moment they entered her home.

"What is this?"

"It's a photo," Navi replied, dropping the picture in his open hands. "Usually, they're painted by talented artists, but in rare cases, a magician or spell caster can replicate an image they're currently seeing and perfectly print it onto a piece of parchment. That's what this is. This is a picture of Sheba twelve years ago, and it's the answer you're looking for."

Link held the photo with both hands, staring intently at what it displayed. It was as Navi said; someone had taken an exact image from the world and captured it on a handheld piece of parchment. When he saw what it showed, his heart caught. Sheba was standing beside a man; he was well built, with a lean chin, light blue eyes, and long golden hair. He was frightfully familiar to Link's eyes, though he hadn't come to realize why. The man and Sheba smiled as if they'd reached the apex of their joy, hugging each other closely. Between the two of them, in both their arms, was a small sleeping baby. But what truly seized his attention were the Hylian words scrawled at the bottom of the photo.

_In celebration of our son, Link._

* * *

EDIT: Here it is folks, Chapter 12 of the Three Spiritual Stone series! Thanks for the serious reviews! I will do my best (maybe) to catch those grammar errors.

Let me just say this: I suck at writing about reunions between long lost mother/child . I rewrote this chapter three times trying, and in the end this was the best I could do. Sorry to anyone and everyone. Maybe I'll get better at it, and hopefully I won't get worse. Practice makes perfect...sometimes.

Chapter 13 will be next, and hopefully be posted within the week. College sucks when you don't get the classes you want yet you're still busy in the end. Right now, I'm debating whether to go with what I've originally planned and tell Chapter 13 from Zelda's point of view, or tell if from Sheba's point of view. Maybe I'll flip a coin on it. Now that I'm thinking about it, Link kicked Gohma around in Chapter 3, yet now I'm at Chapter 13 and King Dodongo's nowhere in sight. Sorry my overgrown hot-chilly pepper lizard, you'll get your screen time someday.

That's all for my ramblings, thanks for listening to it. Feel free to post a review, and have a nice day. ^_^_  
_

EDIT: I added some more dialogue and made it so Malon met Sheba in the past, because their relationship becomes vital to a certain someone in the future. Also, dialogue is awesome, Nuff said. (7/4/12)


	13. Chapter 13, The Curse of Demise

**Chapter 13**

**The Curse of Demise**

Sheba tucked in the last of the children, draping her thin cotton blanket over their slumbering bodies. Three of the children, Suvica, Malon, and Princess Zelda, slept on the bed, while her son, Link, was sleeping upright on one of her stools with his head slumped and his arms crossed. His guardian, Navi, was inside her son's green hood, ringing gently as she snored.

Letting her eyes linger on the son she abandoned so long ago, Sheba dried off the washed bowls and quietly placed them in their familiar spot beneath the bed. By the looks of the dinner's remainders, Malon wasn't fond of mushrooms, Princess Zelda didn't like carrots, and Suvica hated every vegetable Sheba put into dinner. Only her son finished his meal entirely, something that made her smile ever so slightly.

Sheba had taken a few precautions when serving Suvica his meal; after she passed her son, Malon, and Princess Zelda their dinner, she secretly dipped a slow-acting but powerful sleeping herb into the remainder of the soup for Suvica to enjoy. During the year she spent living with Suvica, the wretched dragon developed a nasty habit of attacking her in her sleep, another one of his vain attempts to defeat and strong-arm her into dispelling the seal on his body. There were many things Sheba could tolerate (such as bad theatre plays, thieves stealing her medicine, and perverted Nobles grabbing her buttocks), but being attacked in her sleep was not one of them. She almost killed Suvica on accident during a sleep-deprived rage; it still shamed her to admit she lost her calm so easily.

With the dishes stored away and the children sleeping, Sheba made her way to the second floor of her small, yet cozy, home. She stepped over the bed and quietly climbed to the second floor. Crouching on her hands and knees once she entered the low-ceiling space, she grabbed the largest bag she owned and filled it with an assortment of goods she collected over the past week: Food (dried meat and vegetables), blankets, extra clothes, bandages, and medicine went into the bag. After it was filled to its seams, she carefully tied the top shut and pulled it behind her as she crawled towards the hole leading to the third story of her home. At the top floor, occupied only by one window, a bathtub, her extra clothing, and a treasure chest filled with her fondest memories, Sheba walked to the window and pulled the shutters open.

The night was still young. The full moon let the Gold Haven shine like a bonfire of silver in the center of Denion City, with gem-embellished street lamps flaring white light while aristocrats and Noble families frolicked with one another in the dead of night. In comparison to the Gold Haven, the designated Black Ring of Denion City was all the more glum. There were many in the Black Ring who desperately awaited her weekly delivery of supplies. Sheba hoisted her bag across her shoulder and placed one foot on the rim of her window, preparing her magic to launch herself clear across Denion City and into the quietest area of the Black Ring.

"Mom."

Sheba felt like Suvica hit her with one of his favorite lightning bolts (something the dragon was sure to have loved), and she almost stumbled out the open window. She dropped her bag of goods on the floor and grabbed the window's frame to steady herself while her body tingled at the effects of that one word. She turned around slowly, looking past a curtain of her own black hair, to see her son standing behind her. Like his father, the boy stood tall and proud, never releasing the air of caution around him. Directly beside his was Princess Zelda.

"L-Link, Princess Zelda," Sheba said after clearing her throat and brushing her hair from her eyes. "I thought the two of you were asleep."

"Who sleeps while sitting upright?" her son scoffed.

_Your father_, Sheba thought.

"I was almost asleep, but Link's actions awoke me," Princess Zelda answered. "Sheba, are you truly … Link's mother?"

Sheba's voice almost caught when she answered. "N-No, of course not. Link, surely you must ..." She stopped herself when she saw the look on her child's face: Grim, a little irritated, yet absolutely self-assured. It was the same look her husband always gave her when he discovered one of her little secrets she tried to keep from him. Like father, like son. "When did you find out? I hope Navi didn't tell you."

"I'm sorry," Navi apologized, emerging from her son's hood and showering them all in an orb of blue light. Looking past the round sheen of the fairy's visible body, Sheba saw her humanoid form: A small girl with blue hair sweeping past her shoulders; Navi's overall height no larger than Sheba's hand. She still wore her favorite cloak, which was half purple, half blue and fastened around her shoulders thanks to the diamond brooch hanging from the center of her chest. The cloak fluttered in the windless room, acting more like a cape as it revealed her short skirt and stockings. Compared to the monotone expression Navi used to speak in, Sheba preferred her lively and emotional voice; it made her more human. "I know you asked me to keep it a secret, but I couldn't, not while Link was torturing himself to find the answer."

"If you did it for Link's sake, then I thank you," Sheba said. She looked away from Navi and back at her child; he was still glaring at her, but his expression had loosened a little. "You've already discovered the truth, but I will say it anyways. Yes, Link, I am your mother. Did you believe Navi when she told you?"

"She showed me a picture," Her son replied; he was doing his best to keep his tone steady. He lifted his hand, revealing their only family photo. "After that, she didn't have to say much more for me to believe her."

"You shouldn't look through someone else's belongs," Sheba said as he handed back her photo.

"Sorry, but you weren't around to teach me that," he retorted, sending a rusty danger right into her heart; she stayed strong, refusing to let the pain show on her face. "Tell me this, and don't lie to me: Why does Suvica look like me?"

"Must I tell you?" Sheba asked, leaning hard against the window as her legs shook beneath her; this was not quite how she planned their reunion. In fact, she hadn't planned on seeing him again.

"Do you want lies to be the only thing you've told your son?"

Sheba forced a small laugh. "You're about as ruthless as me was when I was young. Very well, the truth. Suvica looks like you because I molded his seal in your image. I guessed what your appearance would have been, and I was spot on. A mother's intuition, perhaps. I will admit, the accuracy of my estimate surprised me. I was astonished to see how much alike the two of you were."

Her son seemed satisfied with her answer. "One last question."

"I thought this interrogation would last longer," Sheba teased.

He wasn't amused. "I don't want to hold you up from giving food and clothes to the people who need them, so I'm making this short. What did you put in Suvica's soup? It smelled different from ours."

"A sleep-inducing herb," Sheba said innocently. "He's rather rowdy at the dead of night, and I cannot have him disturbing our neighbors at a time like this."

"You're lying."

Sheba blew a strand of hair from her eyes; what happened to the concept of secrets? "Yes, I am. Suvica has always had a bad habit of attacking me in my sleep, and I found it irritating. I doubt this has changed in the slightest, so I took a precaution for my own welfare. I'm a little surprised, Link. You're showing considerable concern for a dragon."

"Of course," her son snapped back. "Suvica can be annoying, grumpy, doesn't know when to stop whining, and has no respect for fairy life. But we made a promise, a promise I intend to keep. I can't have you harming him, especially when he's going to owe me a scale from his wing one day."

Sheba bit her tongue, trying to fight off a laugh. Suvica was going to give her son a dragon scale from his own wings? For a dragon, forfeiting one of their scales to a human was one the greatest insults they could bear. Perhaps there was some hope left for the dragon after all.

"Excuse me," Princess Zelda spoke up. Sheba was clutching her stomach with one arm as she fought off her giggles, so she held up one finger to the princess, a non-vocal gesture to give her a moment.

"Yes?" Sheba said when she came out victorious from her internal battle.

"I too have several questions I wish to have answered, about you and Denion, but I do not wish to keep you from those that require your aid. May I come with you to help those in need assistance?" Princess Zelda asked.

"I don't see why not," Sheba replied, accepting Princess Zelda's offer. "What of you, Link? Navi?"

"I'll going too, but only to keep an eye on Zelda" her son said, grabbing one of Princess Zelda's hands with his own. The princess flushed at the gesture, but turned her head away from her son so he wouldn't see her red-beat face.

Sheba had mixed feelings about this. Her boy was only twelve years old; was it okay for him to be dating the Princess of Hyrule? Or was he a head-strong fool like his father and didn't see a confession even if it was staring him straight into his face?

Navi must've read her expression, because she fluttered next to her ear and whispered, "Link is exactly like that. But the funny thing is he's got feelings for another girl while the princess has feelings for him. Don't you think love triangles are awesome?"

"Not when my child is the center of it," Sheba whispered back.

"What love triangle? Why am I the center of it?" Her son demanded.

She sighed again as Navi went back to her partner's side. He also had his father's almighty hearing? "It's nothing, Link. You're all free to come along, if you wish. Now hurry about, there are a lot of people who need what I can give them, and there's not a lot of time to spare." Her son and Princess Zelda nodded before standing at her side.

"Will you use your teleportation magic to get us there?" Princess Zelda asked, glowing with eager curiosity.

"I could, but that would rob me my weekly exercise routine. Come along now, I must figure out how I'm going to carrying the two of you along with my bag," Sheba said, gesturing towards the giant pack of goods on the ground.

Her son had the solution. He unstrapped the small leather pouch attached to the back of his belt and placed it on the ground. Then he pushed against Sheba's pack of goods, inching it towards his little pouch. Her eyes widened as her massive bag disappeared into her son's diminutive leather pouch.

"It still amazes me every time I see it," Princess Zelda whispered.

"A Dimensional Pouch," Sheba whispered as her child attached the legendary storage unit back onto his belt. "One of the rarest and most useful pieces of equipment for an adventurer. Who blessed you with such a marvelous gift?"

"A good friend of mine back in the Kokiri Village." Her son replied; from the way he said "friend," Sheba got the notion it was more than that. She'd barely been with her child for a day and already she was worried about his romantic life.

"Who is this good friend of yours?" she asked.

"Who knows? Maybe I'll tell you if you tell me more about this love triangle I'm stuck in," He countered, staring pointedly at her. Was this really how Sheba acted towards others when she was her son's age? Goddess, no wonder the Nobles hated her so.

Seeing how her son wasn't going to willing share anything about his life unless she did as well, Sheba let the matter drop. Before she prepared to leave, however, she asked her child the one pressing question she could not avoid. "Is that truly it? You don't wish to ask me anything else?"

Link looked directly into her eyes, and she saw him waver as anguish and confusion threatened to break him down. "I have _too_ much I want to ask. I want to scream at you, shout at you, blame you for everything bad thing that's happened to me while demanding to know why you abandoned me. But acting childish won't get me anywhere, so I won't act like your child. Let's go, we don't have any more time to waste."

His words cut her deep, almost sending Sheba to her knees while sobbing for forgiveness. Almost. She knew what she did and why she did it, and during those chaotic times, it was the best she could do. She tightened her lips, nodding to her son's forthcoming response as Princess Zelda clamper onto her back, wrapping her delicate arms around her neck. Sheba used her left arm to hold Princess Zelda on her back. Her son jumped to her front, forcing Sheba to cradle him close to her chest with her right arm. Her heart accelerated with her long-lost child so close to her, and she didn't doubt he could hear it. Navi made her way back into his hood; she'd chosen a rather odd place to stay, and Sheba hoped the fairy wasn't giving her son any form of fairy dandruff.

"Hold on tight," Sheba told the two of them, putting her foot back onto the window still and gathering a small trickle of her magic into her foot.

"Won't we be too heavy for you?" Princess Zelda asked with a little fret echoing in her voice.

"Zelda," Link said, "This is the lady who threw Suvica through three buildings and tossed him around like an uprooted Deku Baba. I think she'll be fine." Oddly enough, that comforted the princess.

What Sheba did next, however, did not. She let the magic gathered at the base of her foot explode as she jumped, launching them fifty-feet into the air. Air pounded at their bodies as the neighboring manors rushed under their eyes before she softly land on the rooftop of the tower-like home across from them. Without pausing for too long, Sheba darted across the spacious and well-adorned rooftops, leaping towards the sky with an even greater burst magic. She was a shooting star under the heavens, soaring over the city. Normally, Sheba was never this flamboyant, always choosing to stay low as she strode from rooftop to rooftop; today she wanted to put on a little show for her passengers. Each time she jumped, she flew higher and higher. Sometimes they soared so high Princess Zelda couldn't resist the temptation to stretch out her arms and reach for a star. Her son looked impressed, but not as much as the princess. Navi kept muttering, "Show off".

After leaping over the iron fence circling the Gold Haven, Sheba landed on the untidy streets of the Black Ring and went into stealth mode. From here, if she jumped too high, one of the marksmen patrolling Denion City's outer wall was bound to notice them beneath the moonlight. A figure clad in Hylian armor approached them when she touched the ground, causing Princess Zelda to whimper as they were sighted. Sheba knew they were all right, for the one who approached them was one of the last dignified soldiers in Denion.

"Lovely night as always, Heath," Sheba greeted, releasing her son and Princess Zelda so that they slid to the ground.

Soldier Heath bowed so low he might as well be on his hands and knees. "With you here, Lady Moontear, it always is. Have you come again to deliver food to those in need?"

"Naturally," Sheba replied, pulling out a small bag of rupees from inside her black blouse and placing it in Heath's hands. "This is all I can spare for today. I hope you can get your family out of the Black Ring soon."

Heath quietly pocketed the rupees as he stood. "You have my eternal thanks, Lady Moontear. As soon as I get my family out of the Black Ring, we're finding a way out of this miserable city."

Link suddenly reached forward and tapped on Heath's armor. "Not the brightest idea. You'll get killed in an instant, you know."

Heath almost jumped out of his armor when he noticed Link and Princess Zelda for the first time. "You! I remember you! You're the one who started the fire at Kingdom Come Hotel!"

"That's me," Her son said with a small wave. "Like I was saying, don't bother trying to leave. You'll get killed."

"You won't know until I try," Heath snapped, looking past the iron fence to make sure the dancing nobles in the Gold Haven hadn't noticed them.

"I'm sure others have tried. Take their example." Link snapped back.

Heath wasn't taking too kindly to her son's tone. "I know that voice. You were also the one screaming all those curses and using that foul language! Lady Moontear, if you're watching over these children, teach this one some manners."

"Actually, sir," Princess Zelda spoke in, "The one using the foul language was his twin brother."

"Then discipline them both. In any case, Lady Moontear, do not spend too much time here. There are people who require your aid more than I."

"I know," Sheba said solemnly, "I wish you the best of luck, Heath."

Heath nodded and went back to patrolling the iron fence, shouting at his fellow patrollers that the coast was still clear. She ushered the princess and her son along, guiding them down the familiar shattered pathways of the Black Ring's alleyways. She used this route frequently; because of the high cracked walls and dusty narrow passageways, it was difficult for overseeing archers to spot her.

When they were a good distance into the desolate Black Ring, Sheba looked down at her son. "That wasn't kind, Link. Even if it's impossible for Heath to lead his family safely out of Denion, you shouldn't crush his hopes like that."

"What good is having hope when it's a lie?" He asked, kicking a few loose stones as he walked. "That false hope would've gotten him killed. Better to tell the truth to his face rather than letting him die in vain."

"Although I don't agree with Link's reasoning, I do agree that Heath shouldn't try to leave Denion City without a sound plan," Princess Zelda added. "It's far too dangerous, and the risks are too great."

Sheba led them around another corner. "Perhaps you are correct, and perhaps you are not. But hope is all these people have left. To break it so easily is not the choice to make." Link didn't respond, but Sheba could tell he still disagreed with her.

"Why don't you teleport them out of Denion?" He asked after several more steps. "You have magic that lets you transport yourself and other people to wherever you want. Why don't you transport the people here out of the city?"

"Because I can't," Sheba replied, feeling the familiar sense of helplessness weigh on her. "My transportation magic is called Farore's Wind. I can use it whenever I please, but I can only travel to places I've already been before, and within a certain distance. Yes, I can get _some_ of the people out of the city and a fair distance away from the walls, but I can't get them _all_ out. What do you think will happen when the aristocrats and Nobles realize people are sneaking out of Denion? They'll hunt them down to keep what's happening in this city a secret."

"Can't you protect them? Stop that from happening?"

"And if they use the other helpless citizens of Denion as hostages and force me to comply? What then? I cannot protect them all."

"So you can't teleport them all out?" Her son persisted.

"No. Farore's Wind is a spell which normally only teleports the caster. To modify it to bring along passengers is a strain and a risk. If I had lost my concentration, even for a moment, while teleporting you and your friends to my home, one of you could've been lost in the stream of magic forever. To transport thousands of people, where the chance of failure is a thousand times greater, is a risk I cannot afford to take."

"Mrs. Moontear?" The princess spoke.

"Just '_Sheba_' is fine, Princess Zelda."

"Sheba, I have a question which most certainly requires answering. What has happened to Denion City since Noble Arthicus's passing? What has Noble Pavo done to this city? This city used to be the very symbol of freedom and equality, and although Noble Pavo vowed to continued Noble Arthicus's legacy, I can only see an extreme division between the rich and the poor."

"And why are there signs of undead attacks?" Navi added from her son's hood (by Sheba's request, Navi didn't leave Link's hood; her glowing blue body would give them away too easily). "Not only that, why are the undead only attacking the outer part of Denion and leave the center of the city alone?"

"It is a long tale to tell," she replied.

"Do we have a long way to go?" Her son asked.

Sheba let a smile touch her lips. "As you may already know, Denion City never began rich and prosperous. Many years ago, it was nothing more than a dying village on the outskirts of Hyrule Market. Because it was so greatly overshadowed by Hyrule Market, traders and travelers alike would ignore Denion Village to head to the great bazaar. Many villagers abandoned their dying hometown to move to more prosperous locations, while others chose to stay and perish with their village. Even the Noble responsible for watching over the village, Noble Divult, left the people to die. All was lost for the village of Denion, until Noble Arthicus came.

"No one knows why Noble Arthicus decided to save Denion Village, but everyone was grateful he did. He used his entire fortune to bring some life back to the village, creating roads, rebuilding homes, and starting new businesses. Not only did Noble Arthicus use his fortune to pay for Denion's reconstruction, but he himself engaged in manual labor to help the people rebuild their village. He ceaselessly worked alongside them, day and night, handling both physical and political problems. He treated everyone equally, talking to the poor and homeless as though they were his equals. He cared for his people and village more than anyone else, and his actions proved that. Gradually, word of his boundless kindness spread to the four corners of Hyrule, and people oppressed by the ruling of their own tyrannical Nobles flocked to Denion Village. As the population increased, the village flourished. People of many arts and crafts aided the village's treasury problems, using their skills to draw in as many traders and travelers as they could. In a few years, Denion expanded to the point where it could no longer be considered a small village. It was soon renamed as Denion City, where the people proudly declared Noble Arthicus as their leader. For a while, this city was the happiest and most prosperous place in all of Hyrule. Watch your step there, my dear." Sheba warned Princess Zelda, pointing to a shadow-obscured crevasse in the alley's path a child could easily fall into.

Her warning was ill-timed, as Princess Zelda unknowing stepped into the deep trench, and would have fallen in if Link hadn't grabbed her hand and pulled her to safety.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Princess Zelda apologized. "I can't see too well in the dark."

"There's no need to apologize," Sheba assured her, detouring around the gorge. "As I was saying, Denion City earned a well-deserved time of peace. That was until Pavo, the incarnation of greed, learned of the city's prosperity and came to Denion for a '_friendly visit_'."

"Friendly visit? Is that another way of saying '_hostile takeover_'?" Link asked.

"Indeed. The moment Pavo entered Noble Arthicus's quarters, the hidden army that accompanied Pavo surrounded the city, taking Denion's populace hostage. Pavo demanded that Noble Arthicus hand over all rights to the city, but Noble Arthicus refused. When Pavo threatened to kill all who lived in the city's walls, Noble Arthicus laughed, calling his bluff. He knew Pavo all too well, informing the deranged Noble that it was the people who brought prosperity to the city. If they died, so would Denion City. Therefore, instead of massacring the people, Pavo murdered Noble Arthicus, the city's most loved leader, before all their eyes."

Sheba's recalling made Princess Zelda freeze. "Noble Pavo … no … Pavo killed Noble Arthicus in cold blood? It's just like Suvica said, Pavo killed Noble Arthicus! That black hearted fiend! Why hasn't my father done anything about this?"

The princess's words left Sheba in a state of bafflement. "Suvica told you Pavo killed Noble Arthicus?"

Princess Zelda nodded. "That is correct."

"Impossible. You have seen the walls of Denion City.; it is guarded with killers who hunt for the slightest excuse to kill someone. Publicly, the world believes Noble Arthicus died due to a fatal illness. It is the lie Pavo has been spreading. He even bribed several doctors and a Royal Magician from Hyrule Castle to falsify Noble Arthicus's death. He has done everything in his power to keep the truth buried, imprisoning all who witnessed Noble Arthicus's death within the walls of this city. That is why all who attempt to escape are killed. Suvica has never visited Denion City before in his life, not even as a dragon. It is impossible for him to know the truth about Noble Arthicus's death."

Now Princess Zelda was equally confused. "But … he … he said so himself."

Link placed a hand on the princess's shoulder. "He was lying. He didn't know the truth, but he told you about Pavo killing Arthicus in order to bother you. Kind of funny how his lies turned out to be correct. Go figure."

Princess Zelda groaned, rubbing the sides of her head. "I'm suddenly grateful Sheba thrashed that pompous lizard. Sheba, can you dislocate a few of Suvica's bones when we return to your place?"

Sheba withheld a laugh. "I'm sorry, but no. If I wound his pride anymore, he'll be in a worse mood than he already is."

"So we know what Pavo did to Arthicus," Link continued. "That still doesn't explain the undead attacks. Look at this place." Her son gestured to the Black Ring's abysmal condition to exemplify his point.

"It is how Pavo rules: Fear. Remember the iron gate surrounding the Gold Haven?" From the children's confused expressions, they did not know what the "Gold Haven" was. "Perhaps I should have explained this sooner. The outer area of the city, where we are now, where the poor live and the undead roam free; this is known as the Black Ring. However, the inner circle of Denion, where the wealthy and affluent drink, eat, and live in opulence, is called the Gold Haven. The iron fence separating the two is known as the Black Threshold. Do you understand?" They nodded. "Good. Now, the Black Threshold was not built to prevent the poor from entering the Gold Haven. Its sole purpose is to keep out the undead. The first time the people revolted against Pavo, he utilized the undead to keep them under his thumb. If the people of the Black Ring disobey him, he leaves Denion City's gates open during the night, allowing the undead tides to flood the Black Ring."

"But they cannot enter the Gold Haven because of the Black Threshold," Princess Zelda groaned, arriving to the unpleasant conclusion. "That twisted beast! How could he use the dark armies of the dead to plague Denion's people? Fiend!"

Sheba felt a chill coil in her body at the mention of a "Fiend" but calmed herself when she knew who the princess meant. "That is Denion's plight. The skilled are forced to use their craft to benefit the wealthy, while those without a certain expertise work in labor camps."

"What about the ones dressed as soldiers?" Her son asked. "Suvica said a lot of them are pirates or bandits, and I believe him. They're nowhere near as train and disciple as real Hylian soldiers. Where'd they come from?"

"Utilizing the undead to oppress the people was not Pavo's initial idea. After he claimed Denion as he own, he flaunted his unearned assets to other Nobles and people of power who shared his demented views. He invited only the greediest and most corrupt to Denion. They squandered all of the city's accumulated rupees on drinks, women, food, and entertainment; the city's treasury was made barren in a matter of days. When Pavo beheld what he'd done, he commanded the people of Denion to work in order to line his own pockets. Naturally, they refused. In response to their rebellion, Pavo segregated the rich from the poor, evicting all of the city's hard working souls to the outskirts of the city while his fellow pigs swam in luxury at the center. After the two classes were separated, Pavo tried using Denion's soldiers and his own private army to strong arm the people into working.

"Denion's army was repulsed by their orders, so they threw down their swords and armor. The rebellion grew, and Pavo's small force paled in terms of numbers. That is why he gathered many of Hyrule's most ruthless villains and hired them to become the city's new standing army. With a military comprised of merciless criminals, Pavo took control over the people. However, these criminals were killing too many of Denion's working populace, and Pavo could not afford to lose his source of income. That was when he devised a plan to make the people work for him with minimal casualties."

"And that's how he started using the undead," Link finished. "But wouldn't a horde of undead skeletons wipe out Denion City?"

"Pavo only lets a certain number of undead into Denion's Black Ring before closing the city gates. That way, he can control the number of undead within the city, keeping enough of them to terrorize the people, but not enough to overrun the city. We are here."

Sheba brought them to the largest, most ramshackle structure in the Death Zone. She mourned the building crumbling fate; it used to be a restaurant run by Chief Zenf, a man whose generosity was as large as his plump belly. Now the poor man was slaving way in the Gold Haven's kitchens, preparing feasts for the city's fattest Nobles while his family spent their terrified nights in the Black Ring. She gently pushed on the molding front doors, quietly cursing as the dusty hinges creaked. When the entry was wide enough for them to fit through, Link and Princess Zelda tiptoed into the ruined restaurant; Sheba stepped inside and closed the door behind them.

She looked towards the open roof to check the position of the moon: Ten more minutes before the agreed time. As her son and Princess Zelda explored the abandoned eatery, Sheba cast a familiar eye upon the wreckage around them. She'd been here before, when Noble Arthicus still watched over the city with a peaceful hand. She stared at the collapsed remains of the kitchen, reminiscing about how Chief Zenf laughed jubilantly while cooking up dishes the king would enjoy. She glanced at the splintered remains of the cashier's desk and remembered young Neil; the boy proposed to her out of the blue when she went to pay for her meal. His distraught face when she rejected him was still as clear as day. The place also had second-floor balconies where customers could get an overhead view of the bottom floor; waitress Anna worked there. The girl wanted to be a dancer, but now her corpse was buried outside the city's walls. More images stored in her memory overlapped with the sight she saw now, intensifying the sadness welled within.

"What are we doing here?" Princess Zelda asked, lifting a fallen chair upright to see if it was still usable; it wasn't. "Were we not going to distribute food and clothes to Denion's people?"

"We are. However, we must do so discreetly. Pavo does not tolerate anyone living in the Gold Haven giving goods to those in the Black Ring. People are less likely to revolt when they are weak with empty stomachs. Should he discover us, he will strip me of my property and banish me to the Black Ring. I cannot help these people if I do not have access to the Gold Haven's goods. Those who come to Denion for the first time can buy their way into the Gold Haven by paying an excruciatingly high sum of rupees. If they cannot, they must work harsh hours for petty wages."

"How petty?" Princess Zelda ventured.

"They can work their whole lives yet not have enough to purchase a loaf of bread."

"Griffin was able to buy his way in," Link said. "We helped his grandson get into the Gold Haven as well, so I hope they're okay."

An old chuckle came from the opposite end of the building. "Well, that's very thoughtful of you, my boy!" It was former King Halden, or Griffin as he was going by these days, limping into the restaurant with his great (x1000) grandson, Rail. Following those two was a crowd of Denion City's ragged working class people. Sheba saw many familiar faces, such as Browny the tailor, Darmin from philosophy, Betta the carpenter, their children, and many more. Then there were the faces she didn't recognize; scared, lost faces that couldn't fathom what was happening to them. Most were visiting travelers who heard the tales of Denion City's riches and ended up trapped in its walls.

"My dear Sheba! It's been too long!" King Halden laughed, shuffling awkwardly towards her with his frightfully thin arms outstretched. Sheba met his greeting with her own hug, holding him warily (she could snap him in half with one wrong move). The poor monarch had gone through many hardships, and now this.

"Griffin!" Link exclaimed as more people flooded into the restaurant; Sheba regret not bringing more supplies as she counted their numbers. "I thought you got into the Gold Haven! What are you doing here?"

King Halden sighed heavily; he looked like he would pass on at a moment's notice. "A feeble old man with a wagon of rupees, it's not hard to imagine what occurred. Those blasted soldiers held no qualms with pushing me aside and taking my life's earnings! Bah! Is this what Hyrule's become? At least my grandson found me. Imagine my surprise when he called my name from the Gold Haven! Ha! I told the little fool to stay where he was, but he climbed over the fence anyways!"

"I wasn't about to leave my only family alone," little Rail scowled, though his relief towards finding his grandfather was evident.

"Either way, you're both alive," Link said, taking of his Dimensional Pouch and holding it upside down. With a little shake, Sheba's supply bag plopped from the pouch's mouth and onto the floor. Every onlooker became totems of amazement, gaping at the miracle they witnessed. When they stormed towards her son, making a desperate grab for her goods and his Dimensional Pouch, Sheba had to slap a few people in order to restore order. As the starving souls settled down, they obeyed her commands and formed a line; families with children stood at the front while newcomers to Denion stood at the back. With her son and Princess Zelda helping, Sheba opened her leather sack and disturbed food, water, and clothes to the needy while applying medicine and bandages to the wounded.

King Halden chuckled as Link handed him a slice of salted meat. "You've helped me in too many ways for one day. I must thank you for your generosity, my young Candidate!"

Sheba froze. She dropped the leather pants in her hands when she heard King Halden's words. A spear of subzero cold impaled her already-mutilated heart as she stared at her son with absolute horror. Imagines, terrible images, screamed their way into her eyes, driving her to remember things she longed to bury, events of the past she wished she could forget.

"Please … help yourselves," Sheba muttered in a barely audible voice to the queue of people. When she walked away, the poor jumped at her supplies like a pack of Tektite descending upon their prey. King Halden was still chatting with her son while Rail spoke about Denion's situation with Princess Zelda. Without a word, Sheba grabbed King Halden by his thin arms and dragged him away with unmoving strength. "Link, help the people get what they need. Now." For once, her parental authority worked; her son put aside his curiosity and walked over to the swarm of Tektites to put some discipline into them.

Sheba took no consideration into King Halden's frail body as she dragged him away, ignoring his feeble protests. Hauling him up the stairs towards the second floor balcony, she threw him into the closest chair and growled the incantation, "Nayru's Province!" A dome of transparent blue light covered herself and King Halden; with this magical dome in place, her son couldn't hope of eavesdropping on what she was about to say.

"A Candidate? A Candidate? You dare say my son is a candidate?" Sheba screamed, grabbing the front of King Halden's musky travel cloak and pulling him back out of the chair; the king's feet dangled in empty air.

King Halden, although being strangled, looked abashed. "Your son? That boy is … _cough _… your lost son? Destiny is certainly … _pant_ … strange!"

Sheba didn't need ancient ruler's sentiments, she wanted answers. Rage and hurt overpowered her imposed chains of self-restraint; she was one wrong-word away from snapping King Halden's neck. "Why, damn it? What makes you say my son is a Candidate?"

"Lillian … _cough _… please! Calm yourself!"

The knuckles in her hands nearly snapped as she tightened her fists around the king's cloak to the point of nearly breaking of her own hands. "Don't … call … me … Lillian!" Sheba roared, tossing the old man back into the chair. The prehistoric king landed with a groan; it was a good thing the old man was immortal. "Lillian died! She's gone! She's the wrench who killed her husband, abandoned her son, and lost everything!"

"I know, I'm sorry," King Halden coughed. "But Lil … _cough _… Sheba. Surely you must see it yourself! His insight, his vision, his superb hearing! They're _not_ traits passed down from father to son! They're the gifts of his lineage, gifts passed down from his ancestor! It is beyond a shred of doubt why _they_ chose your son! His courage, his bravery! He's the perfect champion, the perfect Candidate!"

Sheba screamed again, wringing her hands through her hair. Unable to contain it any longer, she let out a bellow of sheer grief and fury so loud King Halden nearly passed out from shock. When she found the strength to calm down a reasonable amount, she shouted, "No! It can't be! I did everything she asked and more! She promised me! She said she would look after him! I abandoned my own baby to prevent this! I sacrificed my life with my son for this! So _why_ is it happening?"

King Halden was dazed yet crestfallen, doing his best to avoid Sheba's accusatory glare. "It is the will of the Goddesses. We cannot fight it, no matter what we do. Please Sheba, look at things positively. Perhaps he can accomplish what others could not!"

Sheba held her anger in check, because if she didn't, she'd smash in the old man's face in; he'd walk around like a ReDead with an acid-melted face for the rest of his immortal life. "The will of the Goddesses? Don't you lie to me, Halden! My son can't be a Candidate, not now! Not while the Curse of Demise still haunts my family!" She dropped to her knees, ripping her nails across the balcony's paneling. "You were there! You heard his words, his final curse when he was slain! My husband was a Candidate as well, and you know what happened to him! It made him a beacon for the Curse of Demise, and he was slain!"

"There is a blessing, and there is a curse," King Halden agreed. "Your son has been chosen to be the next Champion of the Goddesses, yet he is also plagued by the Curse of Demise because of his heritage. But that does not condemn him to the Shadow Realm! So long as he avoids his destiny, he avoids the Curse!"

"King Halden," Sheba moaned, cupping her face with her bleeding hands. "Can't you see it? I abandoned my son in the Lost Woods, the resting place of the Spiritual Stone of the Forest. My son is traveling with Princess Zelda, bearer of the Ocarina of Time and keeper of the Song of Time. Right now, he's embarking on a journey for Death Mountain, where the Gorons safe keep the Spiritual Stone of Fire. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

King Halden swallowed, his knobby knees knocking. "Your son … is _seeking_ out the Triforce? Madness! Why?"

"Ganondorf," Sheba cried lightly. "It's to stop Ganondorf from reaching the Sacred Realm. The closer my son gets to the Triforce, the more the Curse will consume him!"

"There is still hope for your boy," King Halden fruitlessly tried to assure her. "He may be Cursed, but he is a Candidate! He is the rightful bearer of the Triforce! You know as well as I that not just anyone can obtain the divine relic of the Goddesses! If your son uses the Triforce's power, he can save himself!"

"King Halden, my son is special," Sheba replied, keeping her face in her hands. "All mothers think their children are special, and I am no different, but after our ancestor used the Triforce, it has never been seen again. Why would that change?"

" '_We can never experience change unless someone is willing to act_'," King Halden quoted. "I remember a certain hot-blooded lass who used to say this to me all the time. I could not change. When I killed my dearest friend, I thought I did so for the future of Hyrule. That is a lie. I slew Ganon because I envied the straightforward righteousness which made him the Skyward Hero's closest companion, and not me. I slew Ganon because _I _wanted to be known as one of Hyrule's greatest saviors, and not the leader of a gang of pirates. My selfish ego is what cursed me and your family. Now I am forced to watch what my actions have wrought to the land I tried so desperately to protect. I can never change who I am, not anymore. Your son, however, can. He can break the Curse of Demise! He can end the darkness threatening Hyrule once and for all! Believe in him!"

"I can't!" Sheba sobbed as her spirit tore itself asunder with her following words. "I don't know who I'm believing in! I know he's my son, my flesh and blood, yet I know nothing about him! I lost my right to be his mother the moment I forfeited myself to _her_ wishes!"

King Halden got back to his feet, placing a wrinkly hand on her shoulder. "Then get to know him. He is here with you, right now. Your son is right before your eyes! Is this not what you always wished for?"

Sheba didn't answer, not because she didn't want to, but because she couldn't. Of course she wanted her child to stay by her side, forever if possible. But Link was like her, and because of his destiny, she knew Link would leave; it all came down to a matter of time. With each passing moment she saw her son, he filled the hole in her heart, becoming wider and wider as the seconds passed. The moment Link left her life, he'd take that piece of her heart with him, and the void would become that much larger. She knew she couldn't hold herself together if that happened.

_Tap, tap_. Someone was knocking on the other side of her sound-canceling barrier. She lifted her face from her hands to see Princess Zelda, placing a hand on the other side of her barrier while showing deep concern. Sheba waved her hand, and a small opening appeared, allowing the princess to walk inside before the gap closed.

"Sheba, is something the matter?" Princess Zelda asked, standing beside her kneeling body. "I heard you shouting with King … that is … Griffin, and I was wondering if everything was alright."

Sheba felt a twinge of surprise. "You … heard us?"

"Well, yes. You were making an awful ruckus, yet no one seemed to hear it. So I came up to see if anything was the matter.

Her surprise grew. _Without using any magic, she heard my voice despite my Nayru's Province? _"Princess Zelda, please tell me something."

"If I can, certainly."

"My son, Link. How long have you been traveling with him?"

"Not very long, only a day or two," Princess Zelda replied. "Why do you wish to know?"

"Please, and tell me to the best of your knowledge." Sheba pleaded. "Is it true what he says? Is courage the only faith he needs? Has he shown any interest in furthering his power or wisdom?"

"Never. He's rather laid back. He is strong, yet he never seeks out strength. He's very smart, but expresses no interest in expanding his knowledge."

"That's not possible!" King Halden demanded, kneeling down to Princess Zelda and shaking her by the shoulders, as if the answers he sought would fall out if he rattled her hard enough. "That boy is the Candidate! I saw for myself!"

"Enough, King Halden!" Sheba said, pushing the frail ruler aside. Something new was bubbling inside her chest; was it hope, or fear? She couldn't tell. "Do not confuse the girl. Princess Zelda, are you still with me?"

"W-Well, yes, of course," Zelda replied hesitantly. "What is going on?"

"Please, answer everything I am about to ask you. My hopes ride on what you may say. Does my son display astounding levels of courage?"

"Yes, all the time. His bravery is constantly surprising me."

"Does he seek out power like a mad dog? Does he hunger for any source of strength to defeat his enemies?"

"No, never."

"Does he cherish knowledge, believing information and wisdom is the greatest weapon against his enemies?"

"No."

"What about his magic? What he born with the gift of the Goddesses?" Sheba pressed on.

"You do not know whether you own son was born with his arcane powers?" King Halden asked. Sheba glared at him with unrelenting eyes. "Ah, yes, yes. You abandoned him when he was a baby, so you had no chance to see the signs."

"Link told me he was given his magic by a Great Fairy outside of Hyrule Castle. However, what you said about wisdom being the greatest weapon, I am rather fond of the idea. Rather than Link, the ideology suits me."

Sheba's astonishment broke the roof of her threshold. "Suits … you?"

"Yes. Back when I still lived in Hyrule Castle, I had many opportunities to bury myself in the Royal Library. When I was not being told what to do or how to act in front of others, I would relish the time I spent studying. My father always told me that as the future Queen of Hyrule, all I would need is the power to command my subjects and the courage to make hard choices. However, I've always believed that true strength comes from wisdom, which is why I cherish knowledge."

Sheba swallowed; her throat was dry. "Tell me … Princess Zelda. Do you have any … dreams? Premonitions about the future? I know you are known as the Dreamer of Prophecies, but I must know if it is true!"

"Yes, I've had horrid dreams of a darkness consuming Hyrule for months."

Sheba's shock was reeling over her, and King Halden was teetering so dangerously he could've toppled off the second floor and broken every bone in his body from the fall (not that he would've died). She grabbed Princess Zelda's left hand and stared at it intently. Though it was hard to see without the lost treasure, the legendary Lens of Truth, Sheba made due by focusing a wave of magic into her eyes to see what could not be seen.

There it was. Glowing faintly on the back of Princess Zelda's hands, something only Sheba and King Halden could see with their magic, was the flickering golden image of the Triforce.

"The Candidate," Sheba breathed in disbelief.

"Impossible! There can only be one Candidate!" King Halden roared in protest, shaking his boney fists. "Your son, Sheba, your son! He is the Candidate, that is for certain! I have seen it for myself, and you know as well as I that there can one be one Candidate for one Triforce!"

"But you can see this for yourself, King Halden," Sheba countered, raising Princess Zelda's left hand in front of the withered man's face. "Look at this girl's hand! The sign of the Candidate! It's right here! Her personality, her faith in wisdom! It all points to the same conclusion! There is no denying what exists before our eyes! There are two Candidates!"

King Halden wasn't about to accept such a preposterous answer; Sheba was having some difficulty accepting it herself. "My dear Sheba, it must be some form of trickery. There is only _one_ Candidate, because there is only _one_ Triforce. It is not possible for two Candidates to exist at the same time!"

Princess Zelda had been extremely patient considering how little she knew about the topic of Sheba and King Halden's discussion. Her impatience was reasonable as she demanded, "Why is this so important? No, better yet, please start with this: What is a candidate? Why are you so upset that Link is a Candidate? It was the reason you pulled King Halden away from the others, because he called Link a Candidate!"

King Halden moved to deny the princess's request, but Sheba held up her hand, silently telling him it was alright. "Princess Zelda, a Candidate is a title given to an individual chosen by the Three Goddesses. To the Goddesses, this person, their Candidate, is the one they deem worthy to obtain the Triforce and become their champion."

Sheba gave Princess Zelda a few moments to process the information. When she spoke, her voice was shaking and cautious. "The Triforce? The same Triforce used by the Skyward Hero, the Triforce created by the Three Goddesses?"

"The very one."

Princess Zelda was begging to know more, but then asked the question causing Sheba and King Halden so much trouble. "But … there's only one Triforce, and both Link and me are Candidates? How does that work? Can the Three Goddesses choose more than one champion?"

"We don't know, which is why this is all so troubling."

The princess gnawed on her lips. "If I recall correctly, the Goddesses asked the Seven Sages to seal the Triforce away, to keep evil hands from reaching it. If that's so, why would they choose Champions to claim it?" Sheba and King Halden looked to one another: Neither of them had an answer for that question.

"Answer this," the ancient king asked. "Why are _you_ seeking out the Triforce? Do not deny it, for I am already aware that you are traveling to Death Mountain in the hopes of claiming the Spiritual Stones of Fire. Tell me, my young descendent, what are you planning? And do not lie to me; do you want your ancestor to know you're a liar?"

"That sounds … very non-threatening." Princess Zelda noted. "But I have no reason to withhold the truth. We are heading to Death Mountain to ask the Gorons for the Spiritual Stone of Fire they are safe keeping in order to keep it from Ganondorf's hands. I had a dream, a prophecy. I saw Ganondorf claiming the Triforce, using its power to conquer the Sacred Realm and Hyrule! To stop him, I requested Link's aid to get all the keys to the Door of Time before Ganondorf."

King Halden moaned to himself. "My dear great-granddaughter, the Three Spiritual Stones were separated and entrusted to our allies, the Gorons and Zoras, so they would never fall into evil hands. That was the whole point; to keep them as far away from one another as possible! Gathering all the keys to the Sacred Realm is the worst thing you can do, my dear."

"But if we have the Three Spiritual Stones, then Ganondorf cannot take them!"

"How confident are you that once you obtain all Three Spiritual Stones, you can keep them from the Gerudo King's grasp?"

"Very!" Princess Zelda declared with such certainty it felt almost impossible to doubt her words.

"Let's trust your judgment. Don't start, King Halden," Sheba warned the elder king with one finger. "Put some faith in your descendents for a change. Popping out of the history scrolls to meddle with the affairs of your descendents is a terrible habit of yours. And Princess Zelda, I haven't told you why the knowledge of Link being a Candidate disheartens me so."

"Yes, your concern confuses me. Link may be a Candidate, but I cannot see how that's a bad thing. Is it not an honor to be chosen by the Goddesses?"

Sheba smiled sadly. "Princess Zelda, my family is cursed, cursed by the Demon King, Demise. Hold your questions," She said when the princess looked as if she would faint if she wasn't given the chance to voice her questions, "Let me speak first. To begin, the Skyward Hero of Hyrule, the one who slew the Demon King, is Link's ancestor. When he defeated Demise, the Demon King cursed him and his lineage, declaring that his hatred would haunt them for eternity. It is the Curse of Demise which killed Link's father, and it will be the curse …," Sheba choked past the words clogging her throat, "… which ends my son's life."

"W-Wait! T-That can't be!" Princess Zelda objected; she was pale and feverish from what she'd learned, but her protective nature kept her talking. Sheba was glad her son found a friend in her. "What is the curse? If we know what it is, perhaps we can stop it!"

"You know the Curse of Demise well, my dear," King Halden said solemnly. "It is the reincarnation of the Demon King's hatred, the physical manifestation of rage: His name is Ganondorf."

Princess Zelda was about to pass out; from her pale features, a bystander would've guessed she lost half the blood in her body. "T-That … how …?"

"It is my fault," the ancient monarch confessed; his breathing grew ragged as he admitted his greatest sin. "When I slew my friend, Ganon, his dying hatred was the kindle the Demon King's curse needed. After I murdered Ganon and the kingdom of Hyrule was established, I spent fifty years on my undeserved throne. I tried to forget my guilt by serving Hyrule in every imaginable way, putting my soul on the line in hopes that my good deeds would cleanse my sins. Soon afterwards, I contracted an incurable sickness. I believed it was fate, that the Goddesses were finally punishing me for my untold crimes. I passed away, and my body was laid to rest in the Royal Crypt beneath Hyrule Castle.

"But someone would not let me pass away so easily. Life was forced back into my aged and withered body, and I awoke in the middle of Hyrule Field. He stood over me, sneering at me with his familiar face, yet with a grin of black malice and evil. It was Ganon, his body possessed by the Curse of Demise, becoming a reincarnation of the Demon King's hatred and desire. Ganon became Ganondorf, and he'd brought me back from the realm of the dead to '_thank_' me for what I'd done. He put an eternal curse upon me, which would ensure that I live forever, so that I could watch him destroy the kingdom I founded." King Halden held up his hand, revealing the Demon King's mark (the double-sided blade) spawning from his skin.

"I-Impossible! If Ganondorf, my father's friend, truly is the manifestation of the Demon King's hatred, why has he waited until now to find the Triforce? Why did he not seek it out eons before now?"

"Because he is the Demon King's hatred _and_ desire," Sheba hollowly explained. "As the Curse of Demise, Ganondorf is searching for two things: The Triforce, and the descendents or reincarnation of the Skyward Hero. I suspect he wishes to accomplish both at the same time, to prove, once and for all, his dominance over Hyrule. For Ganondorf, a Candidate is like a beacon of light in a starless sky. The Skyward Hero was the first bearer of the Triforce, so it would make sense that his reincarnation or descendent would be the next Candidate to be the Champion of the Goddesses. My husband was killed by Ganondorf because he was a Candidate and a descendent of the Skyward Hero. Anyone would've believed he was the Skyward Hero's reincarnation. He was not. However, after recent events, I believe the Curse of Demise has finally found the one he seeks."

"Reincarnation? It … it's not me, is it?" Princess Zelda asked weakly, rubbing the back of her left hand, where the Mark of Candidacy shimmered in Sheba's eyes. "Ganondorf became Commander of my father's Royal Guards around the same time I was born. He's … he's not targeting me, is he?"

King Halden chortled lightly. "My dear descendent, do you remember how I said I was one of the Skyward Hero's travel companions for a time? After living a thousand generations, my mind has grown hazy, but I still remember his name. The name of the Skyward Hero … was Link."

Princess Zelda fell into despair as she reached the same conclusion Sheba had the moment she heard her son was a Candidate. "Then Ganondorf … he … he!"

"He will kill my son, take the Spiritual Stones, claim the Triforce, and become the next Demon King," Sheba confirmed, trembling as her own terror rattled her soul. "If you collect all the Spiritual Stones, then Ganondorf will most certainly come after my son, for he will have both the objects of his desire in one spot."

"We have to stop!" Princess Zelda declared. "I can't let Link find the other Spiritual Stones, not anymore!"

"Then what will you do?" King Halden asked. "If young Link truly is the Skyward Hero reborn, then Ganondorf will hunt him down to the ends of Hyrule, no matter where he runs."

"I can't just do nothing! Link is my friend! He's important to me!"

King Halden nodded. "Then there is only one thing you can do: Break the Curse of Demise. If you wish to know how, the answer is equally obvious. If you are gathering the keys to the Door of Time, why not claim the Triforce? Use its power to vanquish Ganondorf once and for all, and end the Demon King's Curse. I'm sure young Link will be able to do it. After all, he's your son Sheba, as well as the Skyward Hero of Hyrule. Food for thought, my dears. Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe my grandson is wondering what I'm doing all alone up here with two charming young ladies. This has been … an interesting evening. Goodbye, and I certainly hope I see you all again. Alive, that is."

Sheba dispelled the sound-canceling barrier around them, bidding King Halden farewell as he rejoined the others on the bottom floor. Link had managed to get the people gathered inside the ramshacked restaurant into several lines, and was distributing foods and clothes while providing the sick with medicine.

"This … this …" The princess panted, unable to form a complete sentence.

"It is a lot to accept, I know," Sheba said, rubbing Princess Zelda's back. "However, ignoring the truth does not make it any less real. Perhaps it is for the best that you learned what you did today."

"Sheba, I still have one last question."

"Only one? I'm surprised. I believed you held a thousand more."

Princess Zelda dryly smiled. "I … I do, but I cannot bear to hear any more about the Candidates or the Curse of Demise. No, the topic of my question concerns another matter. It concerns Suvica. After the Reign of Fire, the Gorons agreed to send spies to keep an eye on the dragons nesting in Ash Mountain, and they send weekly reports to my father. Although this information is kept only to the Royal Council and the King, an individual of your caliber _must_ know the state of the dragons. You must realize how unlikely it is for another Reign of Fire to occur."

"I do."

"Then why did you make Suvica human? You spoke of reforming him to prevent another Reign of Fire, but with the current state of the dragons it's highly unlikely another will ever happen! So—?"

"—What's the real reason I made Suvica human?" Sheba finished. "Call it … preparation. I underestimated Ganondorf once, but I will never do so again. Make no mistake, Ganondorf will subjugate the dragons, the mightiest race in all of Hyrule, and when that happens, we will need the last Thunder Dragon on our side. I chanced upon Suvica by sheer luck, and I would not waste such a momentous opportunity. In the coming years, we will need Suvica's help more than ever."

"That's a terrifying thought. But what if—?"

"Zelda," Sheba sighed, no longer feeling the need to address the princess by her royal title. "It has been a long night, especially for me. Let us save our questions for a better time."

"Yes, of course. I agree."

The two of them slowly made their way down the shoddy stairs, unable to face one another after the weight of their conversation.

Zelda tried alleviating the mood with an off topic question; it worked, because it was the one question Sheba had been running from. "I was wondering, who was Link's father? If Link is a descendent of the Skyward Hero, his father must be someone equally amazing."

"In a way," Sheba replied, her gauche demeanor shifting into stone. "All of Hyrule knows his name, and all of Hyrule knows his crimes."

Zelda gulped before asking. "What … crimes?"

"You do not want to know."

* * *

EDIT: Chapter 13 for the Three Spiritual Stones series is here! I flipped that coin and it came up tails, so I told the story from Sheba's point of view, which worked okay. I used this chater as a chance to tell you want exactly a "candidate" is. Since the explination was conversation style, some of you might be a little confused.

EDIT: For those of you who have read the first version of this chapter, you'll see that it has changed rather drastically. I got rid of the Candidate Curse because it tangled the story in so many knots and turned Link into a character I didn't really enjoy. Thus, I added a bit from the Skyward Sword. THANK YOU LEGEND OF ZELDA! (7/4/12)


	14. Chapter 14, Revolution

**Chapter 14**

**Revolution**

Zelda awoke to the smell of food and a kick to her rear. She fumbled out of bed, half-blind with slumber, and went head first into the cold stone floor of Sheba's diminutive house. After rolling on the ground, clutching her throbbing forehead, Zelda teetered back to her feet, determined to identify the perpetrator. She found him easily enough; Suvica was flailing in his drug-induced sleep, kicking, punching, and occasionally blowing snot bubbles from his nostrils, which popped with a shower of sparks. Disgruntled, and feeling she'd barely slept for a minute, Zelda plopped onto one of the table's two stools and rested her against the paper/potion cluttered desk.

Sheba was cooking on the stone stove beside the bed, whose only current occupant was Suvica. The room was dimly lit by seven different candles, and Link, Malon, and Navi were nowhere to be found. With no windows on the bottom floor of Sheba's house, it was impossible to tell what time it was.

"Good morning," Sheba greeted, taste-testing her stew with a wooden ladle. Her black hair was tied into a bundle behind her head, and she wore a white apron over her usual black dress.

"Good … _yawn _… morning," Zelda replied, blinking out a few morning-tears. Was it morning? She tried remembering the previous night; she did a bit of small talk with Sheba and her great ancestor Halden, learned she and Link were Candidates of the Goddesses, and then helped distribute food and clothes to the needy. "Excuse me … what time is it?"

"Midday," Sheba answered, pouring the stew into a small bowl and handing it to Zelda along with a spoon. "You fell asleep before we finished distributing everything. I let you rest while Link and I passed out the rest. Then I brought the two of you back."

"Thank you," Zelda said, gratefully accepting the bowl Sheba gave her. She ate a spoonful felt her weariness disappear. "Where is Link now? Is he with Malon?

"He wanted to explore more of Denion's Gold Haven, so he left a few hours ago" Sheba replied. "Malon and Navi—" She gnawed on the fairy's name before letting it slip, "—accompanied him."

"Won't it be dangerous? Aren't the bandit soldiers of Denion still searching for us?"

"They are, but they spent all of yesterday scouring the Golden Haven for the lot of you. Today, they're checking the Black Ring. I gave Link and Malon some different clothes so they won't stand out as much, so they'll be fine."

"Sheba, will you be telling Link about what we spoke about yesterday? Doesn't he deserve to know about the Curse of Demise, the Candidates, and the Skyward Hero?"

"I don't plan on telling Link anything. The less he knows, the better off he is."

"That's so irresponsible! The Curse of the Demon Kings affects him more than anyone else! He has a right to know about Ganondorf's true nature, along with the fact that he's a Candidate!"

Sheba looked up from the dishes she was scrubbing clean. "Did knowing the truth make you feel any better?" Zelda pressed her lips into a stern line; no it didn't. In fact, now she felt as though the weight of destiny was guiding every move she made, a very disconcerting notion. Sheba took her silence as an answer. "Exactly. Link already has too much on his shoulders. He's met his mother for the first time, and I can tell that's already put a strain on him. I don't intent to bury him in garbage about '_fate_' and '_destiny_'. However, that only concerns to me. What you do with such information is entirely up to you. You can tell him, if you wish, or you can attempt to keep it a secret." Sheba smiled to herself. "Though if you attempt to keep anything a secret from my son, expect to be disappointed.

"Why?"

"A mother's intuition. I expecting keeping a secret from him will be as challenging as driving a Poe Sister into her Soul Torch."

Zelda finished her own lunch, feeling the satisfaction of good meal and a pleased stomach. She thanked Sheba for the meal and gave her the empty (excluding the carrots, because they don't count) wooden bowl.

Sheba eyed the remaining carrots meticulously. "You didn't eat your carrots."

"I … I'm not very fond of them."

"There are people in Denion dying to get the smallest scraps of food. The least you can do is finish yours." Sheba held out the carrot-bowl.

Zelda flinched away. "Must I?"

Sheba's lips parted into a wide, loving smile. "Zelda, I _will _spank you."

The carrots were in Zelda's stomach the following second. As she chewed on the least piece of the detestable orange stick, she noticed her fingers were covered in a thin glove of dust. She inspected the rest of her body and cringed. Her sleeveless green shirt was spotted with dirt and wooden splinters, the green fabric covering her left arm was looking very brown, and her dress was torn in several places around the rim. She wasn't recoiling from the grime covering her, but from the fact that Malon's hard work was ruined after only a day.

"You are welcome to use the bathtub upstairs," Sheba offered, accepting Zelda's bowl. "I'll get you another set of clothes, as well."

Knowing her present state was hardly presentable, Zelda readily accepted Sheba's offer. She climbed to the top floor of the house, taking a peak outside the window to see the sun in the middle of the sky. The bathtub was already filled with water, but when Zelda stripped herself and tipped a toe into the tub, she nearly jumped out of her skin; the water was freezing.

"Din's Fire," she whispered between her chattering teeth. Her controlled ball of fire sank towards the bottom of the tub, rapidly bringing the water to a cozy steam. Pleased with the temperature, she dipped herself into the warm water until only her head rest above the bath's surface. Breathing in relief, she let the water's heat ease the tension knotted in her body. Being able to bathe in peace, without having a hundred servants yammering at her about proper bathing etiquette in the castle's pool-sized bath, was the best part of her day. There was soap and a towel on the stand beside the tub; Zelda cleaned herself with the soup and stepped out of the bath to dry herself with the towel.

Sheba climbed into the room with a bundle of clothes when Zelda was done washing. She accepted the change in attire, handing her dirtied garments to Sheba when she offered to clean them. Her new outfit consisted of a pink shawl that concealed her hair, a short sleeved white shirt, and a pink dress that brushed against the floor. It wasn't as comfortable as Malon's tailored clothing, but it was refreshing to be clean once more.

As soon as Zelda fastened her dress to her waist, Link suddenly swung into the room via the window (thank the Goddesses he didn't enter a few seconds too soon). Malon stumbled in after him, looking a little fatigued but excited all the same.

"Good morning, you two. Why you come in through the window?" Zelda asked.

"There was a familiar face pacing around the door," Link explained, briskly stretching his arms and legs. His normal green attire was replaced with a sleeveless black tunic and pants; however, he still donned his familiar green hood on his head. "Sure didn't expect to see him again."

"Who?"

"Good morning, Princess Zelda!" Malon greeted, enthusiastically interrupting. She had also received a different set of clothes; a white shirt with blue laced endings, a set of short pants, and a white bow that tied her long red hair into a ponytail.

"Nice to see you're awake," Link added. "Did you know you drool in your sleep?"

Zelda turned pink; she did? "I-I never knew. Was it bad?"

Link laughed in his usual carefree tone. "I only reason I had to change my clothes was because you were sleeping right next to me." Zelda's pink turned to red.

"I smell food! Is Suvi awake?" Malon asked.

"No, Suvica is still asleep." _Drugged to sleep,_ Zelda noted with a small hint of satisfaction. "And yes, Sheba has prepared lunch. It's rather delectable." Malon was racing to the first floor the moment Zelda said the "del-" in "delectable".

"You took a bath?" Link asked, looking past Zelda and at the still steaming bathtub.

"Yes, it was very refreshing."

"Awesome. I'm a little sweaty myself." Before Zelda could stop Link, the boy tossed off his clothes and leaped into the tub with a large splash.

Zelda hastily slapped her hands over her eyes. "I didn't have time to change the water yet!"

"Don't worry about it. Navi, come on in! You haven't taken a bath since the day you were reborn!"

"Totally not true, but a bath sounds nice all the same," Zelda heard Navi cheer before hearing a smaller splash. "Hey, don't touch the wings!"

"Oops, sorry."

Zelda, with her back turned to the tub, slowly scuttled towards the opening leading down to the second and floor first, but was stopped when Link asked her a question. "Zelda, what were you, my mom, and Griffin talking about last night?"

"O-Oh? W-w-were we talking?" she stammered.

"Yeah," Link said. Zelda heard a few splashes and several complaints from the fairy. "Mom made some kind of barrier from magic and I couldn't hear anything she was saying. Then you went up and I couldn't hear you either. Can you tell me what you three were talking about?"

"I-I-I-It was nothing! H-Honest! N-No secrets!"

Link gave her a "Hmm?" before saying, "What are you hiding?"

"N-Nothing! I swear on my title as the P-Princess of Hyrule!"

"Then your title as Princess must not be worth much."

"Oh, low blow," Navi giggled.

"T-T-There's nothing to s-say!" Zelda shouted; if there was one thing she and Sheba agreed on, it was that some secrets were best kept from Link.

Unfortunately, Link didn't seem to like secrets. "Zelda, if you don't tell me right now, I'll—"

"You're a Candidate of the Goddesses and cursed by the Demon King!"

"See? That wasn't—wait, what?"

Zelda sighed; she said she wasn't going to tell Link anything and she'd already broken her word in a matter of seconds. Seeing no other choice but to appease the boy's curiosity, she started from the beginning. She told him about the Candidates, the Champions of the Goddess and Triforce, about the Halden, his legacy to the Skyward Hero, and then the Curse of Demise. When she was finished, she half-expected Link to start drilling her for more suitable answers.

Instead, she heard: "Curse of Demise? Who cares?"

Of all the responses she was expecting, "Who cares?" was not one of them. "Um, Link? Aren't you worried at all? Because you're a Candidate, Ganondorf has marked you as his next victim. He'll kill you before claiming the Triforce!"

Link laughed, like Zelda had told a poor joke. "Let him try. Zelda, you asked me to help you save Hyrule by stopping Ganondorf, and that's exactly what I'm going to do. I don't care if I'm related to the Skyward Hero, and I don't care if a force called destiny is watching me like a puppet. Ganondorf killed the only father I care about, the Great Deku Tree, and I'll make sure he pays for what he's done. Besides, isn't it a good thing I'm a Candidate? If that's true, and only Candidates can claim the Triforce, then Ganondorf can't claim it, no matter what he does. Don't fret and we'll be alright."

Zelda couldn't help feel but awed at Link's words. They filled her with a sensation she'd never felt before: Admiration. She admired how he could stay so carefree and calm, even when faced with such colossal tidings. She admired how he stayed focused on his goals, regardless of what stood in his way. Still, that admiration cast a shadow of discontent towards herself. He reminded Zelda how empty she really was. Link was molded by the experiences of his life, driven by the friends he'd made and wished to protect, and stood tall thanks to the teachings of a proud father-figure, the Great Deku Tree.

Zelda had none of these. Her mold was a fabrication pieced together by the orders and wishes of her father and Royal Council. The only thing she felt driven by was the need to protect her people, citizens she barely knew. Link's words always gave her courage; without them, she wouldn't be able to stand tall. She remembered Halden's story, about how he killed his closest friend for the sake of Hyrule's future (even if he was driven by an egotistical desire). Could Zelda do that? Could she find the steel inside her to betray the people she loved in order to protect Hyrule? Could she find the courage to make life-threatening decisions for the greater good? No, before all that, could she actually become a somewhat decent Queen? How would she be able to tell if her future decisions helped the people or hurt them? She had wisdom far beyond her age, yes, but lacked the experience that came with age. Was there a standard for right and wrong? How could Zelda possible know if—?

_Pinch_.

Zelda flew off her feet with a soundless cry as a sharp pressure snapped at her behind. She hopped, skipped, and bounced around the room like a ferret, only stopping after the pain subsided enough for her to turn around and glare at Link for pinching her rear yet again. He was fully dressed in his usual green attire.

"What was that for?" She demanded, spiking her voice with irritation.

"Your eyebrows were scrunched together, and you were brooding over like a depressed Deku Scrub," Link explained with figurative hand gestures. "You were obviously pestering yourself with questions about whether or not you're fit to help or people or not, right?"

Zelda narrowed her eyes; was mind-reading part of his gift as the reincarnation of the Skyward Hero, or was that just Link being annoyingly sharp? "How could you tell?"

"Because that's the only time you make this face," Link demonstrated, raising his fingers and slanting them over his eyes like pointed eyebrows. "Come on, spit it out. What's wrong?"

_There really are no secrets around this boy. Sheba, how did you end up marrying his father?_ "Link, I'm different from you."

"Naturally."

"No, I mean I'm really different. You're so … _you_. You're so sure of what you're doing there's no room for any doubt. But look at me! I barely know what I'm doing! I can't tell if what I want is right or wrong, I can't tell if what I think is right will actually help Hyrule, and I can't tell if my people will actually want my help! I'm so … empty. I lack conviction, self-assurance … confidence. How will I know what is right?"

Link sighed; he sounded very much like Sheba when he did. "Zelda, for a girl who says she's smart, you sure are dumb." Zelda twitched an eyebrow in annoyance. "You say you're empty. Okay, alright, whatever that means. Then you jump from one problem to another and start demanding answers for your self-asked questions. Let me tell you what I know: You'll never get your answers at this rate! You want to know if you can actually help Hyrule? Okay! There's a perfect way to figure out!"

Zelda started listening. "Really?"

"Where do you think we are? We're in Denion City, the most corrupt and evil city we'll ever come across. But think of it this way: All of Hyrule's crooked Nobles and villains are gathered here in one place, picking on the poor. You find a way to save Denion, you'll get your answer. If you can save one city, maybe you can save Hyrule too."

"But what if I don't get an answer?"

"You'll never know until you try. You can keep asking yourself these questions all your life, but actions speak louder than words. Even if you find an answer by yourself, it's meaningless if you don't act on it. So do something! Figure out how to save Denion, and then see whether or not you've helped the people."

Zelda let his words sink in; it sounded reasonable enough. "But what if—?"

"Z~e~l~d~a?" Link cooed. She flew around, watching him with warily as he rubbed his index finger and thumb together; surprisingly, the small gesture was very threatening. "Are you thinking too broadly again?"

"Not at all! I'm only thinking about how to save Denion!"

"Good. If you do start asking yourself meaningless questions again, I'll have Suvica doing the pinching."

_Oh my Goddess_, Zelda groaned internally; her rear was in mortal peril.

* * *

Link's advice helped and bothered her. Now that she concentrated solely on Denion's plight, she left no room in her head to be worrying about her previous internal quarrels. Still, no matter how hard Zelda put her mind to the task, she couldn't find a way to purge Pavo's control over Denion City without resorting to violence. He ruled the people through fear, meaning they would never revolt against the tyrant. On the other hand, Pavo had a small army of cutthroats on his payroll; the devious Noble would do everything in his earthly power to prevent Denion City from slipping out of his grasp.

It was impossible. The day came and went as Zelda brooded to herself, plotting Pavo's downfall. During dinner, she asked the others how they would handle the situation in her shoes.

"Grab him and feed him to the undead," Link offered.

"Poison his food," Navi suggested.

"Eat him," Suvica cackled.

"Run him over with a horse," Malon added.

"This will most certainly take a while," she sighed as she ate her carrots.

* * *

Three days later.

Zelda spent the following days buying stacks of fresh scrolls, quills, and bottles of ink to writing down every imaginable way Pavo could be removed from power without violence. She believed the quickest way would be to expose his wrongdoings to her father, but that would bring him and the Royal Guards to Denion, to her. She couldn't let her father take her back to Hyrule Castle so soon. Sheba was very knowledgeable in the ways of magic and warfare, devising assassination methods that boggled Zelda's mind (one of her crazier ideas involved sending an Armos disguised as a statue of Pavo, so when he touched it the stone-monster would crush him to death); she discarded all the ideas which ended in Pavo's death. No matter how many people wanted him dead, Zelda wanted Pavo to stand before her father and pay for his crimes under the name of the law. Each time Zelda became aggravated with her lack of progress, Sheba would gently encourage her to press on. During their time together, she couldn't help but grow attached to Sheba; she was like the mother Zelda never had. Sheba helped Zelda whenever possible, combed her hair after baths, telling her stories as she slept, and scolded her for not eating her vegetables. It was also heartening to watch Link steadily open up to his mother; the process was slow, but Link was surely revealing more and more about himself to the parent he never had. On occasion, Link, Navi, Suvica, and Malon would try sneaking into Pavo's palace (which was smack dead in the center of Denion); the first time they tried, they came running back with a small army barking at their heels. Navi was far more useful when it came to recon; her small figure enabled her to fly into Pavo's manor undetected and report the status of his security (which was very heavy, by the way). With all of them helping her work towards a common goal, it felt like one big happy family (minus Suvica).

But eventually, Zelda's exasperation was catching up with her. Before she burned out from sheer frustration, Malon and Sheba came to her rescue. She spent the end of the third day doing nothing but relaxing, shopping for clothes, and purchasing food (for themselves as well as for the people trapped within the Black Ring). Despite having the Nobles and aristocrats critically eye their standard clothing and make jokes about their living conditions behind their backs, Zelda found that she did indeed have a good time. She tried an assortment of new clothes with Malon, laughing and making jokes about which one of them looked better in which dress. Sheba also taught Zelda how to cook, and she discovered she was a talented chief and enjoyed the culinary arts.

* * *

Fifth day.

Her troubles were piling up again. It wasn't because of her inability to devise a plan to free Denion of Pavo, it was because of _that_ person: Suvica. It would've taken an ordinary boy at least three months to recover from the mortal blows Sheba deal, yet Suvica was up and about in five days. The first thing the pesky lizard wanted to know was when they were leaving Denion City (the smell of perfume still bothered him a great deal). When she told him they weren't leaving until she helped the people of Denion, she didn't win any favors.

"Now listen here, Princess!" Suvica snarled over that night's dinner (apple fried steak with a few veggies on the side, made proudly by yours truly). "I refuse to stay in this witch's house for another day! I've been cooped up here for too damn long, and I sure ain't staying a day longer! If I have to drag you out of this city by the tip of my tail, I guarantee you, I will!"

Zelda assisted Sheba in putting an extra dose of sleeping-herbs into Suvica's steak, and the Thunder Dragon was snoring the night away without a peep. Zelda passed out just as quickly, rather exhausted from the excessive plots and schemes she devised again him (Pavo, of course).

* * *

Sixth day.

While Link, Navi, Malon, took Sheba's tour of the Golden Haven, Zelda redoubled her efforts to bring Pavo's eviction to light. No such luck. It didn't help that Suvica was up and about, staring over her shoulder to see what she was writing (Zelda had a sneaking suspicion Suvica couldn't read), asking now and then what kind of "brilliant scheme" she was hatching. When she told Suvica to go bother someone else, the lizard got right to it; he lunged for Sheba in another failed attempt at a sneak attack. The following night, he was bandaged from head to toe.

* * *

Day seven.

Zelda was getting nowhere, and her "great wisdom" was letting her down badly. She decided to use the rest of the day to recover her mental stamina; after she put a pause to her scheming, she noticed Link and Navi had been leaving the house for long periods of time for the last week, only coming back to eat, sleep, and occasionally input some helpful suggestions for her sake. When it was time for dinner and the two returned, Zelda asked about what they'd been up to.

"Research of our own," Navi replied over their supper (Zelda was always spellbound when she saw the forest fairy eat human food; broccoli disappeared by the dozens whenever Navi flew near them). "We thought it'd be best to see how we can help Denion City as well."

"What the heck!" Suvica roared, spewing a mouthful of meat onto Sheba (with unquestionably intentional accuracy). "You said you didn't care what happened to these people! You told me so at Ass-Kisser's hotel!"

Zelda had no idea who that was.

"I don't care, but Zelda does." Link answered after taking a long draught of water. "She wants to help them, so I'm helping her. I'm also giving my mom a hand with provide food and clothing to the folks in the Black Ring by pockets a few rocks here and there."

Suvica swallowed a large chuck of red meat. "Rocks? What the heck is that suppose to mean?"

"This." Link reached into his magical pouch and threw several stolen bags brimmed with rupees onto the table.

The dragon's eyes were shining. "Now you're speaking my language."

Navi snorted. "Heh, hardly. Hey, did you know a dragon's brain is half the size of a Deku Scrubs?" Suvica spent the rest of the night throwing fists of food at the fairy, while Navi spent her time dodging carrots and tomatoes while telling dragon jokes Zelda never heard before. Granted, she never knew dragon jokes existed.

Because it had been a week, Sheba was preparing five giant bags filled with supplies; each of them disappeared into Link's magic pouch. As the week before, she carried Zelda and Link to the meeting place in the Black Ring. Malon wanted to tag along, but fell asleep right after dinner. Suvica was still consumed with the task of capturing Navi (thus failing to eat any of his drugged meals), and since the fairy followed Link wherever he went, the lizard inevitably end up pursuing them to the rundown restaurant deep within the Black Ring.

Far more people were gathered than the week before. Halden and Rail (who Zelda now recognized as a faraway relative) were there as well. Link dumped the five supply bags onto the floor, along with a few other extraneous items he hastily stuffed back into his pouch. This time around, things went much more smoothly; with an extra surplus of goods, they were able to pass out food, clothes, and medicine to everyone, while Suvica was engaging in a staring contest with Rail.

"Bow before me, puny human," the lizard scoffed, his nose held high.

Rail was clenching his fists. "I don't need to listen to some thankless child who selfishly runs away from his parents!"

Suvica bellowed in laughter. It was a good thing Sheba cast her Nayru's Province around the entire restaurant, because their quarrel was a loud one. "Believe me, human! My parents aren't the type of _creatures_ who worry about their young! Besides, they won't drop dead like a certain _someone's _parents."

The next thing Zelda saw (as she helped bandage a wounded man's lacerated arm) was Rail's fist in the dragon's face. Suvica allowed Rail to throw his little tantrum undisturbed, but once his dragon pride started hackling up, he threw a few punches of his own. In the end, Rail was so badly bruised and beaten that Sheba offered to take him to her place; Halden graciously agreed. Zelda knew Suvica would make a wonderful villain as he cackled at Rail's unconscious body. Sheba hurriedly took him home, promising to come back for the rest of them.

"Come on Suvica, are you going to help or just beat other people up?" Link asked as he handed out bread and water to starving after Sheba left with Rail.

The lizard sneered. "Help? Why would I help when taunting humans is so much more fun?" Zelda nervously glanced at the crowd gathered in the eatery; more than half of them looked like they wanted to tear Suvica limb from limb (if they tried, she knew the exact opposite would happen). "What's wrong, humans? Got a problem? Well bring it on!"

Thankfully, Link managed to control the situation. While Suvica was busy laughing like a lunatic, Link marched up to lizard and kicked him in the fork of his legs. She wasn't sure whether Suvica had been previously injured there or if it was a weak spot all dragons had, but the lizard started wheezing heavily while grasping the area between his legs with a pained expression. A lot of people cheered; many more demanded he beat the dragon up some more.

With Suvica mysteriously down for the count, the remainder of the goods were passed out without further incident. Sheba came back for them, as she promised, a few minutes later. Back at home, Rail was resting in the bed, his injuries properly dressed and cared for. Zelda took a little time to talk with her distant relative (Rail didn't know the two of them were related), whose face was swollen from the beating he took.

"You truly cared for your family," she said, readjusting the bandage on his head.

"I loved my mother, my little sister, and my father. I couldn't let _him_ talk badly of them," Rail replied, balling fists in remembrance. He looked to Link and said, "I heard what you did. Thanks for shutting him up."

Link gave him a thumbs-up.

Since the large boy took up all of the bed, the rest of them spread out some spare blankets on the third floor and slept there for the night.

As Zelda lay down, gazing out the window, the day replayed itself in her mind. She remembered the treachery of the Nobles and the misery the people were in. Then she saw their overjoyed faces as she provided them with food and clothing, their happy, hopeful expressions. She liked it. She liked helping them, she liked seeing them smile, and she liked that she was part of the reason for their joy. For once, her empty heart was starting to fill with hope.

She rolled on her back. To her right, Malon was sleeping between her and Suvica. On her left was Sheba and Link. As she beheld Sheba's sleeping figure, she couldn't help but wonder who Sheba really was. She said she was Link's mother and nothing more, yet that couldn't be all. She was extraordinarily strong, knew more about the Triforce and the Goddesses than anyone else, and even fought against the Gerudo King. Zelda had a sneaking suspicion about Sheba's identity, but when she sat up to question Sheba, she saw Sheba's hand hesitantly hovering over Link's resting body. Each time she was about to touch her son, her fingers instinctively drew away.

This wasn't Zelda's place to interrupt with prying questions. Instead, she resigned herself to her weighty eyelids and she considered giving Sheba a helping hand. Normally, Zelda would profusely debate over her involvement in someone else's personal matters, but she was too tired to start doubting herself. She shoved the back of Sheba's shoulder, causing her arm to drape around her son. Sheba looked at Zelda with wild eyes, but she was already pretending to be sleep. With the deed done, Zelda felt Sheba's fidgeting cease as she embraced her child.

* * *

The next day, Zelda awoke to find Link and Navi missing (undoubtedly searching Denion City for advantages to use against Pavo), Sheba cooking, Suvica snoring, and Malon sweeping the area outside the front door. Rail still looked like a half dressed Anubis (a desert mummy monster), yet was engaging in every conceivable muscle training exercise.

"What are you doing?" Zelda yawned, straightening her bed-head.

"I'm going to get stronger," Rail snarled beneath the bandages covering his face, slowly counting off his pushups next to the bathtub. "I'm going to pound that arrogant kid's face in!" The "arrogant kid" was still snoring away, but managed to make a rude hand gesture to Rail regardless.

Zelda doubted a few hundred pushups and sit-ups could give Rail the strength he needed to go against a Thunder Dragon, but she kept that detail to herself. She liked Rail; he was a child of lost-royalty and held a lot of anger in his heart, but he was honest and straightforward, very different from those twisted and cunning Royal Council and Court members she'd been surrounded by all her life.

After washing her face and brushing her teeth, Zelda burned the parchments she wrote on with a small Din's Fire (Rail stared her, whispering "Magic!"). She exhausted every peaceful solution she could think of, aimlessly wandering in circles, trying to see if she could turn it into a square. Because Pavo never left Denion City, and the corrupt Nobles who came and went kept their secrets to the grave, there was no way she was going to send Pavo on an express package to Hyrule Castle. It was time to devise more extreme measures.

_Calm down, calm down!_ Zelda ordered herself, talking several deep breaths as images of blood and gore gushed into her head. Sure, using excessive force could kick Pavo off his high horse, but it would involve too many civilian casualties as well. The dilemma: Could Zelda risk the lives of Denion's people to bring down Hyrule's most rotten Noble? It was a question she knew she'd have to face one day, but never thought it'd be now

When Link and Navi came back for the night, Zelda asked if they could take her somewhere to help her clear her muddled mind. She could have taken a quiet stroll by herself, but she always felt safer with Link at her side. He agreed, and when Malon overheard what they were planning, she begged Zelda to let her tag along as well. Naturally, this meant Suvica demanded to come too.

With their original party of five assembled, Link led the way. Instead of taking the conventional exit, he climbed out the top floor's window, scaling the neighboring wall with amazing dexterity; his fingers found the smallest groves and handholds, allowing him to climb upward without a hitch. Suvica cracked his knuckles and followed, letting his tail dangled out the back of his torn clothes. It curled around Zelda and Malon so that he carried them as he climbed. While Link slipped his fingers into small furrows, protruding wall decorations, and fancy drain pipes to climb, Suvica merely dug his fingers into the polished wall like it was made of putty and pulled himself upward with Zelda and Malon wrapped firmly in his tail.

On the roof of their neighbor's mansion (Zelda looked down to see the trail of finger holes in the wall, hoping Sheba wouldn't have to pay for the damages) Link directed them the rooftop playground; the slides were made from silver, the swing sets from gold, and the "sandbox" was filled with small gems instead of sand. While Malon played on the swings and Suvica crammed the sandbox's diamonds into his pockets, Link guided Zelda to the top of the slide, where they got a fair vantage point of the city. Together, they saw the beauty and devastation of Denion City; seeing such splendor beside so much poverty (and knowing how intentional it was) made Zelda's stomach boil.

"There it is," Link pointed, putting a hand on her shoulder and directing Zelda's gaze to Pavo's palace. It was an impressive sight; Pavo's ill-gotten home was basically a rectangular mansion, a coliseum of lights, built in the center of the city. It was large enough to tightly fit Denion City's whole population within its ten floors. There were no other buildings within fifty square yards of Pavo's palace, as if no other structure had any right to stand beside its magnificence.

"Humans, I'll never understand them," Suvica sighed as he approached the base of the silver slide (his pockets bulging) and stared at the distant manor. "What does one human need all that space for?"

"They say the size of one's home is proportionate to their wealth," Zelda answered. She didn't bother wasting her attention on Pavo's large manor; instead, she contented herself with the sight of the star-lined horizon.

"I say we burn it down," Suvica offered. "C'mon, let me! One good lightning bolt and I'll change it into a bonfire!"

"No! If we destroy Pavo's residence, he will only build himself a new one. Plus, I do not wish to kill Pavo. I want him to stand before Hylian law and answer for him crimes like a proper criminal!"

The lizard pouted. "Boring. Link, what do you say? You've usually got the fun ideas, so hit me with one!"

_Smack!_

Someone did hit Suvica, but it wasn't any of them. An eight year old boy, garbed in an outfit so costly it could've fed fifty people for a week if sold, pounded the dragon on the back of his head with a toy sword.

"W-W-W-Who are y-y-you thieves?" the boy, his voice incredibly shrill, squeaked, tripping away from Suvica when his heroic blade failed to slay the evil dragon. "W-W-Why are you in my p-p-playground? T-Tell me, or I'll c-c-call my mommy and d-daddy!"

Suvica's hands snapped the boy's toy sword in half; the boy paled. "You want to know what _I_ am? I'm your worst nightmare, brat! You want to call mommy and daddy? Go ahead! Free dinner for me!"

Link slid down the slide and smacked Suvica on the back of the head. "Don't worry, we're fairies who are just passing by!" He said cheerfully.

The boy blanked. "F-F-Fairies?"

"Yep, fairies!"

"I-I-I don't believe you! Y-Y-You don't look like fairies!"

"That's because we're in our human forms, silly," Link chided. "Here, let me prove it to you!" Zelda didn't have the slightest idea what Link was planning until he pulled out a deku nut from his pouch. "Now close your eyes, and after the flash of light is gone, we'll be in our fairies forms!"  
The rich little boy's prior fears were gone; now he was tripping over himself in excitement. "Really?"  
"Really," Link nodded. "Now, close your eyes!"

The child eagerly obeyed, and Link tossed the deku nut into the air and bolted, motioning for the rest of them to follow. They hid behind the large silver slide and closed their eyes right on time; the deku nut hit the ground and popped with an explosion of light. As the boy began to uncover his eyes, Navi darted from Link's hood and hovered in front of the child.

When he saw her, the boy nearly fainted from joy. He stuttered out an incomprehensible jumble of words, and wouldn't stop until Navi was begging him to calm down.

"A fairy! You're a real fairy!"

"O-Of course I am!" Navi said, trying to mimic Link's tone. "This is my fairy form! What do you think?"

"You're so pretty!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! Let's be best friends forever!"

"Huh? Whoa, wait a second kid, I've got somewhere I need to—!"

"Friends forever!" The boy giggled, trying to grab Navi with his pudgy fingers.

"Hey! Wait! Link, this is so not funny!"

* * *

Ninth day.

Zelda was too stressed to begin conjuring up ideas of revolt and warfare, so she assisted Malon and Sheba in buying new clothes and more food for the needy. Rail, though still in bad shape, said he did not wish to be a burden and insist upon holding their groceries. Zelda grew progressively worried and he was buried beneath a mounting stack of clothes and food.

When she asked if he was okay, Rail panted, "I'm … fine! Some like this … is nothing for me! I can … _pant _… always use the workout!"

The rest of their shopping went smoothly enough (with the usual scoffs, harsh remarks, and pitying stares from the aristocrats around them) until one of the Nobles reached out and grabbed Sheba's buttocks. To add insult to injury, the pig asked how many rupees it would take for Sheba to stay with him for a night. Zelda and Malon shouted at the man for his lack of manners (the Noble was as tall as he was wide); Rail threw down their bags and tried to punch the pig's face in. Sheba held them all back, turning down the Noble's offer with an apology.

"Why do you tolerate such actions?" Zelda demanded while Rail picked up their bags. "That swine's actions were improper and degrading!"

"You should've beaten him up!" Malon agreed.

Sheba offered them a sad smile. "I tolerate it because I must. I am the only one in the Gold Haven who brings those imprisoned within the Black Rung the food and clothing they need to survive. Should I raise a hand against anyone here, I would be revoking my petite privileges and sent to the Black Ring, where I cannot help anyone. So I bear with the harassment, because there are things more important than a little shame."

"Then you should've let me take him," Rail grunted beneath their little mound of groceries. "I could've taken the blame."

Despite Rail's assurance, Zelda knew the truth of Sheba's words, but that didn't mean she'd accept them so readily. She burned the face of the sexually harassing Noble into her mind, knowing she'd come back to get him later.

* * *

Day ten.

Zelda made it her top priority to discover a way to take down Pavo's while ensuring no one was killed; she knew this was wishful thinking on her part, but she couldn't help it. She wanted to save everyone, regardless of how hopeless the cause was. Plus, she wanted the people of Denion to willingly rise against Pavo, to show everyone in the Gold Haven the people's resolve. However, she didn't know how to rally them when their will to fight was crushed by the terror of the night.

Link, seeing how Zelda stressed over the matter, helped her unwind. During the sunset of the day, he took her for a short tour around the city (they stuck to traveling on rooftops rather than on the aristocrat infested streets). They walked when they wanted to walk, they ran when they wanted to run, and they jumped from one rooftop to another whenever they felt like it. It was a senseless, exhausting exercise, and Zelda found it invigorating. Doing something without a reason simply because they wanted to.

When the sun dipped below the horizon and the moon took its place, the two of them (Navi agreed to give them a bit of privacy) sat down on the elegant rooftops and watched the stars appear.

With the two of them alone like this, Zelda thought it'd be nice to know a little more about Link. "Do you have many friends, back at your village in the Lost Woods?"

An old smile appeared on Link's face. "A few. There's Branda and Appi; their house always has the best fruits. Dentri and Hapi are a nice pair too. They're the ones who like to experiment with the Kokiri Village's food, always trying to make something new. Half the time the village gets sick, but when they succeed, everyone's happy. There's also Cupin and Balon, Larro and Lepp, the Know-It-All Brothers, the Triplets and more. Then … then there's Saria and Tatl." Link chuckled as he drifted in his memories.

"You sound very fond of all of them."

"I am."

Zelda strained a taunt smile; the way Link said the final names made her heart beat at an odd pace. "Saria and Tatl, right? Were they your closest friends?"

"My best friends," Link affirmed

Her heart became more erratic; was it the way Link said Saria's name? The way he looked when he remembered her? Either way, it made another emotion Zelda had never experienced before swell in her chest: Jealousy. She coughed twice to clear her throat. "Best friend? Is she as important to you as the Great Deku Tree?"

Link didn't answer for a moment, and each passing second made it that much more painful to bear. "No, not as important; more important. Saria's was more than a friend. I don't know the right words for it."

Zelda let the conversation die, not wanting to hear any more. Weary, mentally and physically, she leaned against Link's shoulder and fell asleep.

* * *

The following day.

Zelda was distracted. It bothered her to no end, knowing Link had someone he considered to be more than just a friend. She tried to rationalize, telling herself it was only natural; she'd only known him for a fraction of his life, which reflected how deep their relationship was: Not very deep. Realizing how muddled her mind was, Zelda decided the aimlessly wander the Gold Haven, hoping the exercise could help her focus.

She took the most familiar routes, passing by ludicrous shops she recognized on sight. She'd grown used to the pitying scoffs coming from the rich wrenches around her, but it did little to help her declining attitude.

"You there! Buy three Beautifiers now and get a forth for free, all for the price of four! What do you say?"

A boy was hollering at her, with baby-fat cheeks, a somewhat thin body frame, a curly mess of copper hair, and a pair of lukewarm brown eyes. He was pacing in front of a massive store called "Natural Beauties," donned in something resembling a clown-suit. He was surrounded by rich ladies as he sold some form of powder to the engrossed women.

Curious, Zelda approached the boy after the swarm of pests flew away with their purchased merchandise. Up close, she saw he had a mole between his nose and upper lip.

"What's that? You came to buy a Beautifier? Too late!" The boy laughed, like he'd won some form of vital battle. "However, if you're truly interested, I have another one right here!" He dug into his pink-and-white striped pockets and pulled out a small plastic sack filled with brown powder. "It's my _very_ last one, but if you want it, you can buy it for forty-five rupees!"

"Forty-five rupees for that?" Zelda said incredulously. "Your price is absurd! I have no interest in your wares!" She turned to walk away, but the boy snagged her shoulder and pulled her back.

"You only say that because you don't know the power of the Beautifier! Listen, take a pinch of my Beautifier once every night, and you'll have skin as fair as the Princess of Hyrule's!"

_In that case, I really don't need it_, she thought, while aloud she said, "What are the ingredients? What proof do you have that your Beautifier does what it claims?"

"Ha! You don't believe me? Peasant! Listen and listen well! I am Lavin, the Strongest, Boldest, and Smartest! I am the Bane of Dark Beasts and the Mighty Dragon Slayer! You should be in awe of my presence! You want to know what ingredients I used? Let me enlighten you! I used the honey from a youthful Peahat, the heart of a King Anubis, and the soul of a Big Poe to produce the masterpiece I hold before you! Are you impressed now, peasant? HA HA HA!"

Hardly. Zelda knew there was no such thing as a "youthful Peahat," there were only Peahat Larva and ordinary Peahats, and neither produced honey. Plus, a "King" Anubis was a mythical monster from the famous story "Bones and Sand," and they didn't actually exist in real life. Finally, only one person alive could utilize the soul of a Poe or Big Poe, and it certainly wasn't this boy.

Still, Zelda humored him. "You take some."

"Huh?"

"I said you try some. If your concoction does what you say it does, then prove it to me. If you sample some right now, I'll buy it from you for a hundred rupees."

Lavin the Liar snorted. "A peasant like you with a hundred rupees? Don't make me laugh! The max you have is forty—I mean—fifty rupees, tops! Trying to pretend you're a big shot? Get real! Your lies are nothing before the mighty me!"

Zelda took her wallet, hanging from her waist, and pulled out two purples rupees. Lavin's jaw dropped so low it could've hit the ground (Zelda and her friends returned the small diamonds Suvica stole and received a handsome reward from the eager tenants).

"H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H?"

"Are you going to test some?" Zelda inquired, baiting Lavin as she held the two purples rupees beneath his nose. He showed his true colors when he tried to swipe them from her with a quick motion from her hand, but she was faster. "Taste some of your mighty concoction, and they're yours."

Lavin started sweating freely, despite the cold wind breezing around the Gold Haven's streets. Then he put on a smile (so wide it had to be fake), ripped open the little bag and made a show of digesting his Beautifier; it was too obvious that he was sprinkling the powder all over his chin and not in his mouth, overdoing it by finishing with a loud empty gulping.

"There, you see!" Lavin laughed, dusting the Beautifier off his chin. "Tomorrow morning, I'll have skin so fair you might mistake me for the Princess of Hyrule!"

"Give me that," Zelda sighed, snatching the Beautifier from Lavin while ignoring the older boy's loud protests. She checked the powder's texture by rubbing some between her fingers, and noticed the dark magic oozing from the residue like a deadly mist. "These are just the grinded bones of a Stalchild! This won't beautify anyone, it'll only make them incredibly sick! You frau—!"

Lavin yanked her by the arm and hauled her into the constricted alleyway between the "Natural Beauties" shop and the neighboring building. He pushed her against the wall and pressed a smooth hand over her mouth to keep her silent. "Shut up, peasant! Do you wish to defame me, Lavin the Awesome Merchant? Know your place!"

Zelda pushed the liar away. "Know my place? This isn't medicine!" She dropped the remainder of Lavin's Beautifier onto the street and stepped on it a few times. "It's poison! The only thing you did was take the undead bones laying all about the Black Ring and grind them down into powder! Anyone who ingests this substance will suffer from severe fevers and constipation for weeks!"

"Silence! You dare accuse Lavin the Truthful?"

Zelda gave up on the Beautifier, so she moved to a different topic. "At least tell me _why_ you're doing this!"

"Why? Because I need the rupees! I'm on a brave and noble quest! I've been tasked by the King of Hyrule to find the kidnapped Princess Zelda! Glen the Courageous recommended me himself, because _I_ am his disciple! How do you like that, peasant?"

He was lying through all the wrong holes. When it came to her safety, her father would never contract outside help; he'd utilize all the armies in Hyrule instead. Plus, Glen didn't take disciples, not after what happened to his master. Still, if Zelda was going to get caught, she was going to make sure wasn't because of Lavin the Annoying Liar.

"Why are you searching for Zel—Princess Zelda?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Peasants! That's why you know nothing!" Lavn scoffed. "Did you not hear? Our beautiful Princess of Hyrule was savagely kidnapped from her safe haven in Hyrule Castle by three monstrous demons! It is only natural that I, Lavin the Champion of Hyrule, find and rescue our fair princess! Once I do, she will be smitten by strength and courage and instantly fall in love with me, ensuring that I become the next King of Hyrule! HA HA!"

Zelda considered walking away, right now; if stupidity was contagious, she needed to run as fast as possible. "I heard no one in all of Hyrule knows what Princess Zelda looks like. How do you plan on finding her?"

Lavin sighed dramatically, like he pitied her (she was seriously resisting the tempting to burn him alive with her most powerful Din's Fire). "That is why peasants will be peasants. Why don't you try lifting your own standards? I, Lavin the Future Husband of Princess Zelda, am one of the few chosen heroes worthy enough to behold the Princess of Zelda! Why, she personally invited me to her quarters!"

_Breathe, breathe. Don't kill him, don't kill him_, Zelda ordered herself. "So what did she look like?"

"Well, aren't you dying to know? Very well, Lavin the Humble and Amazing shall tell you! It is true, Princess Zelda is the fairest maiden in all of Hyrule! Her hair is a paradise of flowing gold, and her beauty is something the Goddesses envy! Her yellow eyes shine with the splendor of the sun, and her smile is life itself! Why, wherever she walks, rainbows spring from the ground! THAT is Princess Zelda!"

Zelda walked away.

"Wha—? Where are you going, peasant? Why do you walk away from Lavin the Man No One Can Walk Away From?"

"Goodbye, please never appear before me again."

"Wait, peasant! I will remember your insolence! Tell me your name! Tell me your name so that I can carve it into my wall of shame and remember you in repugnance for all time!"

For a frightfully enticing second, Zelda considered telling Lavin the Annoyingly Arrogant her identity. Instead, she set her priorities straight and said the first name that came to mind. "Saria! My name is Saria!"

"Saria! I shall remember you!"

"Fantastic," Zelda groaned, returning home.

* * *

She felt better the next, twelfth, day.

Her mind still vividly imagined Lavin suffering the worst death possible, but her rationalization was bit more functional. Link and the others recognized her foul mood and asked what happened, but she merely said, "I met someone annoying, that's all." Determined to help Denion City in the best way she could, she set off to scavenge the Gold Haven for the information. She didn't bother questioning the higher class snobs (as if they'd bother answering her seriously). Instead, she searched for people who managed to buy their way into the Gold Haven. They were more than willing to help, always happy to see another from the same social status (if only they knew). She asked them everything she could think of about Pavo's private military force, hoping to find a weakness or opportunity she could exploit to render them near-useless. Though her interviewees were more than willing to comply, nothing they told her was heartening. Pavo's cutthroat army wore standard soldier equipment, meaning they possessed a full set of armor along with swords, spears, bows, and arrows. Pavo even had several tools of war stashed away somewhere in his manor, including a set of catapults, harpoon-bows, Goron Bombs, and iron nets. As much as Zelda hated to admit it, they were an impressive force to be reckoned with.

Still, her persistence paid off in the end. She found a carpenter working at a furniture shop in the Gold Haven. When she asked him to tell her anything he could about Pavo's army, he gave her a sprinkle of hope.

"They all eat together in a mess hall at their barracks," the carpenter replied, checking the balance of a gorgeously crafted oak wood table. "I know because I go there frequently to fix or replace broken chairs or tables, without getting paid! Curse that Pavo!" The carpenter chewed on the name and spat it out like a bad tooth. "They all eat from the same meal cauldron, though the food changes from day to day. Does that help, missy?"

It did. An idea, a conceivable stratagem, began clicking together using all the small pieces of miscellaneous information she retained during her stay at Denion. There was a chance, a _chance_, the city could be freed from Pavo's rule.

When she asked what the carpenter would do if there was ever an opportunity to bring Pavo down, he furrowed his mustache. "That's obvious, missy. I'd take every tool I ever owned from my shed and hoped one of them finds their way into Pavo's head. 'Course, there are too many reasons why I can't. If we poor folk did revolt against Pavo, his damn army of milk-sucking criminal bastards would get in our way and we'd be banished into the Black Ring. 'Sides, a revolt would only succeed if all the people in Denion rose as one."

"Do you think that's possible?"

"I'd bet my granny's life on it. There ain't a single poor folk here who doesn't want change to come, and they're all eager and waiting for the chance to grab it. Problem is, for that to happen, we need a leader, someone who actually knows what they're doing. Can ya think of anyone like that, missy?"

"I might."

* * *

Day thirteen.

With a plan on standby, all she had to do now was follow it through. That was the hard part: Thinking of a way to free Denion was easy, but actually doing it was a different matter. She discussed her idea with everyone back at Sheba's home, hoping to receive their input.

"A revolt, a real revolt," Malon shuddered, curling into a ball on the bed. "I hear about them all the time, but I didn't think I'd end up in one."

"About damn time!" Suvica chortled, flexing his fists in anticipation. "I told you we should've just killed everyone who got in our way!"

"We're not killing anyone!" Zelda rejected. "I don't want any of the people fighting with us to get hurt, nor do I want any of our enemies to die. These criminals must be alive and well to receive their due of justice."

"Zelda, I hope you realize how childish your goal is," Sheba added. "You are dreaming if you believe no one will emerge from this unharmed."

Zelda did her best to smile. "I am still a child, dreaming is what I do."

"You're serious about this?" Rail asked; he was livelier than ever at the prospect of tearing down corrupt Nobles. "You plan on going against the Nobles of Hyrule?"

"No, I'm going against the beasts preying on Hyrule. Will you help me?"

"Always," Link pledged.

"Guess that includes me," Navi sighed.

"Who'd be stupid enough to miss this?" Suvica snickered.

"I-I'll do what I can!" Malon said, trying to sound brave.

"As long as you're not pulling our legs, I'm in," Rail agreed.

Everyone looked to Sheba.

"I will not," she said, shocking all of them with her refusal. "If you succeed, there is no doubt word of your endeavors will spread across all of Hyrule. I cannot afford to make myself known. I will not help you strike down Pavo, no matter how villainous he may be. However," Sheba added before Zelda could despair over losing such a valuable ally, "I will not let any of you die while you live under my roof. I will defend each of you until the matter is resolved. For that reason alone, I will walk by your sides."

* * *

The night of the fourteen day.

While Link, Navi, Suvica, and Rail departed to accomplish the tasks Zelda had given them, Sheba took her and Malon to the deserted restaurant in the Black Ring, not only to distribute their weekly goods, but to inform the people of their plan. All the occupants listened as Sheba stood on a second-floor balcony and explained everything.

"Revolt?" A gruff lady scowled. "Goddess knows what happens if we do and it fails!"

"Besides! Pavo's got small military armed to the tooth! We've we got? Pitchforks, stale milk, and sponge cakes!" A different restless man shouted. "You expect us to beat them with bad food? No offense, Lady Moontear."

"None taken," Sheba replied.

"Lady Moontear, please be honest with us!" a teenage boy asked. "What are our chances? You've never asked this of us before, so why now? What's changed? What makes you believe we can win?"

Everyone nodded, bobbing their heads in a lake of agreement.

Sheba looked down to Zelda, who was restlessly rubbing her hands together in preparation for what she would have to do. "I believe she can tell you. Please listen to everything she says, for it is all true. Princess Zelda, if you would please."

* * *

Morning of the fifteenth day.

Zelda was having a panic attack. Here she was, jittering nervously at the head of a large crowd of Denion City's citizens, the people wrongfully held within the Black Ring. They were equipped with sticks, stones, sporks, and loafs of bread so stale they were as hard as rock. Link, Suvica, Rail, Halden, and Sheba were with her, but her stomach was still running away at a hundred miles per hour. The plan sounded so much better inside her head; now that they were actually following through with it, she was terrified. They left Malon back at Sheba's home because Zelda was afraid the situation she was leading them into would be too dangerous for her.

Word of Zelda's plan spread across Denion faster than a dry-prairie wildfire, and by morning, everyone and anyone who wished to see Pavo pay for his crimes had gathered to her. Thousands of people were following her, some from the Black Ring and others from the Gold Haven, but all of them were tempered with expressions of steel. With Zelda and her friends at the lead, they lead the masses towards the Gold Haven. When they reached the Black Threshold's gate, the soldiers guarding it all wet themselves. The four guards were nothing more than bandits who picked on the weak with numbers. Now they were outnumbered a thousand to one.

"Er … whua …. archers! Archers! We need some help here!" One of the bandit-soldiers shouted at the top of his lungs. In no time, an assembly of bowmen appeared on the other side of the Black Threshold, reigniting the blood vigor on the four gatekeepers. The archers notched their bows and pulled on the bowstrings, but the strings snapped under the tension, rending the weapons useless. A portion of her unease fell away as the arrows clattered uselessly to the ground; Rail grinned, showing he'd successfully managed to sabotage all the bows in Denion City's armory. Unwilling to retreat, the four soldiers tried to drive the people back with their drawn swords, yet when they pulled out their weapons, the blades cracked and broke off at the grip. Suvica laughed; he was the one tasked with impairing the soldiers' swords. Before they could regroup, Link unleashed a Disk Attack, crippling two of the soldiers. Suvica lunged at the remaining pair, grabbing one by the leg and swinging him around like a toy bat, slamming him into the last guard with an overhead swing. They both ended up as a mass of broken armor and bones; Zelda could tell they were barely alive.

With the gate keepers defeated (and many gaping faces directed at Link and Suvica), Zelda lead the protestors past the Black Threshold unmolested. From overhead, it would've appeared like a rusty nail penetrating an orb of gold. Nobles and other corrupt upper class aristocrats alike screamed like little girls—no—shrilly monkeys (she changed her analogy since she felt more insulted than the Nobles) at the sight of them before scampering off to their ill-gotten homes. Occasionally, a soldier would pop out to try and take them on, but the people of Denion overwhelmed them with a hailstorm of bricks and hard bread, like an ocean swallowing its drowning victims. There was one soldier they didn't attack: Heath. When he rushed forward and demanded to know what was going on, Sheba informed him of their plan. Tears were pouring from Heath's eyes as he tossed aside his armor and embraced his wife and child when he found them in the mass of people. On one occasion, Zelda was sure she saw Lavin the Dirty Liar cowering in the "Natural Beauties" shop, his whole body trembling with his hands clamped over his ears.

Slowly but surely, Zelda and the people of Denion pushed their way towards the center of the Gold Haven, stopping once they entered the large clearing surrounding Pavo's palace. They would've charged straight into the mansion and tore it down stone by stone searching for Pavo, but the remainder of Denion's soldiers had already fortified the area, forming a line of steel between the protestors and Pavo. The false-soldiers glared at them past their visors, experimentally waving their intact weapons and licking their lips (some held daggers, others had swords, and the rest wielded spears; it appeared Suvica did not reach all of Denion's weapons). There were a lot of them, maybe around five hundred. Even if the people of Denion outnumbered them, these soldiers relished the chance to spill blood with their metal weapons.

"Welcome, my dear people of Denion City!" A disgustingly sweet voice boomed. Standing on the mansion's veranda, on the highest floor, was Pavo. Zelda had never seen the Noble face-to-face before, so she held some doubts when she saw him. When she heard all the stories about Pavo, she expected a find a very fat, very overweight, repulsive Noble garmented in blood stained riches. Instead, he was a handsome man in his thirties with short blond hair, musky gray eyes, and very prominent features. He was dressed luxuriously in silk red garments, but his body was well built and very muscular, hardly what Zelda had been expecting.

Besides her, Rail took a sharp intake as fury burned into his face. "Him!"

"You know him?" Suvica chuckled, amused at Rail's anger.

"You should be dead!" Rail screamed loud enough for everyone to hear. "I saw it happen! I saw Nabooru kill you! She stabbed you in the heart!"

_Nabooru?_ Zelda remembered that name. It was the name Rail always said so reverently, the same way Link said Saria's name. Nabooru was the Gerudo who saved Rail from his burning village and killed the Nobles responsible.

"Rail, are you saying the Noble who killed your family is Pavo?" Zelda asked.

Rail snarled, his nostrils flaring. "The same! Pavo, your name was Pavo? Why are you still alive? WHY?"

The Noble laughed, flashing his white teeth and letting Zelda hear his seductive voice. "The Goddesses must favor me! I met a man, a master of the dark arts of magic, who gave me a second life! In exchange, he told me to take control over a city of his request, and I did so with pleasure! The women! The riches! Mine for the taking! I've never been so grateful in my life! I own my master for my second life, for my new riches, for my—!"

Zelda jumped when a circle of energy suddenly collided into the balcony where Pavo was standing, forcing him to retreat just in time to avoid a ten story fall that would've certainly resulted in his death.

Link yawned, giving his sword another experimental swing as he charged more of his magical might into his blade. "Enough talking. We don't care about you, Pavo. Well, at least I don't care about you." Then he turned to Rail, whispering, "Instead of asking why he's still alive, why don't you take him down first and then ask whatever you want?"

Rail growled.

Pavo staggered back to his feet, trying to regain his compose, but his calm façade was already broken by Link's surprise attack. "What is the meaning of this brat?" He bellowed, the sick sweetness gone from his voice. "Do you know who I am? DO YOU?"

Link shot another Disk Attack from his blade, sending the circular wave of magic over the heads of the soldiers posted in front of the mansion. Pavo screamed as he jumped aside, narrowly avoiding the attack. "Like I said, I don't care what you have to say. Nothing you do or say will change what happens today."

Paov was even more infuriated than before. "You know what this means, don't you? I control this city! I control life and death, you dirty mongrels! You're all nothing more than my cash cows! NOTHING MORE! Now that you've angered me, your master shall bring out the whip! I'll make you all suffer a hundred days and nights of being hunted by the dead! I am the one chosen by my great master! I am a Noble, a human chosen by the Goddesses to rule over your lesser lives! My word is the law! To defy me is to defy the will of the Goddesses! You will all feel my heavenly wrath and suffer!"

A ripple of panicked murmurs spread throughout the crowd; the people were starting to doubt their revolt. The fear Pavo sown in their hearts wasn't so easily removed. Seeing so many hardened faces waver in terror, Zelda's hesitation evaporated to the heat of her rage. She looked forward, stood tall, and put on her best face of authority.

"It's over Pavo, Noble of Denion City!" Zelda shouted. Her voice wasn't very loud, but in the silence following Pavo's threats, everyone could hear her. "You murdered the previous and rightful ruler of Denion, Noble Arthicus, in cold blood to drown in your own greed! You persecuted the people of this city using the undead plaguing the nights of Hyrule to satisfy your own desires! You taxed the innocent without mercy! You betrayed the people by sating your own lust! You used the soldiers of Hyrule, warriors meant to protect the people, to strong-arm the citizens of Denion into producing your wealth! When the soldiers resigned, you filled their valiant ranks with cutthroats and thieves! You are a shame to all those righteous and a blight to Hyrule and her kingdom! You shall henceforth be stripped of all your rights as a Noble, yours lands and property forfeit, your assets returned to the people, and you shall be sentenced to life in Hyrule Castle's darkest dungeons for your atrocious crimes!"

Pavo laughed at her words. "You foolish girl! You talk like you actually have some form of authority over me! Perhaps you're new to Denion, brat, so I'll tell you now! I am the God of this city! I decide who lives and dies! Your filthy fingers shall never touch me!"

"I came close," Link mumbled, tapping his sword.

"We can and we shall, for I hold far more authority and power than you could imagine!"

Pavo barked so arrogantly his echoing cries better resembled those of a monster's than a man's, "More authority than me? I am a Noble! Your petty words can do nothing against me! Very well! For your impertinence, I shall execute you all! The unjust revolt against the kindred Nobles of Denion! That is the tale that will be told! I am the law of this city! In the eyes of the King, the Princess, and the Royal Council of Hyrule, you are all criminals, scum! The kingdom is at my side and the Goddesses have blessed me as their righteous champion! There's nothing you dogs can do about it!"

A snarl rumbled in the back of Zelda's throat. Her breathing was steady, but her chest was weighed down by a bitter fog of black, swirling in her stomach until she felt sick.

This was hatred.

"That is where you're wrong, fallen Noble!" Zelda roared, her voice laced with majestic authority. "For I am Zelda, Princess of Hyrule!" For the sole purpose of theatrics, she cast her Din's Fire to summon balls of fire in each of her hands. The heat was so scorching that everyone within a ten yard radius of her spell backed away (excluding the immune Suvica, who was a dragon, Link, who was oddly unaffected, and Sheba, who used her own magic to shield herself). "I am the daughter of Ceylon, King of Hyrule! I am the Princess of Destiny and the Dreamer of Prophecies! I am a true candidate of the Goddesses! I am the iron hammer of justice that will destroy your false world of glass! I am the righteous torch that will burn you for your crimes!" She manipulated her two fireballs and drew a burning outline of the Triforce above her head; the image lingered for several seconds before dispersing into thin air. She wasn't about to throw two raging balls of death at the false-soldiers; no matter how cruel and evil they were, these bandits were still people of Hyrule, and no one desired to die a brutal death by fire.

After her flamboyant display, no one moved. The only ones who did were Link, who was swinging his sword, Suvica, picking his nose and flicking boogers, and Halden, who was chuckling so hard he would've died if he were not immortal. The protestors (even though they already knew her true identity) dropped their hateful glares from Pavo and stared at Zelda with reverence (which was rather embarrassing); some of them got to their knees and started kneeling. The soldiers opposing them nearly dropped their weapons. Pavo's complexion was snow-white; he looked more ghost than human.

When Pavo spoke, his voice was shaking and frail. "K-K-K-Kill her." The soldiers looked at their leader like he'd lost his mind. "What are you doing? Kill her! We can't let the royal wrench leave here alive! If we kill them all now, we can cover this up! Kill them ALL! NOW!" Pavo had clearly lost it, but what could the soldiers do? He was the man handing out their paychecks, and to line their pockets with rupees these fake-soldiers were willing to kill the Princess of Hyrule. They raised their intact weapons and steadily approached Zelda and the revolting people of Denion. However, many of them tripped and fumbled as their illness got the better of them (Link had introduced a "Beautifier" to their meals the night before).

Zelda sighed. "I was hoping he'd surrender when he heard my name and title."

Suvica bellowed with laugher as he watched the line soldiers slowly approach them. "What are you talking about? This is perfect! Nothing better than a good blood bath to start the day!"

"Got a plan for this?" Link asked, strapping on his wooden shield.

"Yes. I'm going to believe in you. I'm smart, I'll say it out loud, but I'm no battle expert. That's your area, Link. Tell us what to do, and I'll trust you." Link chuckled gratefully, but it was Suvica who answered.

The dragon boy was laughing louder than ever; his blood lust was on the rise. "You want a plan, princess? I'll give you a plan! Plan BWA!"

"Oh … and what does this plan entail?" Zelda asked cautiously.

"BWA! Bucket of Whoop Ass!" The dragon roared with fierce laughter, lunging at the army of soldiers. Almost five hundred soldiers (half of them ill) armed with swords and spears against one dragon trapped in a human body.

Those poor soldiers never knew what hit them.

Suvica sent a billowing pillar of lightning from his mouth, instantly taking out twenty-or-so of the grouped-up killers. When he closed in on the rest of them, he grabbed one soldier by the arm and another by the leg. With the two struggling in his hands, Suvica went commando on the rest, lashing at the other false-soldiers by swinging the two in his hands like living metal clubs. It was soldier raining season, as each swing from the dragon sent more armor-clad criminals flying into the sky. One of them almost managed to sneak up behind Suvica and plant a spear in the dragon's back, but Suvica sniffed out the danger and shot his tail into his foe's gut, sending him flying thirty feet backwards. When he got bored waving around the two men in his hands, he hurled the soldiers with frightening power into the largest clustered group of enemies he could find. It was similar to watching a Hylian game of bowling; the standing soldiers were the pins, the thrown men were the bowling ball, and Suvica was a cannon.

When the dragon spotted an iron lamppost, Zelda had to say, "Oh no."

"Oh yes!" Suvica grabbed the base of the lamppost, and with inhuman strength, wrenched the twelve foot pole out of the street. The soldiers went pale as he started smashing the giant rod into their steel armor. The only people who weren't terrified of Suvica's monstrous power were the people of Denion; instead, they were screaming cheers of encouragement. Someone even shouted, "Eat one of em'!" The dragon's new weapon doubled his list of casualties with every swing, hammering everyone who tried to flee from his might while smash those stupid enough to try and take him head on. After a fifth of Pavo's men were strewn all over the ground, Suvica's lamppost was so badly dented it no longer retained its original shape. Since his new toy was beyond repair, he tossed it aside with a shrug, letting his wings and tail emerge from his back. He flapped his wings until he was hovering fifteen feet above the ground, casting a shadow upon the soldiers below him.

"Fear me humans, and tremble! The dragon of thunder has come to your world!" Suvica cackled, displaying his excellent evil villain's laugh; he was enjoying himself a bit too much. With his advantage of flight, he swat whatever soldier he could with his tail, occasionally firing a lightning bolt every now and then to zap the ones who fled. Watching Suvica and the destruction he wrought, and seeing the dozens upon dozens of scattered soldiers with wrecked armor lying unconscious on the ground, Zelda was honestly glad (for the first time) the dragon was on their side.

Still, his wrath didn't reach all the soldiers. He certainly swatted, shocked, and threw them aside like leaves in a gale by the double digits, but handfuls of Pavo's men were able to escape Suvica's reach. Between the rampaging dragon and the thousands of Denion citizens, armed mostly with improvised weapons, the fleeing soldiers took their chances with the civilian army, rushing towards them with their weapons and faces screaming of fear.

They didn't get very far with that approach either. Link's sword hummed as he unleashed another Disk Attack into the approaching army. The destructive ring of magic drove the soldiers back, stopping their approach dead in their tracks.

"Zelda, I'm going to get inside that building to find Pavo," Link said as the soldiers temporarily backed away. "You stay here and help take care of these soldiers! Suvica is strong, but he's in over his head right now! The moment they regroup, they'll get smart and capture him! Do your best out here, and I'll do my best in there!" It was last thing he said before rushing past the scattered pockets of soldiers, blasting the ones that got between him and Pavo's manor with his Spin Attack and Disk Attack. It only took two more encouraging waves of magic before the soldiers voluntarily opened pathways for him, leaving him unscathed as he headed towards and disappeared into the giant mansion doors of Pavo's estate.

"Pavo is mine!" Rail snarled, pushing past Zelda and charging after Link. These cutthroat-soldiers already let a dragon take out more than a hundred of their numbers and let a twelve-year old boy walk through their ranks and pride. When she saw the looks of shame and hurt in their eyes, she knew they'd cut Rail to pieces the moment he got too close.

He didn't. Instead, he stopped four steps in front of Zelda, stood to full height, and jabbed a finger at the soldiers. "You scum have ruled our lives for the last time! You've taken the people dearest to our lives, treated us like cattle, cut us apart to tame your own pleasure, and stole years of our lives we will never be able to reclaim! All that ends today! We'll show you our strength! We'll show you our power! We'll show you our right to live as humans! WE WILL FIGHT FOR OUR FREEDOM!"

Rail charged, and he wasn't the only one. Zelda didn't know how, but his words stirred up a sense of indomitable determination within the hearts of Denion's people, for they were screaming and cheering after hearing his words while running at his side as he ran headlong into Pavo's men. To rally the people in such a manner left Zelda in awe.

At first, the momentum of Denion's citizens worked to their favor; they plowed into the soldiers' ranks stronger than an ocean wave toppling over a sand castle. Pavo's men fell as the people overwhelmed them with sheer numbers. Even without Link and his battle strategies, they were doing well enough, attacking each soldier in groups of four or five. They jumped the soldiers, stomping on the toppled criminals with all their years of pent up anger and frustration. Other times, they would hurl their weapons and beat down the soldiers in a storm of household appliances. In a matter of moments, Denion's people crushed more than a fourth of the standing army.

But that was as far as they got until problems began to occur. These men were by no means trained soldiers of Hyrule, but they were still murderous outlaws with plenty of experience in killing. They formed lines of blades and spears, holding their ground as they stabbed at anyone who got too close. Using their reorganized efforts, they stopped the militia citizens' momentum while forcing them back with a wall of steel weapons. Zelda, who made her way to the front of the citizen army, stopped when a spear almost impaled her heart. The wall of soldiers was not going to be easily destroyed.

She looked beyond the wall of blades to see how Suvica was faring. Link had been correct; the men engaged the dragon smartened up. Instead of recklessly running towards or away from the dragon, they gathered lengths of chain to lasso his wings and pull him to the ground. Once he was grounded, they pilled one layer of chain after another over his arms, legs, wings, tail, anywhere they could fasten their metal restraints around. Suvica fiercely resisted to a certain extent, managing to incapacitate one of his captors with a shot of lightning, but not soon enough. While he was distracted, some of the retreating soldiers were now dragging back thicker lengths of chain from their nearby barracks, and Zelda didn't want to wait to find out whether the dragon could break out of those or not.

She didn't want to kill any of these men who stood in her way, but that didn't mean she had to be nice to them. "Farore's Gale!" Zelda shouted, swinging her hands in short arcs, projecting a green boomerang of wind from her fingers. She shot one magical projectile after another, each of which took down a single soldier. It was working; her magic missiles stirred disarray amongst the army lines, and with a little more effort their formation would break. But as Zelda raised her arms for a final spell, something shot out from the barricade of soldiers. She didn't have time to protect herself with magic, as she was in the middle of Farore's Gale's incantation. As a result, the projectile embedded itself into her shoulder, sending her onto her knees.

For the first time in her life, she was injured. Back in Hyrule Castle, she'd never tripped, fallen, or sustained a bruise in her life (having an overprotective father who was the King of Hyrule made it possible). Now there was a dagger lodged in her shoulder as she lay curled in agony on the streets of Denion, blindly grasping at her wound. Several people stopped fighting and were crouched at her side, shouting her name and asking to know if she was alright. Zelda was still in a state of shock, and could barely hear them over the screams of her own agonized thoughts.

_It hurts … it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!_ For a fraction of a second, she regretted everything. She regretted leaving the castle, she regretted disobeying her father, she regretted coming to this accursed city. Why did she have to experience this pain? It hurt; she didn't like it, she didn't want to feel the hot brand of iron in her shoulder. Why did she have to go through all this? Why?

_Because your people are suffering even more than you are now,_ a small voice of reason told her. _Because this pain you're feeling right now is not even a thousandth of what the people of this city have experienced!_ Zelda didn't like this pain, no one would, but the people of this city endured this tormenting feeling and worse for several years under Pavo's unjust rule. She was the Princess of Hyrule; it was her duty to make sure no one else would have to suffer like this.

Her determination solidified, reconstructed upon a stronger foundation than before. She jammed her teeth together and pulled herself back up. "I'm … fine. I'm fine," she gasped, leaning into the numerous hands supporting her. Trying to look past the pain, she saw how the battle was fairing: Not well. The line of soldiers Zelda had been striking with magic reinforced itself with more men and killers. Beyond them, Suvica was being chained and bolted to the ground, with a growl on his face so profound Zelda was amazed his inner dragon wasn't bursting out of his human body. Many of Denion's people were wounded, and she couldn't tell how many died. Pavo's men began to branch out, trying to encircle them in a cage of swords and spears. Rail was fighting bravely, throwing himself onto one batch of soldiers after another, but it was nowhere near enough to break a hole in the ring of soldiers closing around them. When Zelda wondered why Sheba wasn't busting heads with her combat abilities, she realized Sheba was standing beside her, holding Zelda by the waist while inspecting her dagger wound with growing concern. Halden was also close by, shaking her unhurt shoulder with his boney fingers and ordering her not to close her eyes.

As if she could close her eyes in such a situation. Zelda pushed away from Sheba so she could stand on her own, but that was a mistake; Sheba was the only reason why Zelda hadn't been targeted by any more knife-throwers. The moment she lurched away from her protector, three more daggers flew towards her. Sheba intercepted two of the knives by snatching them out of the air, but the third continued towards Zelda unhindered. She attempted to defend herself with a spell, but her concentration faltered as the pain in her shoulder flared. All she could do was topple to the side, gasping as the small blade burned past her hip and leaving behind a streak of blood. Zelda nearly fell to her new wound, but kept herself standing with grim determination.

"Come on, princess! Die like a proper lass!" one of the men who attacked her laughed; she remembered that voice, it belonged to the same arrogant archer who so kindly "welcomed" them to Denion City. His face was swelling with purple bruises the size of Suvica's fists, but it didn't dampen the killing intent in his eyes. "Are you hurting, little brat? Too bad! It's too soon for you to play hero! You wanna protect your people? Ha! Come back after you grow up! Why bother protecting this ragged bunch of animals?"

"Because … _gasp _… I'm the Princess of Hyrule!" Zelda shouted back, feeling her heart burn like never before. "Whether I'm young or old, I will always be the Princess of Hyrule! Protecting my people is my duty! I will always be there for them, always shield them from danger, and no matter how greatly you injure me, nothing pains me more than the knowledge of what you outlaws have wrongfully done to Hyrule! Din's Fire!" She ended her speech with a bang, tossing a fireball directly into the archer's face. The resulting explosion scorched all of Pavo's men within a ten foot radius of the blast, though she purposely lowered the spell's power to ensure none of them were killed. The people of Denion surged towards the scorned opening she created, forcing their way past the stumbling circle of soldiers. Still, casting magic in her injured state drained her more than she could've imagined. The earth spun, her stomach flipped, and she would've fallen back onto the ground if Sheba hadn't caught her.

"Zelda, you must not tax yourself like this! Your resolve is admirable, but these wounds will kill you if you do not treat them soon!" Sheba admonished her, ripping off a part of her black blouse from her sleeve, folding it several times and ordering Zelda, "Bite onto this, now! The dagger is deep, so removing it will be painful."

Zelda obeyed, though Sheba's description of her wound made her a little nauseous. She wearily opened her mouth and clamped onto the cloth with her teeth. Sheba yanked the blade from her shoulder with one pull, and Zelda reflexively gnashed on the cloth as she nearly blacked out. When she didn't, she could feel Sheba wrap something around the tear in her shoulder as well as on the gash in her hip.

"Thank … you …" Zelda panted, weakly stand on her own. At the very least, in exchange for her pain, her magic changed the flow of the revolt; the encirclement had fallen apart, and the people of Denion were swarming across the soldiers' disorganized lines. With their morals restored, the civilians stampeded past Zelda to crush Pavo's men. On several occasions, some of them stopped to bend next to the weary Zelda to kiss the back of her hands as a show of thanks before heading back into the fight.

Zelda knew she shouldn't be resting while everyone else was fighting. She tried stepping towards the large-scale conflict, but Sheba restrained her. "You've done enough! Do not overexert yourself anymore!"

"Honestly, my stubborn descendent!" Halden shouted, rapping the center of Zelda's forehead with his gnarly knuckle. "You seem intent on rushing to your grave! Must I pinch you in order to snap you to your senses?"

"Only Link … gets to pinch … me. Please … take me … to the front," Zelda whispered, "I need … to help … the people. Please … mother." The "mother" part was unintentional; Zelda was a little delirious with exhaustion and pain, but she didn't bother to correct herself. Sheba's eyes softened, but she still refused to release her hold. Instead, she picked Zelda up with cradled her in her arms in order to walk to the front lines. Halden rolled his eyes, picked up his wooden stick (which he was apparently using as a weapon) and grumbled, "Bloody insane, she'll never get married."

"Death to the Princess of Hyrule!" A soldier screamed behind them. Zelda couldn't see past Sheba or Halden to spot the attacker and didn't have to; Sheba executed a perfect back-kick and fractured the man's jaw, but he wasn't their only assailant. The main battle between the people of Denion and Pavo's killers was taking place far ahead of them, while Zelda, Sheba, and Halden lagged behind the civilian army. Now they were surrounded by at least fifteen soldiers who approached them from behind and surrounded them in a circle.

"We've got a beauty _and_ the Princess of Hyrule to boot, fellas!" One of them laughed, drawing closer to Zelda and Sheba. "I don't give a Peahat's stub about the old man. Denion's done for, but it was fun while it lasted! What say we loot what we can, kidnap our two flowers, and ditch the city? I'm sure the Princess of Hyrule will make a fine ransom!" The others chortled in agreement.

One of them wasn't as patient. "Screw that, Dart! She's mine! I don't give a Keese's droppings about the bratty princess! I just want the woman!" The sick soldier licked his lips. "When I get my hands on you, my pretty, I'm going to—!"

Halden's stick struck like a snake, jabbing the blabbering soldier between the legs. The soldier's eyes bulged until they almost popped out of his head before crumpling to the ground.

"Vile bandit!" Halden scoffed, suddenly spinning his wooden stick with the expertise of a skilled Hylian spearman. "Watch your wretched tongues and use some civilized speech!"

When Halden said civilized speech, Zelda doubted "Urawh!" "Die, old man!" and "You destroyed my buddy's future kids!" counted. Not that any of it mattered, because the moment these soldiers challenge them was the moment they sealed their fates. Sheba's legs were steel hammers; her kicks smashed through swords and spears, crushing steel armor along with flesh and bone. Halden moved with agility that defied his actual age; Zelda watch in weary wonder as the old ruler twisted, swiped, and jabbed his staff with incredible precision; his foes were disarmed and knocked unconscious before they understood what hit them. When a particular soldier tried stabbing Halden in the back, he whipped his staff in a complex series of movements, striking the enemy on the chin, shoulders, knees, and stomach without even turning to face him.

The soldiers were defeated in moments. When the last fell, Sheba unwillingly carried Zelda back into the main fray, while Halden silently prayed for the safety of Zelda's soul in the Sacred Realm (the old man had a serious lack of faith in her). The people of Denion had been stopped in their tracks once more, and when Zelda was brought to the head of the civilian army, she saw why. The last soldiers standing formed a temporary barricade made from tipped over wagons, pilled crates, and the bodies of their own unconscious comrades. It was the final defense keeping the people of Denion from Pavo's mansion.

"I'll … deal with them," Zelda muttered, trying to wriggle free from Sheba's arms.

Her grip, however, was like iron claws. "You're not going to do anything. You should know that the proficiency of your magic is heavily dependent on your magical capacity and physical state. Your last Din's Fire nearly drained you in your weakened condition. Should you attempt another foolhardy spell, I cannot tell what will happen to you."

"Sheba … you can break through easily," Zelda noted.

"I can, but I won't," Sheba replied grimly. "Look at them, they're a pack of cornered Wolfos all aiming for their final grand meal: You. The moment I let you out of my sight, they'll throw weapon they can get their hands on at you, and I'm sure one of them will hit. I'm not releasing you, and I will not attack them with you in my arms either. There is only so much I can do without risking your life."

Zelda tried to crane her head to look past the barricade. "What of Suvica?"

"Trapped. The foolhardy dragon thought he could actually take on an army of armed killers by himself when he only possesses a fragment of his former strength. He has my son's appearance, but certainly lacks the brains." Sheba sighed. "They have almost succeeded in containing him completely. Should we not hurry, they will kill him."

Zelda's heartbeat picked up a few beats. She didn't like Suvica; he was a jerk and enjoyed watching others suffer all too much. Still, she didn't want to see him die. "We cannot allow that to happen! Please, release me and save Suvica! That is within your abilities!"

"No. As harsh as I may sound, you are my current priority."

"Then release me somewhere safe, such as your home, and return! I will not be able to get in your way then!"

Sheba gave Zelda a wry smile. "But would you stay hidden, or would your admirable but foolhardy fortitude bring to back into this battle?"

Zelda bit her tongue; there was no way she was going to stay out of this revolt, and Sheba knew that as well. The battle was at a standstill. The soldiers fortified what defenses they could gather, and the people of Denion could not circumvent the final obstacle without risking serious casualties. Likewise, the soldiers couldn't risk abandoning their final defense for a desperate attack. Neither side moved.

"What of your magic? Surely you possess some offensive spells?" Zelda continued to probe for solutions.

"That I do. However, my magic would slaughter those soldiers, something you wish to avoid, no?" Sheba replied.

Zelda bit her tongue harder. Was her weakness and her heart for human life stopping them from advancing? Was Suvica's life forfeit to her decision to kill these soldiers or to spare them? If only they had a diversion, something to distract the soldiers long enough for the people of Denion to cross the barricade or circumvent it to resume their attack. But what diversion could they possibly put together in such a short amount of time?

"Giddy up, girls!"

Zelda's head popped up. Was that just her imagination? For a moment, she could've sworn she heard Malon's voice, but wasn't Malon supposed to be hiding at Sheba's home?

Then she heard it. Everyone in Denion, people, soldiers, and cowardly hiding Nobles alike, must've heard it: The sound of pounding hooves, a _lot_ of hooves. The noise got closer and closer, until it was a stampede drumming against everyone's ears. Before anyone knew what was to come, a herd of warhorses came rushing in from a street behind the barricade, behind the soldiers. Leading the stampede, mounted a brilliant white steed, was Malon riding bareback. She steered the horse with such balance and precision the knights of Hyrule would've been put to shame. Her face reflected a look of utter exhilaration as she led the galloping pack through the lines of the soldiers, spreading mass confusion and pandemonium; their barricade was set up to defend against attacks coming from the front, so they had absolutely no defenses for a hundred horses rushing in from behind, led by an ten-year old girl who looked like she was having the time of her life.

Rail was the first to respond to the distraction, which was tossing over and trampling soldiers left and right. "Charge!" He shouted, hailing a sword he'd swiped from a defeated soldier. The people followed his lead, swarming over the crumbling barricade and crashing upon the disorganized soldiers. During the midst of the confusion, Zelda fought her way out of Sheba's arms, ignoring the heat flaring up her shoulder and waist with each movement she made, and scrambled up the barrels and tipped over wagons.

"Malon!" Zelda shouted over the sound of pounding hooves.

It took her several shouts, but she managed to get Malon's attention; she turned and saw Zelda, and her look of elation faded out into horror. "Zelda! You're hurt!"

"Malon, get to Suvica! Get to Suvica!" Zelda shouted, waving and pointing towards Suvica. From the additional height gained from standing on the stacked crates and wagons, Zelda could see the bound dragon beyond the barricade, at the foot of Pavo's manor. The bulky chains restraining his body were thicker than his own torso. They were draped around his wings, tail, and arms, but it was clear he couldn't move an inch. Malon saw Suvica being chained down and turned pale. She steered her horse towards the immobilized dragon, leading several other warhorses in her rescue attempt, but didn't get too far. The soldiers who successfully chained Suvica down weren't about to let him get free again. They jabbed their spears at Malon and her horse, driving her back.

Zelda needed to help. She didn't know how, but she needed to try. A stray warhorse was trotting aimlessly at the base of the barricade she stood on. She jumped without thinking, landing roughly onto the horse's bare back. The landing was much more painful than she expected, but she was able wrap her arms around the horse's neck (if she got out of this alive, she was going Malon for a few horse riding tips). Her mouth neighed and kicked, doings its best to throw her off, but eventually galloped towards the rest of its herd, getting closer to Malon and the soldiers who captured Suvica. As soon as she was around four yards away from the ensnared dragon, Zelda's horse gave her a sharp shrug, throwing her right off its back. She landed hard onto the ground, jostling her body and summoning revived agony from her prior wounds. She tried standing up, watching as Malon's white horse had its body tainted with botches of red. The beast emitted a scream she'd never heard before, rearing on its hind legs before collapsing to the ground. Malon had been riding on the dying horse's back and fell on top of Zelda when it collapsed.

Zelda gasped as her vision flickered from having Malon's weight atop of her, but she managed to keep her ears open to hear the soldiers surrounding Suvica.

"These brats are trying to free this damn monster!"  
"We can't let that happen! If this thing get's loose, we're all dead!"

"Get out of my way, I'll kill it!"

Her eyes widened in growing horror as one of the soldiers approached Suvica, with a bloody sword in his hands. When he reached Suvica, he kicked the dragon in the face, growling, "Bloody monster," before raising his sword to behead him.

"Don't!"

"No! Suvi!"

Their concerns were unwarranted. Before the soldier could bring down his blade, Suvica's mouth jut forward, taking a large bite out of the man armored foot, causing the man to scream as he clutched his bleeding ankle. Several of his fellow murders rushed forward to kill Suvica themselves, but when the chains binding him rattled, the soldiers froze where they stood.

"Kill … me?" Suvica snarled, his muscles trembling beneath his human skin.

"YOU—!" The steel chains cracked as they struggled to contain him.

"—THINK—!" The smaller restraints snapped one by one.

"—A HUMAN—!" Several more followed.

"—CAN—!" Suvica pushed himself onto his feet, and the thicker chains groaned.

"—KILL—!" The ground where the ends of the chains were bolted to cracked.

"—ME?" Suvica broke free, but it wasn't the thick chains wrapped around him that gave way. The stone street where the chains had been bolted down to was torn off in gigantic chunks, which the dragon used like gigantic stone maces, battering aside the soldiers surrounding him with life-threatening force.

"Suvi!" Malon shouted in relief, getting up and hugging Suvica right after he threw off the last of the shackles wrapped around his body. He withdrew his wings and tail back into his body, and looked positively red when Malon wrapped her arms around him. "I thought you were going to die!"

"Um … well … maybe for a moment … Gah! As if! I'm a damn Thunder Dragon! Like some puny human could kill me!" Suvica laughed as he threw back his head.

But his triumphant laugh was halted by Rail's scream: "Malon! Behind you!"

Zelda saw what Rail did. A soldier rushed towards Malon, a spear gripped tight in both his gauntlet hands. The weapon was pointed right at Malon's back. He was planning on impaling her in order to stab Suvica directly in the chest. There was nothing Zelda could do; she didn't have the concentration necessary to swiftly cast a spell to save Malon's life. Suvica's his face portrayed an emotion he never used before: Helplessness. His right hand was held out, as if to stop the spear from striking Malon, but he didn't have the dexterity Sheba possessed to grab the weapon without injuring himself or her; the soldier would ram his spear through Suvica's hand and into Malon. Neither did Suvica have the time to sprout his tail or wings to defend her. Malon was about to die, and nothing he could do to change that.

Then his helpless expression turned into one of pure anger, and he roared two words: "AS IF!"

_Clang!_

Zelda watched in awe. Suvica still held up his right hand, but successfully stopped the tip of the soldier's spear with his palm. Black dragon scales emerged his right arm, covering his fingertips and coating his arm all the way up to his elbow. The soldier's weapon jarred into Suvica's black-scaled hand with a small skid of sparks, yet his thrust couldn't put a scratch on the dragon's scales.

Before the soldier could retreat, Suvica grabbed the head of the weapon and lifted both the spear and its wielder, who was clutching spear's shaft. With a mighty swing, he hurled the weapon and the soldier in a twenty yard throw directly into the wall of Pavo's mansion.

Malon, who just now seemed to grasp the danger she was in, stared at Suvica's scaled right hand in wonder. "Suvi, that … that was amazing! How'd you do that?"

Suvica was equally flabbergasted. "I … I don't know. My right arm's scales are back. They're back! HA! They're back! I've beaten yet another part of that witch's curse! In her face!"

Zelda laughed internally; it appeared Suvica forgot or didn't believe what Sheba told him about his seal: Every time he risked his life for the benefit of someone else, a part of his seal would come undone.

_Boom!_

Never a dull moment. A Disk Attack shot out from Pavo's mansion, followed by several others. Giant slabs of Pavo's palace were being torn off in large portions as Link's magic decimated the manor from the inside out. At first, Zelda thought Link's use of magic showed how difficult his battle with Pavo was, yet when the disks of magic continued to tear the manor apart, she realized Link was actually expending his powers to rip the mansion to the ground. As Pavo's manor collapsed floor by floor, until only the first and second remained intact, the people's cheering shook the city with the sheer volume of their combined voices. Link had taken down the very symbol of Pavo's wealth and power, wrecking it beyond recognition. Upon hearing their victory cries, the lingering soldiers threw down their weapons and ran for their lives (they were still caught and beaten).

There was only one person who wasn't celebrating: Rail. He kept his antagonistic glare focused on Pavo's demolished mansion as he ran towards the crumbling structure.

Zelda caught Rail's hand before he could get too far. "Where are you going?"

"To get my vengeance," Rail snapped, pulling his hand away. "Link better have left Pavo alive, because he's mine!" He pushed past Malon and Suvica (who was still too elated with the recovery of his right arm's scale to punch Rail) and barged into the remains of Pavo's mansion. The revolt was over, but Rail's personal battle had yet to conclude. All around her, people were crying tears of joy and hugging loved ones, but Rail was smothered in so much self-loathing and hatred it was unbearable to see.

Zelda limped after him. She had done something to her ankle when she was thrown off her horse, and her shoulder and waist burned more than before. Malon came to her side, asking if she could help, but Zelda asked her to look after others who were more grievously wounded than herself. Malon obliged, but continuously glanced back at Zelda as she walked away.

She stumbled though the stray doors of the mansion. The inside, the half of it which wasn't reduced to rubble, would've been nauseatingly beautiful to see. Lavish paintings, expensive rugs, gold tables and silverware, all bought with the blood rupees of Denion City's working population. Pavo had much to answer for, but not with death. She strained her ears (wishing she had Link's hearing), trying to locate where Link, Rail, or Pavo could possibly be in the spacious remains of the mansion.

_Clang! Clang! Clang!_

Zelda turned to her right, towards the undamaged half of Pavo's mansion. It was the sound of a sword clashing against a sword. She didn't know who was fighting who, but she resolved to find out. She skipped across the ridiculously well bejeweled hallway to enter an airy dining hall. Inside, chandeliers had been sliced apart, tables were overturned and hacked to pieces, windows shattered, plates and cups broken to pieces, and the window drapes torn to scraps. In the middle of the mess was Rail and Pavo, both using equally hostile expressions as they crossed blades. Rail was covered in numerous shallow cuts, each bleeding slightly, but Pavo was in worse shape. The ex-Noble's rich garments were torn to scraps; his chest was practically bare and his pants were barely being held together. There was a massive purple and blue bruise stretching across Pavo's chest (Zelda guessed he received a chest-full of Link's Spin Attack), which greatly degraded his movements. There were several slash-marks on his stomach and legs, each tied tight with ripped strips of clothing to stop the bleeding. Also on Pavo's bare chest was an old scar, a wide sword wound inflicted by a saber directly over where his heart should be. This man was definitely stabbed there, yet here he stood today.

"Zelda! Are you okay?" Link asked. He'd been standing right next to her the whole time, beside the entrance way to the dining room. Zelda was so absorbed by Rail's battle with Pavo she never saw him. He looked well enough, excluding the handful of bruises dotting his arms and the rather deep cut on his right shoulder. His hair was bare because his hood had been sliced in half.

"You're hurt!" Navi exclaimed from behind Zelda, inciting a flinch. The fairy was hanging near her injured shoulder, inspecting her wound.

"You were hit? What are you doing here? Why aren't you getting help?" Link demanded, helping her get off her feet and lean her back against the wall. Zelda sighed in relief, far too happy to be off her feet.

"I had … to see if you were okay. Then Rail ran … into the mansion searching for Pavo." Zelda replied, taking deep breaths between pauses. "Link … why aren't you helping … Rail fight Pavo? He could be killed!"

Link sat down next to her, but right when Zelda was hoping he'd answer her question, he slumped against the wall with his head lifelessly sagging forward.

Dramatic scenarios started to paint Zelda's mind. "Link? Link?"

"Hey, don't pop a drain," Navi assured her, hovering over her wounded shoulder; her pain receded as the forest fairy healed her injury. "He's was lot more tired than he was letting on. Did you see what he did to this place? He used a lot of magic, and smacking Pavo around along the way didn't improve his stamina." Navi was right; Zelda leaned her ear close to Link's face, and could tell he was sleeping.

"Gah!"

Zelda turned her attention back to the fight; Rail managed to jab his sword into Pavo's side, inflicting a winning wound and forcing the Noble to drop his weapon and fall to his knees.

Rail pulled his sword out of Pavo's body. "This … _pant_ … is my win!" He panted, placing his blade next to Pavo's neck; the slightest twist of his hand would turn the Noble's throat into a fountain of blood.

Pavo spat a few flecks of blood, but was grinning as he glared at Rail. "Well, commoner? Do it! End me! Or do you not have the guts to do so? Are you a coward like your father, whom my dead son gutted like the pig he was?"

Rail's hand clenched the handle of his sword so hard the palm of his hand bleed. "My father was no coward, Noble scum. Perhaps I should take Link's advice after all!"

"What did Link tell Rail?" Zelda asked Navi.

"Link said if Rail wanted revenge, he should take it. He said if this was what Rail really wanted, he shouldn't hesitate to do it." Navi whispered back.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Do it! Kill me! Kill me and I'll tell your precious daddy on the other side how much his little boy has grown!" Pavo laughed mockingly. "Let my blood be the last thing you ever see!"

Rail's bleeding hand trembled so violently Zelda feared he would kill the Noble involuntarily. Yet soon after that, something changed. His quivering hand steadied, and his tense expression faded away. Rail smiled, but it was different from his usual, scornful sneers. This one was calm, at peace. Pavo was just as perplexed at Rail's winning grin as Zelda was.

"What are you smiling about, you piece of trash?"

"Pavo … you have no idea how much I've waited for this moment. If there's something I've regretted all this time, it's the fact that Nabooru killed you before I got to you. I've dreamed of this day, fantasized about it. I've daydreamed about the cruelty, the most painful ways I would end your life, and now that day is upon me."

Pavo swallowed, but kept a face of stone.

"And now that day is upon me. You're here, kneeling at my feet, with your life balancing on the tip of my sword. Now that we're here, I feel complete. I know exactly what I'm going to do to you. Don't get me wrong, you're not getting out of this with a slap on your wrist." Rail assured Pavo, pressing his sword closer to the Noble's neck. "Now that you're here, my dream can come to light."

"Spit it out, you lowly village rat!"

Pavo's insults only amused Rail now. "Your life is so light, there's no weight within it. There's no one to mourn for you when you die, there's no one to bury your body with respect, and there's no one in your life who will turn around to look back at you. My father once told me a warrior is a man who controls his blade, and never lets his blade control him. He told me a warrior's strength isn't defined by the corpses at his feet, but by the people at his back. A true warrior doesn't need to take a life to know he's strong.

"I am strong. I won't kill you, Pavo. There's no point in killing you, but you will be punished. You'll live the rest of your life knowing it was a pack of mere '_commoners'_ who overthrew your corrupt rule. You'll know everything you held dear was taken from you by those very '_commoners_', and you'll know it was those same commoners you despised so much who found no value in your life today." Rail inhaled, like he had relearned how to breathe. He withdrew his sword, spun the weapon by its handle, and plunged the blade into the floor.

"This is my victory."

* * *

EDIT: Hi folks, thanks for reading Chapter 14 of my Legend of Zelda, Three Spiritual Stones fanfiction series! Wow, this chapter is the longest chapter of the story so far. Personally, I think the chapter is a little too long. I wanted to split it in half and turn this one chapter into two, but when I started telling the story from Zelda's perspective, I found that I couldn't stop.

For starters, congratulations Denion City! You're free! Boo-Ya! Yep, moving on. When I wrote this chapter, I wonder if I got too carried away. Zelda is a nice girl, and I would like her to be brave and everything, but she took two arrows! Princess of Hyrule injured alert! Not only that, but I even spared Pavo's life. Originally, Pavo was supposed to die when Rail got manly and killed him. But when I got to that part, with Rail holding his sword at Pavo's neck, Rail starts talking all on his own, and next thing I know, Pavo is alive and sort-of well (if you discount his riches, army, city, property, and pride being taken away from him). And you, Suvica...nice job! Ballsy guy, I'm almost a little glad I came up with him. But you, on the other hand, Link...we barely saw you do anything! Sure, you busted the tower in Denion, but we never got to see you actually do it! What happened to the main character's screen time? Even Malon stood out more than you this chapter! Meh, he better give us a good show in the future.

Well, speaking of Malon, she'll be the main character for the next chapter, and we'll see the changes that happen to our lovable Denion City as well as a surprise visit from a semi-familiar face. Please, hope you enjoyed, post a review, and look forward to the next chapter!

P.S. Hmm...still nowhere close to the King Dodongo. I'm starting to feel sorry for the overgrown lizard. =3=. Don't worry, KD, you'll get your one-chapter of fame. Maybe half a chapter.

EDIT: Le wild Lavin appears! As you can see, I've gotten rid of the towers that repel the undead. Who needs magic towers when tall walls can do the same and at a cheaper price? And instead of arrows, Zelda gets stabbed with daggers. Damn, I'm evil. Thank you for reading! (7/4/12)


	15. Chapter 15, This Isn't Goodbye

**Chapter 15**

**This isn't Goodbye**

Malon stood at Stally's grave, offering her brave white stallion a few prayers of peace. She shed a silent tear, vividly remembering how Stally was sliced open with a sword, watching the glimmer of light fade from the horse's eyes. It was unpleasant, whether it was beast or man, to see a living creature die; Malon hated it. She hated feeling the frightened turmoil coming from the dying, desperately struggling to cling to their fleeting lives only to fall gravely quiet as death embraced them. Remembering each passing life she witnessed during the rebellion, her body racked with terrible shivers as the reoccurring nightmare of her mother's passing writhing into her eyes.

It wasn't only Stally's death scarring Malon's heart; she stood at the hem of a vast graveyard with too many fresh graves. Though the number of graves would've increased tenfold if it were not for Zelda's preparations, there were still far too many deaths. The cemetery was a new one, an area of mourning, at the inner rim of Denion's walls. She recalled many war tales from her dad and boastful adventurers, always emphasized the glory and honor in battle. Now Malon stood at the center, feeling the flare and shadows of combat.

With so much death around her, Malon felt it was wrong to feel the persisting flames of exhilaration deep inside her. Her blood pumped harder than ever in the revolt of Denion City; throwing herself and her horses into the midst of the enemies without a care in the world made her feel unstoppable. However, her enjoyment came with a price, and she was surrounded by it. She looked up from her prayers, tearing her eyes off Stally's unmarked grave to see dozens of other burials take place. People were sending away their loved ones while mourning in black robes and wailing songs of misery. Each grave had a small lantern set at their base, so the deceased would have a light to guide them back to the Goddesses. The revolt ended in success, but came with its costs as well.

A large, rugged hand patted Malon's back. It was Mr. Gibson, a tall, muscular man skilled in masonry. His eyes were soft, his smile light, and his feelings as fragile as Malon's. "Someone you knew, lassie?"

"A proud and noble horse who died helping Denion City," she replied quietly, offering Stally one last prayer. "She fought just as hard as everyone else, and deserves to be within the grace of the Goddesses."She watched the lantern at Stally's earthly grave wave and flicker to the night's winds.

Mr. Gibson chuckled; it sounded like an avalanche. "That's mighty kind of you lassie, to honor the beasts and well as the men." He looked to the plentiful graves dotting the burial ground. "We lost much today, lassie. Maybe too much. Freedom should never be bought with the lives of so many. By the Goddesses, it shouldn't be bought at all."

Malon leaned against Mr. Gibson. "Do you think it was worth it?"

"No, I don't." Mr. Gibson answered heavily. "When freedom is earned by blood and bodies, it is never worth it."

"I don't like it," Malon sniffed, holding back tears. "Shouldn't there have been a happy ending, a way for Denion to be free without sacrificing anyone?"

Mr. Gibson clasped her shoulder. "Sometimes, lassie, there are no good and bad choices, only bad and worse. During times like these, we cannot grieve over our bad choices, but be glad we didn't make the worse ones." A smile broke on his face, "Thanks to Princess Zelda, we didn't make the worse choice. Our princess brought us hope, a chance at freedom, and Denion shall be eternally grateful for that."

"Even though so many people died because of what Princess Zelda started? I'm not accusing her of killing these people!" Malon amended, "I'd never think that! But Princess Zelda's plan led so many to their deaths. Are you still grateful after seeing all these graves?"

"Even more so," Mr. Gibson said firmly. "If it were not for Princess Zelda's intervention, this graveyard would be ten times its current size. We lost many good people, but we would have lost much more under Pavo's continued rule. I have only gratitude for our princess's actions." He chuckled again, "I cannot help but feel that Princess Zelda's arrival was a form of divine intervention."

"What makes you think so?"

Mr. Gibson's laugh deepened. "Because it was Princess Zelda who saved us, the Unseen Royalty of Hyrule. No one has ever seen the princess before today, for she never leaves her castle. With such an elusive reputation, many rumors were born and spread amongst us common folk. Many believed Princess Zelda didn't even exist, and her mere existence was nothing more than a lie devised by the Royal Council of Hyrule. Those of us who did believe the princess existed said she was a spoiled child living such an extravagant life she wanted nothing to do with us commoners. The point being, Princess Zelda was nothing more than a headpiece of Hylian Royalty, something we should worship simply because it exists.

"Our beliefs about our princess were drastically changed after today. No, not changed: Corrected. We saw our princess for the first time, and we saw what she was willing to do for our sakes. She upturned Denion City for us, fighting to the brink of death for our sake. A girl, younger than my own daughter, yet tempered by steel found in no Hylian armor, stood by us. Today showed us the depth of Princess Zelda's consideration and love, something we will never forget."

Malon shared Mr. Gibson's smile. All the time she traveled with Zelda, the princess was constantly worrying herself over how the people would react to her, about whether they'd accept her or not. Now, it looked like there was nothing for the princess to worry about after all; her actions proved her love for her people, and her feelings touched them all.

"But why is Princess Zelda here in Denion City?" Mr. Gibson asked, more to himself than to Malon. "It truly must be divine intervention for our princess to suddenly appear in our city to bring us freedom from the Nobles. Is she here as a Royal Envoy from Hyrule Castle?"

"Nah, she was kidnapped and brought here," Malon teased, enjoying the change in pace as she looked at Mr. Gibson's staggered face. "Thanks for talking with me. I feel a little better now." She slipped out from Mr. Gibson's wide hand, pacing herself away from the graveyard.

As soon as all the crooked Nobles and hired thugs were thrown into Denion's prison after the revolt was over, the Black Threshold was torn down, removing the barrier between the Gold Haven and the Black Ring. These two labels were also discarded; there was only Denion City now. Since it was nearing midnight, the city gates were shut to keep out the undead; the moment the sun rose, anyone who wanted to leave the city and the bad memories it wrought were free to leave. Considering what everyone in the city had been through the last few years, Malon was genuinely surprised anyone still wanted to stay at all. Only a handful of random travelers were packing their belongings and getting ready to depart at first light, but those who still considered Denion to be their home vowed to stay. They had seen their beloved city twisted and desecrated beneath a tyrannical ruler, and now they were going to see it was properly healed.

That healing, however, was going to have to wait. Before, there was segregation between the rich and the poor; now the city was divided between the sorrowful and the cheerful. While many grieved for the loved ones they lost, many more were celebrating so hard the Goddesses could hear their merry songs. One moment, Malon was surrounded by lament and unspoken prayers; the next, she was engulfed in terrible music, worse singing, but even happier people. Whether it was in the previously labeled "Black Ring" or "Gold Haven," the people of Denion were commemorating this day like there was no tomorrow.

Tables were thrown out onto the streets, teetering dangerously under the giant platters of meat and pies. Barrels and mugs of mead were either in the hands of drunk-happy people or rolling across the streets. Fancy tables, luxurious chairs, expensive curtains, and royal rugs bought by the Nobles were now being burned in giant bonfires all across the city. In this city of newfound bliss, people were busy eating, drinking, kissing, dancing, and singing. The merry atmosphere was infectious, dragging the most despondent adult or child into its lighthearted current.

It didn't work that way for Malon. Her heart and mind were still heavily burdened by the memories of those who passed, but her spirits were being raised by the celebrations around her. As a result, her two conflicting emotions canceled each other out. She was neither happy nor sad, neither excited nor depressed. She walked down the city's brightly lit streets, watching eating contests, drinking tournaments, dance parties, and "Pin-the-Needle-in-the-Evil-Noble" tournaments, yet none of these events stirred her heart. Right now, she just wanted to be in the company of her friends.

After Pavo was imprisoned, all of Denion's most proficient doctors were scrambling to Zelda's side, fussing like panicked children over her wounds. She was resting somewhere inside Pavo's mostly-ruined mansion (Malon wasn't worried about Zelda, not when Navi was tending to her). Along with the princess, Fairy Boy and Rail were also being hailed as heroes; Fairy Boy for singlehandedly bringing down Pavo's estate, and Rail for rallying everyone against Pavo's army. Both sustained injuries and both were being taken care of somewhere in Denion City, maybe in Pavo's mansion along with Zelda. No doubt Mrs. Sheba was looking after Fairy Boy.

Suvi was readily accepted by Denion, even after the people saw he was a dragon. They were showering him with gratitude and tossing him into the air as they praised his power. All Suvi had to do in order to win their trust was throw around a few hundred of Denion's fake soldiers. He was still too elated by the recovery of his right arm's dragon scales, so he didn't bother putting up his normal "humans-are-trash" act, allowing himself to be admired and exalted. Last Malon remembered, Suvi was on a mission to drain Denion City's entire ale supply.

Her friends were busy with their own business, and Malon couldn't find it in herself to play along and enjoy the festival. Making her way past dancers, banquets, and too many drained barrels of mead, Malon found herself to the horse stables. Letting the familiar smell and touch fill her with a sense of homesickness, she threw herself into a clean mattress of hay and looked towards the stars. The horses snickered in curiosity, flicking their ears at their new visitor. Mirroring their interest, Malon crawled out of the hay and patted the nearest horse, a Hylian Couran, stroking his black mane and scratching his ears. She'd always been innately gifted in understanding horses, and they were much easier to understand than people. Many times, Malon preferred the company of animals rather than people.

"What are you doing here?"

Malon accidentally bonked heads with the horse in surprise. "Suvi?" she asked, rubbing her head while soothing the astonished couran.

Suvi, walking towards her with steady steps, took another swig of his mug, downing the alcoholic contents in one gulp. He wiped his mouth with his scaled-right arm and belched a shower of sparks. "You got a date with that fellow?" He asked, pointing his mug at the horse Malon was patting.

"Prearranged," Malon said, poking a little fun. "I feel more comfortable here," she admitted, staying true to her feelings. "Everyone's celebrating so much, even though so many people died. I can't be happy knowing that many people lost their lives fighting."

Suvi belched again, tossing his wooden mug over his shoulder. "This is the part where I say, '_Man up, Malon! The ones that died were weaklings who didn't deserve to live! The strong live, the weak die!_' But, I get a feeling you won't like it if I said that."

"Nope, I wouldn't. Suvi, are you drunk?"

"Not in the least," he smirked, smashing his mug to splinters beneath his foot. "The mead they've got here is water compared to the stuff you've got at your ranch. Lon Lon Ranch really is the sacred land of beverages. I've gone through at least a hundred barrels, and I'm not feeling even a little bit tipsy. For humans who love to live large, their taste in beer is overrated. You want to try some?"

"I'm a milk person."

Suvi chuckled with a small hiccup. "Somehow, I find that very believable. So how long are you going to stay depressed? Live a little! Eat some food! Drink some mead! Pin a few stakes into some piggish humans! Seeing you depressed is making me depressed."

This time, Malon laughed. "I can't imagine you depressed."

"Don't hurt my feelings!" Malon was starting to think Suvi really was drunk. "Even a dragon has hearts! I've gotten depressed before. Like when that witch beat the scales off my hide the first time I met her. Then there was a Moblin who hacked off a few inches of my tail. Grew right back after a few days, but having a stump for a tail really hampered my flying, so that bummed me out."

"Hearing you talk isn't making me feel better."

Suvi shrugged, flexing his right hand and letting his black scales pop in and out of his arm over and over again. He was like a child having too much fun simply flipping a lever on and off repeatedly.

"Does having a few more scales really make that much of a difference?" Malon asked.

"To you, it's a few more scales. To me, it's one step closer to being a full blown dragon!" Suvi exclaimed, pumping his right-scaled fist into the air. "Once I'm a dragon, I'll tear the witch apart with my claws and teeth then roast her carcass with my lightning!"

Malon giggled, but muffled her mouth with a hand. "If you attack her, won't she put you inside another human body? Maybe she'll make you look like me next time, and I'll have the twin!"

Her words gave Suvi a deep pause. "You're right," he mumbled, pacing in circles. "I should start thinking like Forest Boy, make some plans. I'll need a few hostages, wear her down after a month's worth of surprise attacks, and maybe poison her food now and then. When she's weak and delusional, then I'll kill her! No, no, I can't do that! There's no point in killing a weakened prey. Something else, maybe—"

"When will you learn?" Malon wondered. "Suvi, hearing you talk about how you're going to hurt Fairy Boy's mom isn't making me feel any better either. Can't we talk about something fun?"

"Fun?" Suvi repeated, "Last fun thing I did was toss around a few soldier and get my right arm's scales back."

Malon frowned. "What about before that?"

"Hmm. That one time I was teasing the Princess when she was still a meek little girl, that was fun. Dang it, why'd she have to grow a backbone?"

Malon's frown deepened. "And before that?"

"When we were kidnapping the Princess and playing tag with the Royal Knights. That was really awesome. Think we can stash the Princess back into that giant stone dungeon and kidnap her again?"

"Before _that_?"

"My fight with Link back in Oron. It was bloody, bruising, and he was unrelenting. I have to admit, it was really fun smashing my fists into his face. I hope I get another excuse to do so again."

Malon gave up on Suvi as a source of good conversation. "I'm getting more and more depressed just listening to you. Do you want to me to feel better?"

"Not really, but since this place has terrible mead and not enough meat, I've got nothing better to do," Suvi admitted. "What shall I do for you, my liege?"

She pointed to the starry night sky. "Take me flying."

"Huh?"

"Take me flying. I want to see what you see when you fly. You said you could take at least one person flying, so I want to fly!" Malon didn't know if Suvi had some kind of restriction against passengers or if it was another matter of dragon pride, but Suvi didn't seem like he was going to bend to her request any time soon.

"Why should I take you flying?" He demanded, putting on his favorite tough guy act; inside, she could tell Suvi was flummoxed.

"Please?" Malon begged, pleading with her blue-beady eye-stare. "I'll give you a kiss?"

"Never!"

* * *

"I should give you kisses more often," Malon whispered into Suvi's ear, wrapping her arms around his neck while hanging onto his back. His wings were under her chest, flapping steadily to maintain their high altitude. The leathery membrane of his wings was taut under the strain of an additional passenger, but his tail was held out straight behind him to accurately steer his flight, like the rudder of a boat. His black hair was brushing against her nose, filling it with the scent of rock and ash.

It took Malon a while, as well as a surprise kiss to his cheek, but she eventually got Suvi to submit to her request. He led her to the top of the tallest building he could find, spread his wings and tail, and allowed her to piggyback on his back. After that, all he had to do was dive off the rooftop, let the wind billow against his wings, and take off into the sky with a round of applause from all the onlookers below.

Now they were soaring high above Denion. How high? Malon didn't know. She just knew that flying below the stars and above the clouds counted as "very high." Suvi often expressed his pleasure in flight, and Malon could see why. The view was breathtaking, gliding above an endless world of green, dotted by cities and villages. Even the gigantic Hyrule Castle and Hyrule Market was nothing more than a small blotch of white from their perspective.

The blanket of night was cold enough for Malon's breath to turn into a visible fog as she breathed, but not a shiver ran through her body. She never noticed it until now, but Suvi was exceptionally warm. She could feel the tips of her red hair ice over with bits of frost, but her body remained warm. Suvi was like a portable, undying campfire; as long as she held him close, the freezing dark winds couldn't reach her.

"You're so lucky, to see such a beautiful sight every day," Malon breathed. "It must be nice to be free from the ground, to fly wherever you please."

"More than you know," Suvi replied, dropping one of his arms and dragging it against a passing cloud beneath them. "I guess you can see where my attitude comes from."

"You act mean because you get to see such a nice view all the time?"

He chortled. "That's exact it. Look at it, the land, the world. From up here, it like my own backyard. And then there are the humans. Look! They're nothing but specs under my feet! Pests scurrying and scattering wherever I land, wherever I go! I used to think all humans were beneath me, that they were nothing more than mere flecks of dust waiting to be blown aside by my wings."

Despite Suvi's unkind words, Malon couldn't resist a smile. "Used to? So that means you don't think so badly of us anymore?"

Suvi gulped, then started hackling and coughing so harshly he also fell from the sky. "A-As if! You humans are still trash to me! I've fallen a bit, sure! I'm stuck in some measly human body with barely any of my old strength left! It's insulting, but I've still got my pride! I'll _never_ stoop so low as to admit that humans aren't the plague of this world!" He made his declaration firm and clear, but the unstable sensation spreading from his heart couldn't be denied.

"Aw," Malon said, loosening her arms around Suvi's neck. "You don't care for humans like me?"

"Not in the least! I don't even know why I'm letting you ride on my back! I should throw you off, right here, right now!"

Malon slowly smiled. "I don't think you will. Not only that, I think you don't hate all humans. I'm sure there are some you're fond of, like Fairy Boy."

Suvi scoffed, spitting out a wad of saliva towards the earth (Malon hoped it didn't hit anyone). "Ha! Well, that's where you're wrong! All humans are the same to me! Whether it's Link, the Princess, some random heap-shoving human, or you! You're all the same!"

Malon's smile spread wider and wider. "You care for your friends, for Fairy Boy, Zelda, and me. You're only too shy to admit it."

She felt Suvi's muscles tense under her. "That's a bold claim, ranch girl. What makes you think I give a rotten scale about you?"

"Because of this." This was probably the most reckless and absurdly stupid thing Malon had ever done; she let go of Suvi's neck, slipped off his back, and started plummeting towards the ground. The full force of the night's icy wind buffet her, whipping her clothes against her body and her hair against her face. The sheer pressure of her free fall made it hard to draw the smallest of breath, and the roar of the wind in her ears reached the point of pain. Malon knew in a matter of seconds, she'd hit the ground.

Yet she wasn't afraid. She wasn't courageous like Fairy Boy, nor was she as strong hearted as Zelda, but as she fell to the mercy of the last few seconds of her life, not a fiber of fear could tie itself to her heart, not with Suvi diving straight for her, wings folded and tail straight, with a look of unrivaled grit molded on his face. In a matter of seconds, his arms snapped around her, jerking her out of her death-dive and engulfing her shivering body within the sphere of his natural warmth.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?" Suvi demanded, screaming the words directly into her ear as he batted his wings against the wind. "What if I hadn't caught you? What if you hit the ground? You could have died! Died!" Malon felt his hearts (whoa, he had more than one?) hammering inside his chest, beating against his ribcage.

"Nope, I wouldn't have died." Malon assured.

"You were _falling_!"

"And you caught me," she grinned, wrapping her arms back around Suvi's neck. "See? You don't hate me, or think little of me, after all!"

Suvi held onto his dumbfound look, staring at Malon like she was out of her mind to pull off such an insane stunt; his arms around her tightened. "What if I didn't catch you? What if I flew by and watched you fall?"

"But you didn't. There's no point in saying '_what if, what if_' when you've already done the deed," Malon said, feeling the cold from her limbs melt away by being in Suvi's arms. His emotions, once hardened by disbelief, slowly softened to her words. His eyes bore into her, like he was trying to discern what she was thinking, until he started laughing so loudly he could've been mistaken for a thunderstorm.

"You humans really are the weirdest creatures under the eyes of the sky. You'd go that far to prove a point?" Suvi chuckled, angling in his body back into a slow glide towards the city a few thousand feet below them.

"I went that far so you'd be a little more honest with yourself," Malon corrected, returning her eyes to the beauty of the stars and sky. "It's so annoying to hear you say, '_humans trash, human scum_', and all your other human-hating lines. At least be a little more honest with me."

Suvi smirked. "Fine, but only this once. What would you like to know, my daring wingless human?"

"What do you think of Fairy Boy?" Malon asked, readjusting her hands around Suvi's neck. "You like him or hate him?"

"Meh, he's okay for a human. He's got guts, he hits first and asks questions later, and he's not afraid to do what he has to do in order to get the job done. If you compare him to all your other twisted and bent humans, he's as straight as a dragon's tooth."

"And Navi?"

Suvi's playful smile transformed into disgust. "If I could, I'd use Blue Fluffy as a cotton ball to polish my teeth."

"What about Zelda?"

"I can't really tell. She was so fun to tease at first, but then she had to grow a stupid backbone. I liked the spineless princess, she would've been so easy to manipulate. But now she's all, '_save the people, down with corruption!_' She's become the poster girl of justice. I find it really annoying."

Malon pinched the back of Suvi's neck, and he yelped in mid-glide. "Don't be so mean to Zelda! She's doing the best she can to change! And it was really rude of you to tease her all the time!"

Suvi frowned, purposely jostling Malon in his arms in revenge to her pinch. "Fun is fun. I do what I like. Any more questions, your majesty?"

Malon straightened her eyes, shaking the daze from her head. "Last one: What do you think about me?"

This question got an amusing response from the cuddly dragon. Suvi began to nervously shift his shoulders, darting his eyes from her face to empty air. "You're interesting."

"Aw, don't be like that! You said so much about Fairy Boy and Zelda! Don't I get a long explanation?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you're right in front of me, in my arms! If I want to start talking about you, it'll be behind your back!"

Malon grabbed Suvi's head with both her hands and butt heads with him (she was certain the exchange hurt her more than it hurt him). She didn't say a word, but let her resentful, and slightly teary, eyes do the talking.

"Alight, fine! You're nice, you're kind, you're sometimes funny, and you genuinely care about others! I see humans lying all the time! I see them fake-crying on other's graves when they're actually dancing on their bones, and I see humans honey-soak their words to get what they want before throwing each other to the wolves! But you're nothing like that! You worry about others and you truly care about them! You're the first human I've met who's so … so …!"

"Cute?"

Suvi nearly gagged on his own tongue. "Honest! I want to say honest! But you're cute … sometimes, like when you're not trying to interrogate me for answers."

Happiness blossomed in Malon's chest. "Thanks Suvi, that's nice of you."

"Now you get to tell me something."

"Sure! What is it?"

"You still haven't told me how your mother died. You said you'd tell me before, remember?"

Malon's flowers of joy withered and died. "You know how to kill the mood, don't you?"

Suvi was baffled and perplexed by her mood swing. "Whoa, hey! First you're happy, now you look like I zapped your head bald! What'd I say?" Malon pouted, but didn't say anything. Seeing how steadfast she was, Suvi let the conversation die, and concentrated solely on landing back into Denion City.

* * *

When Malon woke up, it was to the sound of peaceful music. She thanked the Goddesses she hadn't awoken to the tuneless banging of metal pots and pans, because if she did, she'd be in a horrible mood all day. She pried open one eye, coming face of face with the underside of a blanket. She weighed her options: Wake up or fall back asleep. No need for any serious thinking, she was too tired for any of that. Malon shifted her body, lying belly-flat on the smooth mattress, and closed her eyes again, hoping the soothing melody would lullaby her back to sleep.

The music shifted; the peaceful tune transformed into one of spirit and energy. Malon's mind conjured images of forests and trees, children and fairies, as the song invigorated her soul. Unable to bear the curiosity any longer, Malon tossed aside her sheets to confront the mystery musician. What she didn't expect was for her blanket-sweeping hand to met unforeseen resistance, pushing the unknown object clear off the bed. The next thing Malon heard was someone hitting the floor with an "ow," while the music stumbled and slipped into a pandemonium of tuneless notes.

Bewildered, Malon forced both her eyes open to see what she'd wrought. She was back at Sheba's cozy little home, sitting upright on the bottom floor bed. The person she unintentionally smacked was Zelda, who was now face-planted on the floor. Fairy Boy was sitting on the table at the head of the bed; he'd been practicing with his ocarina, but placed his pink instrument back into his magic pouch and hopped to Zelda's side.

Malon was just as quick to respond; the implications of what she did snapped the sleep right from her eyes. She scurried, tumbled, and rolled out of bed, assisting Fairy Boy in getting Zelda back to her feet. The princess's nose was bruised and red, and her injured arm was still wrapped in a sling.

Malon hurried to apologize. "Zelda! I'm so sorry! That was super clumsy of me! I didn't see you! Are you hurt? Are you well? I didn't break anything, did I?" She demanded, letting her hands run across Zelda's body in a search for any other unintentional injuries

"I'm … alright…" Zelda managed to mumble as she massaged her nose with her good hand. "I assure you, the fault is not yours."

"Zelda was trying to wake you up when you pushed her," Fairy Boy explained, patting the princess's good shoulder. "It's time for us to leave Denion. Once we're all ready to go, we're heading to Death Mountain."

Malon combed out her bed head with her fingers. "Okay, so when're we ready?"

"The moment you're ready." Fairy Boy replied.

Malon paused, soaking in Fairy Boy's words. Fairy Boy, Zelda, and probably Suvi, were all packed and ready to leave; they were all waiting on Malon.

"Oh! Oh! Oh!" She was on her feet and racing up the room's ladder and into the second and third floor. In the span of five minutes, Malon washed, dressed, and packed her belongings. When Fairy Boy and Zelda came upstairs to check on her, she was dressed in her favorite white one-piece dress, had her travel pack tied around her waist, and was wringing out the remaining moisture clinging to her hair.

"That was fast," Fairy Boy commented.

"It's true we're pressed for time, but it also means we still have time." Zelda assured. "Please, there's no need to rush."

Malon paused in middle of her hair drying. "We're in a rush? Really?"

"You … don't know?"

"Know what?"

"The Royal Hylian Knights will most likely arrive at Denion City today at sunset. They will come here to take me back to Hyrule Castle and capture Link for kidnapping me."

Malon's internal alarms started ringing all at once. "Royal Hylian Knights are coming here? Why?"

"It's only natural. The moment Denion was reclaimed, messenger birds were sent to Hyrule Castle in order to update my father about the truth of this city. Doubtlessly, Denion will report everything that has occurred, as well as our involvement. Once my father is made aware of this, he will send the Royal Hylian Knights to fetch me. I have no doubt they will arrive before sunset, but it is currently sunrise. You are allowed to take your time."

"I can't do that!" Malon protested, giving her hair a tight twist, letting beads of water drip from the strands. "Everyone is ready to go, and I'm holding us all back! Don't worry now! I'm A-Okay and ready to leave!"

Fairy Boy grinned. "Alright. Don't forget your shoes."

Malon looked down, refraining from slapping herself as she wiggled her bare toes. She followed Fairy Boy and Zelda back down to the first floor while tugging her shoes onto her feet. Outside, the celebrations of Denion had yet to end. People were still eating, drinking, and dancing, but with a little more finesse than before.

"Did they wake up really early or party for a long time?" Malon asked, watching a couple dance across the streets with cups of mead in their hands.

"The latter," Fairy Boy said, looked up at the early sunrise to get their bearings. "So we need to head east. Let's go."

"Where's Suvi and Navi?" Malon asked as they walked into a large area stashed with tables of food and drinks while crowded with people; half were in a drunken stupor while the other half was living the Hylian dream. When those who were still conscious after the rigors of a night-long party noticed they were in Zelda's presence, they immediately got onto their knees, begging to kiss her hands and dress.

"Navi is catching up with my mom, talking about stuff they don't want me to hear," Fairy Boy said, sounding a little disgruntled. "I told Navi where we'll be, so she'll be able to catch up with us later. Suvica is out somewhere raiding a clothing store. He said his ripped up clothes were getting a little too breeze and wanted a change in style."

A thought presented itself to Malon. "Is your mom coming with us?"

"Nope," Fairy Boy replied, walking around a man who did a diving kneel at Zelda's feet, demanding her blessing. "I … asked her already, and she said she couldn't. She didn't tell me why, and I doubt she ever will." There was a small indication of unrest in Fairy Boy's heart as he spoke of his mom.

"Won't you miss her? We're leaving so soon, and you've only been with her for two weeks," Malon said.

Fairy Boy sighed, bending his head back towards the early morning dawn; a sky half blue yet still half black. "I want to. It hasn't been long, yet during this time, that small little home was my home. It was comfortable, peaceful, familiar … like the Kokiri Village. Another home."

"So why are we leaving in such a hurry?"

A smile, a small one, touched Fairy Boy's lips. "Besides the fact there's a legion of Royal Hylian Knights chasing after me for kidnapping the Princess of Hyrule?"

_I forgot about that._ "Well, sure, besides that. Let's pretend we're not being chased by a giant army of really angry soldiers. Would you stay at Denion?"

"No, I wouldn't."

"Why? It's a chance to stay with your mom! If I were in your position, I'd stay without a second thought!" She wanted to understand why Fairy Boy was so against staying with his parent, even when he admitted he wished to be with her.

Fairy Boy didn't answer; he stopped walking and watched Zelda practically get mugged by her loving subjects, but Malon could tell his mind was elsewhere.

Finally, she got an answer. "I'm worried, that's all."

"Worried about what?" Malon pressed.

"I'm worried I'll forget the reason why I left the Kokiri Village. I left to get revenge, to kill Ganondorf. Staying here feels so wrong. I like it here, with my mom, in her home, eating her cooking, speaking with her, and asking her questions, even though she rarely answers back. It's comfortable here."

Fairy Boy's answer was only messed with Malon more. "You're not making much sense. You don't want to stay because you like it here?"

"Pretty much."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"I want my revenge. I left my home for it, so I'll make sure I fight for it. Nothing will change that, not even my mom."

"Is revenge really so important to you?"

"Yes, it is. I won't forgive Ganondorf for what he's done. I'm not like Rail, I can't let the Ganondorf live. Zelda's taking too long," Fairy Boy said, abruptly changing the topic. He shuffled his way into the crowd drowning Zelda. Malon, who wasn't about to jump into a mob of worshipping Hylian citizens, watched and listened to see what was taking Zelda so long.

"Princess Zelda, why are you leaving? There is much to be done!"

"Please stay a while longer, Princess Zelda!

"Pavo and his fellow villains must pay for their crimes! You must help bring the hammer of justice down on their necks!"

Zelda, completely engulfed by her adoring fans, was helplessly trying to push her way free. "Please, I must get going! Royal Hylian Knights will arrive at Denion by sunset. If you explain the situation to them, they will uphold the law and have Pavo and the others rightly punished."

"No, Princess Zelda! We cannot trust anyone else but you!"

"You risked your life for us!"

"Why must you leave?"

Malon could see getting Zelda away from her devout followers was going to be harder than taking a bucket of sugar cubes from a pack of sugar-happy ponies. There was no way the princess was getting out of Denion peacefully.

Fairy Boy took matters into his own hands, and Malon was grateful he didn't resort to magic. He mystically appeared at Zelda's side, covered her eyes with one of his hands, and raised a deku nut with his other. Already knowing what he was plotting, Malon squeezed her eyes shut and slapped her hands over her face as a precaution.

She heard the small _crack_, followed by the familiar flash of light bright enough to be seen through her closed eyes. When the light died out, everyone who had been swarming around Zelda was now blindly stumbling about, clawing at their eyes. It was nice to see the good old deku nut in action again.

"Link! I must protest against your actions! There was no need to take such drastic measures against these good folks!" Zelda fumed as Fairy Boy grabbed her hand and pulled her along.

"I had three choices. Take hours and hours to convince them to let you go, beat them all away with my Spin Attack, or use a deku nut to distract them all. Which option would you have preferred?"

"Your hour long talk."

Fairy Boy laughed. "I'll remember that for next time! Let's go Malon! We're going to have to travel by rooftop again!"

Malon bounced over writhing, blinded bodies and caught up to Fairy Boy. "Why? There are no more evil Nobles and bad soldiers. We can travel on any street we want now, right?"

"We've got a new type of evil to deal with," Fairy Boy beckoned at the people writhing on the ground, furiously blinking their temporarily sightless eyes. "It's called loyal-to-a-fault people. Come on, I don't want to use too many deku nuts."

"There's she is! Princess Zelda!"

All three of them whirled around to see a lone woman pointing at them from a faraway alley. Then, that one person became a thousand as the people of Denion came swarming at them as an unstoppable stream.

"Princess Zelda! A word of wisdom please!"

"Princess, please stay here and grace us with your wisdom!"

"Stay, Princess Zelda, stay!"

"Princess Zelda!"

"PRINCESS ZELDA!"

Fairy Boy patted Zelda's back. "Well, are you still wondering whether or not the people love you?"

Zelda's lips formed half a smile. "No, I have my answer, thank you. Shall we run?"

"Please?" Malon begged.

Fairy Boy laughed. "Shut your eyes!"

* * *

Malon staggered, shook, and finally fell to her hands and knees, panting as she fought for air. She spent the last hour running for dear life, not from killer soldiers, but from people who wanted to hold on to them and never let go. In a way, they were more terrifying than a legion of undead. Zelda stumbled next to Malon, flipping herself onto her back and struggling to breathe. Malon was thankful for the cool morning air and for the blanket of moist grass beneath her hands. They made it out of Denion and onto a small knoll about a mile east from the city.

"You two okay?" Fairy Boy asked, huffing lightly as he observed the city from a distance. "That was quite the morning exercise."

"Speak … _gasp _… for … _pant _… yourself!" Malon wheezed, giving out to her fatigue and lying flat on her belly and face, letting the morning dew settled on the blades of grass cradle her face. Zelda didn't bother to say anything at all. Her lips moved a few times to form a word or two, but her mouth was too busy sucking in air.

"I never … _pant _… want to run away … _huff _… from another city again," Malon whined, shaking her head and wriggling her fingers in exasperation. "Cities should be all about … _pant _… clothing, shopping, good food, and nice people. _Huff_… no more evil Nobles, mean soldiers, and crazy people!"

"We'll try not to run into utterly corrupt cities next time," Fairy Boy promised. With so much air deprived from Malon's head, she couldn't tell whether he was being sarcastic or not.

Zelda's lips flapped a bit, but no words emerged.

"You're worried whether or not we're still being followed by your loving people?" Fairy Boy translated the princess's wordless stammer. How'd he do that?

The princess nodded.

"Don't worry, Suvica's taken care of it." Fairy Boy replied. This time, Zelda sat up with a look of panic. "No, no, don't worry," he assured the alarmed princess, "He's only stalling them. He won't kill anyone … I hope." Fairy Boy's lack of conviction had Zelda on the edge of a panic attack.

Malon wasn't as nervous; she had a little more faith in Suvi. She lazily turned herself onto her back, gazing at the sky to see the black winged Suvi, who was nose-diving towards them. He unfurled his black wings at the last moment, beating them against the wind and letting loosened grass billowed around them as he came to an abrupt halt.

"I got to admit, these clothes are sweet," Suvi whistled as he landed on his feet, allowing his wings and tail to slide into his back. He replaced his tattered shirt and vest for a pitch-black, sleeveless tunic with two long slits on the back, allowing his wings to expand from his back without tearing his clothes. His pants were a pair of baggy black jeans with very large pockets. He still had his familiar black sandals, along with an iron chain wrapped around his neck (only Suvi could wear a chain that thick and make it look fashionable).

"Suvica!" Zelda shouted, demanding his attention. "What did you do to '_stall_' the people of Denion? Was anyone hurt?"

"Cool down, Princess," Suvi said, patting the grass off his pants. "All I did was shut every city gate and break the opening lever. It'll take them a while to fix, that's all. No humans were harmed in the process of the gate breaking." Zelda sighed in relief.

"What's with the chain?" Malon asked, looking at the accessory he was using at a necklace. "Isn't it heavy?"

"This thing?" Suvi poked at the metal bands around his neck. "It's a souvenir. I whooped the butts of a hundred soldiers, fake or not! There's no way I'm not taking a trophy!" Malon's idea of a souvenir consisted of new clothing, small trinkets, and cheap jewelry, not chains which were once used to bind you to the floor. "So! We're all here! Let's get to Death Mountain! Last I heard, a few of my relatives were camping out there! I can't wait to see them!"

"Relatives? Dragons?"

"Nah, Dodongos. They're a type of dragon; they can breathe fire, they've got hard scales, and they're strong, but they've got no wings. In other words, they're related to us real dragons, but they're a shame to their race."

"Then why are you so excited to see them?"

Suvi cracked his knuckles. "So I can punch their shameful jaws in, and maybe barbecue a few as well." Of course, only Suvi could talk about eating a distant relative with a smile and a straight face. "So what're we waiting for?"

"Navi. She's not back yet," Fairy Boy replied.

"Meh, let's leave Blue Fluffy behind. It's not like we need its sticking around." Suvi yawned.

At the very least, they wait a while longer. Within the minute, Navi's glowing blue body could be spotted against the canvas of green plains. What Malon didn't expect was to see Mrs. Sheba walking alongside the fairy as the two of them steadily made their way towards them.

At first, there as a small spark of excitement at Mrs. Sheba's appearance (Suvi started spewing foul language when he saw her), but Malon noticed she had an aura of sadness; she wasn't here to join them. Malon could feel Fairy Boy's emotions churn harder and harder, even if he didn't show it.

"Hey, Link," Navi greeted her partner, fluttering to Fairy Boy's side. "Sorry if I kept you waiting."

"Not a problem," he replied, allowing Navi to land atop of his hood. "Hi, mom."

"Hello, Link." Mrs. Sheba returned. An awkward silent settled between the two, where nothing but the sound of Suvi's unneeded mumbling existed.

Finally: "I'm leaving, mom."

"I know you are."

"Are you coming?"

Pain started coalescing on Mrs. Sheba's face. "No. I played my hand to stand against fate, and tragedy was the only result. Where you go, I cannot. Your destiny is your own, and I have no room in it. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You've done what you've thought was right. That's all."

"I did what I thought would turn out to be right."

"I guess … I'll be going,"

A tear slipped from Mrs. Sheba's moon-eyes. "Yes, I suppose you must. This will be our final meeting, and our final farewell. I'm sorry Link, and good-bye."

"Bye mom, I'll see you again."

Her tears stopped, halted by a look of confusion. "Again?"

"Sure, again." Fairy Boy repeated.

"Link, I'm not sure you understand. I can take no part in your destiny."

"So? If you can't help me defeat Ganondorf, that's fine, but that doesn't mean I can't see you against after it's all over."

"You … believe you can break the Curse of Demise?"

"I don't care about any Curse made by a Demon King I never knew. I'm going to stop Ganondorf, and that's the end. When that's all over … maybe you could find me at the Kokiri Village. You're strong, so I'm sure it'll be easy for you to find it in the Lost Woods."

"You … you would want to see me again? You forgive me for leaving you?"

"Forgive you? I'm not sure about that, but at the very least, I want to show you the place where I was raised, and let you meet the friends I made. Only if you want to, of course."

Tears poured from Mrs. Sheba's eyes like a break in a dam, and her emotions were spilling just as violently in a dispersal of grieve and a rush of joy. Fairy Boy stepped forward, and as Mrs. Sheba knelt down, he gave her a gentle embrace, a gesture she returned in kind.

"You're my only son, Link, and despite everything I've done, I'll always love you. So please … come back to me."

"I will, mom. It's a promise."

* * *

EDIT: Chapter 15 of the Three Spiritual Stones fanfiction is out. Finally, Denion City will be left behind.

Chapter 16 probably won't be about for a while.

Thanks for reading.

EDIT: I realized Link's mom never told him she loved him, so I added it. (7/4/12)


	16. Chapter 16, Journey to Death Mountain

**Chapter 16**

**Journey to Death Mountain**

Suvica bellowed as he threw a punch, snarling as Link ducked beneath his attack. He raised his right, dragon-scaled arm, and intercepted a slash from Link's sword aimed and pushed the blade aside. Even though the sword could never inflict any mortal damage, Link remained determined as always, bringing up his wood-shield and slamming it into Suvica's face; he clenched his teeth as the rock-hard wood pummeled him, nearly causing him to take a step back.

_Not bad!_ Suvica grinned, pushing his head forward and smashing it into Link's forehead. Their skulls collided with a dull _thwack_, and a dull flow of pain rippled from Suvica's head. Still, he doubted Link was as hard headed as he was, watching the Forest Boy reel away from the blow. Suvica took advantage of Link's dazed state, throwing himself forward and slamming a left fist across Forest Boy's face. Satisfaction coursed through him as he felt his knuckles jar against Link's cheek, but Link used the momentum of Suvica's attack to twist his body away from the blow and ram his knee into Suvica's stomach. The attack pushed the air out of his body, reflexively causing Suvica to kneel over in windless pain. With his body arched forward and his face hung low, Link bashed Suvica's face in with the hilt of his sword, snapping his head back. Before he could regain his bearings, an edge of cold metal entered his shoulder. Reacting on instinct, Suvica leap away from the blade, preventing Link's sword from carving open his chest. He stopped Forest Boy from mortally wounding him, but was unable to prevent the groove of open flesh into his shoulder.

"Pretty ruthless of you, Link!" Suvica laughed, licking the blood from his shoulder as the flesh knit itself close. "You might've killed me with that one! I remember you saying something about no fatal wounds!"

Link, about a tail's distance away, hefted his sword and readjusted his shield as he said, "And I remember you saying you wouldn't use any of your dragon powers! Using the scales on your right arm is breaking the rules!"

Suvica cackled. "Rules are for the weak and are broken by the strong! Don't sweat the small stuff! Bring it!"

"With pleasure!" He barely had time to react as Link launched a surprise attack; while the two had been talking, he'd been charging his magic into his blade. Now he fired a blue Disk Attack, launching the rotating ring at Suvica like a projectile. Suvica reached out with his scaled right hand to grab the magical attack and fling it aside like he would with any other missile. Not the brightest idea by far. The moment Link's Disk Attack made contact with Suvica's scaled arm, the magic shattered into a million fragments, but nearly blasted his right arm from his shoulder in the process. Suvica snarled past the throbbing agony, pounding inside of his arm like a thousand hammers.

By the triumphant look on Link's face, he already predicted this outcome. He swung his toothpick-sword twice more, firing another pair of Disk Attacks. Suvica's right arm was hanging at his side, numbed in pain, so blocking the attacks were out of the question. Still, there was no way Suvica was going to play weakling and dodge Link's magical leaf-blowers. He'd face this challenge just like how he faced every other challenge: Head-on! His black wings unfurled from his back, easily sliding out of the two long slits in his new shirt. With nothing but pride-fueled determination, Suvica raised his wings and rocket himself forward with a powerful gust of air. He slammed into each Disk Attack, plowing through both magical rings with his head. As a result, Suvica's head was bleeding and his vision blurred in searing agony, but the astonished look on Link's face made it all worth it.

"Surprise!" Suvica laughed, slamming a clenched fist into Link's gut, flinging him backwards; he shook in pleasure as he watched Link fly, but Forest Boy easily land back on his feet. Suvica felt his fist tremble and knew what really happened; Link brought up his wood-shield and intercepted Suvica's punched. Not only that, he intentionally threw himself backwards, annulling more than half of the damage Suvica hoped to inflict.

"Why won't you just die?" Suvica demanded, flexing his right hand as the feeling came back to his trembling limb.

"After you!" Link retorted, rushing forward with his shield protecting his front and his sword aimed directly at Suvica's heart. Suvica exhaled a flurry of sparks from his mouth as he accepted Link's challenge and charged at the rushing Forest Boy.

"Din's Fire!"

A fireball materialized in the space between the two of them before exploding in their faces. The sudden blast sent an expanding wall of air against Suvica's open wings, forcibly spreading them out and tossing him into the air. He flipped several times before landing roughly onto his face, filling his mouth with the taste of dirt, grass, and ash. Suvica coughed and spat the wad of soil from his mouth, looking up to see Link had met a similar fate.

Suvica pushed himself to his knees, withdrawing his wings and reverting his scaled-right arm back into a normal human limb. "What was that for, Princess?" He shouted, glaring past his smoking black hair and focusing his hostility towards Princess Zelda, who stood a fair distance away from both him and Forest Boy. Malon and Blue Fluffy were huddled behind the Princess, checking to see if the war was over.

"What do you think it was for?" the Princess shouted back with enough hostility to rival his own. "The two of you promised this would be nothing more than a light spar! The next thing I know, your fangs are at Link's throat and his blade half way in your chest!"

"That's why it's sparring!" Suvica barked back, choking past the last of the grass in his mouth. "It's no fun if someone isn't in danger of dying!"

The Princess's eyebrows scrunched together so tightly her upset expression was hilarious. "I swear by my royal title, simple logic holds no bounds to you!"

"_Human_ logic," Suvica corrected. "Don't associated the mighty me to your puny race, Princess." Even with all the distance between himself and the Princess of Hyrule, Suvica could hear her furiously grinding her teeth. At least it was the end of her lecture as she stomped towards Link, probably hoping to talk some of her princess-logic into him.

Suvica clambered to his feet, teetering dangerous as he stood straight; he may be fireproof, but the Princess's magic packed a punch. He might've fallen back to his knees if Malon hadn't wrapped her arms around his to keep him from falling. "You always take things too far, Suvi."

"Meh, it's no fun any other way. Besides, it's been four days since we left Denion, and we've done nothing but walk, talk, walk, fly, and walk some more! I'm bored! Besides, Link and the Princess are both all healed! It was the perfect chance to let loose some steam!"

"At least Zelda stopped the two of you from hurting each other too seriously," Malon said.

"All she did was save Forest Boy's life. I had him right where I wanted him."

Malon poked Suvica's bleeding forehead, where two of Link's Disk Attacks had painted an ugly bruise. Her light prodding shot a knife of pain across his head. "I'm sure you did, Suvi."

* * *

With fresh wounds on both Suvica and Link, the group decided to end the day early. As the sun sank at the horizon, Suvica flew around to find the nearest, most suitable, tree to spend the night in. For the last four days, this was their customary routine to avoid the undead. He would find the tallest trees available and the others would make it suitable for a nightly stay.

This time, Suvica discovered a thirty foot tall tree with plenty of branches and a handful of leaves. He notified Link and the others, and when they agreed it would be appropriate for tonight, they went to work. Link brought out an assortment of ropes and blankets from his magic-pouch (stuff he took from his vixen-witch-mom's house) and scurried up the tree like the forest monkey he was. He used the ropes and blankets to make four hammocks in the tree's branches and then tested them to ensure they would hold. Satisfied, he signaled for the others to join him. Malon and the Princess didn't have Link's monkey-skills, so Suvica assisted them by hanging from one of the tree's lowest branches and dropping his tail to the ground, using it as a rope for the two girls to climb.

As the moon gradually took over the sun's domain, and the stars glistened above, Suvica peered over the side of his hammock and stared intently at the fields of Hyrule. One by one, bone by bone, skeletons of varying size and height popped out of the field like weeds, the kind that grew back no matter how many times they were plucked. With their dirt-coated bones and red pupil skulls, the undead skeletons aimlessly roamed the grassy fields while numbering in the hundreds of thousands.

Suvica shifted uncomfortably in his hammock, peeking over to the Princess and Malon. On their first night outside Denion City, the two were terrified at the sight of so many skeletons, clinging to tall tree branches as if their lives depended on it. Today, they were comfortably resting in their respective hammocks, sleeping peacefully as the dead roamed beneath them. Link's hammock was tied next to Suvica's, with Blue Fluffy glowing drowsily on his chest.

Restless energy thrummed inside his body, so Suvica slipped out of his bed-tree and roughly landed on the undead infested field. The moment he landed, he attracted the attention of every skeleton within a hundred yards.

"Bring it," Suvica yawned in boredom. One of the skeletons reached for him with its boney fingers, so Suvica raised his own hand and poked the skeleton's skull; its head burst into fragments. Another wrapped its arms around Suvica's head and wailed in its pathetic undead shriek. Suvica opened his mouth and took a bite out of the skeleton's arm, crunching on the bone and swallowing the fragments. "So boring," He groaned, raising a fist and tapping the skeleton's ribcage, watching it break into pieces from the light blow. "This is what those humans in Denion were so afraid of? Pathetic."

"They have their fears and we have ours," Link said, suddenly plopping out of the tree and landing beside Suvica. He drew his sword and beheaded a skeleton in an easy swipe. "Not sleepy?"

"Hardly," Suvica replied, a little surprised to see Link was still awake. He kicked a loose bone lying at his feet, knocking it into another skeleton's skull and breaking it from its spine. "Besides, look at these things! They're slow! They're weak! Fragile! They're so easy to break its laughable! Not only that, they're edible!" Suvica proved his point by grabbing skeleton's neck and taking a bite out of its skull.

"We all have different fears," Link replied, cutting off a few more skeleton heads. "I'm sure you've got your own."

"Ha!" Suvica bellowed, using a lightning bolt to incinerating a large group of undead at once. "Afraid? As if! I'm Suvica the Thunder Dragon!" He summoned his tail, whipping it in a large circle and taking out a group of undead. "I'm strong and powerful! I've got nothing to be afraid of! Humans should be afraid of me!"

Link narrowly ducked under Suvica's spinning tail. "You can be a bit more honest than that. I won't go babbling your secret to everyone I see."

"I told you already!" Suvica picked up a rolling skull and tossed it with the power of a cannonball, taking out a long line of undead. "There's no monster in the world I'm afraid of!"

"I'm not talking about monsters. You're too arrogant to be afraid of a monster. I'm just wondering if there's something in general you're afraid of, like death, or losing something important, that sort of thing." Link explained, cutting apart several more of the closing undead and swinging his wood-shield like a club to shatter a few more.

"Ha! Death is a natural part battle! Everyone dies, whether it's from combat or old age! There's no reason to be afraid of something that'll happen one way or the other!" Suvica snatched another skull and crushed it to pieces. "The only thing I'm afraid of is—!" He bit his tongue, stopping himself midsentence. _Why am I talking about this kind of stuff with Forest Boy?_

Too late; Link's ears were already twitching in anticipation. It was that or his ears were also being irritated by the constant groans of the pitiful undead around them. "You're afraid of what?"

"Screw that. Why should I tell you?" Suvica growled, smashing apart four more skeletons with hardened fists and growing ferocity. "Why don't you tell me something? What are you afraid of? You're always acting like the brave little hero, throwing yourself at one danger after another. There's got to be something you're afraid of."

"Easy. I'm afraid I might not be able to kill Ganondorf."

Suvica wanted to laugh, he wanted to mock Link for such a simple excuse, but he could taste Forest Boy's honesty. "Fine, whatever. Makes sense, I suppose, since you're only human." He growled, continuing to tear, break, and smash anything in his way, hoping his mindless destruction would keep his thoughts off Link's question. Yet even with his body a flurry of demolition, his mind rebelled against him. _Why? Why do I want to tell him? Why do I want to speak to him?_

"Get it off your chest already," Link sighed, kicking Suvica in the back. "Hearing you gnash and groan is bugging me."

Suvica took his frustration out on the undead, turning a large portion of them into dust with a powerful blast of electricity that illuminated the skies for a brief moment. "I'm afraid of the day when dragons are no longer dragons! Fine, I said it! Happy now?"

Link looked over his shoulder to give Suvica a quizzical glance. "When dragons are no longer dragons? What's that supposed to mean?"

"You wouldn't know, but dragons are changing. It's part of the reason why I left my parents. It's not because I hate them … it's because they're becoming docile, kind, loving!"

"What's wrong with that?"

"Everything!" Suvica screamed, raising one foot and stomping the ground so hard the skeleton too close to him stumbled off their feet. "We're dragons! Proud! Powerful! Unyielding! We fight for what we want, we kill to get what we need, and we die for what we believe in! But dragons are changing! Not only my parents, but all dragons! They're accepting ideas of peace, talking about treaties with Hyrujle! We're losing the ideals we once had! We're becoming TAME! I can't stand it! I can't bear to watch my race fall so low! That's why I follow the ideals of the Great Serpent!"

"The Great Serpent?"

"That's right! You heard your witch-mother taking about him! Volvagia! He said we should serve nothing but our pride and desires! We take what we want, when we want! We eat the weak to become strong!"

"So your race is becoming peaceful? Doesn't that mean no one has to worry about another Reign of Fire? So there was no reason for my mom to try and reform you, because your race is already changing?"

Suvica snorted. "Don't get me started! I want Hyrule to remember why they feared the dragons! It's why I left Ash Mountain to wreck some havoc! It's thanks to Volvagia's ideals I started my journey for domination!"

"And yet, soon after you left, you were dominated by my mom and trapped in a human body," Link chuckled. "Great teachings."

"Don't push me, Forest Boy."

Link laughed, kicking aside several undead who approached. "I almost feel sorry for you, since the only reason my mom turned you into a human was to prevent the next Reign of Fire. If what you say is true, it doesn't seem like there's ever going to be another one."

Suvica ground his teeth until he drew blood. "You might be right about that. The only thing that'll get my race's blood boiling again is a war on a colossal scale. Damn it, as if there's every going to be one without Volvagia! Some pathetic little Goron from Death Mountain _had_ to kill the greatest dragon who ever lived using some cheap weapon! They called that Goron a legend, the hero who killed Volvagia! I swear, when I reach Death Mountain, I'm finding the shrine they built for their so-called hero and I'm pissing on his grave!"

"I never knew you hated Gorons."

"I don't hate Gorons, I just hate their precious _hero_. After all, Gorons taste great when barbecued."

* * *

Link went to sleep an hour later, while Suvica stayed awake, occupying himself with the countless undead crowding around him. It was boring and tedious, knocking over one pile of bones after another, but he was too restless to sleep. He could go an entire week without rest, so losing one night wasn't a big deal. He still wondered why he divulged so much about his race to Forest Boy, and was even more confused about why he felt so much better after doing so. Was he becoming weak? Was he becoming like those other pitiful dragons he despised so much? No, no, all Suvica did was satisfy the annoying curiosity of Forest Boy to keep him off his back.

The undead made a hasty retreat back into the earth's soil as the sun began to rise, greeting Suvica with a cloudless morning. His chat with Link made him realize how much he wanted to visit Death Mountain, so he could defile the Goron Hero's grave. Anxious to continue their journey, Suvica punched the tree's truck as hard as he could, watching as Link, Malon, the Princess, and Blue Fluffy tumbled from the branches.

"It's morning. Let's go, I'm bored." His morning greeting was rewarded with a punch from Link, a poke from Malon, a slap from the Princess, and a bop to the head from Blue Fluffy.

After Forest Boy untied the hammocks and stuffed them into his pouch, they set off (a bit more irritably than before). There was no conversation until lunch, when the sun was at its highest. Link took out the necessary ingredients while the Princess and Malon cooked them into edible meals. Suvica grudgingly admitted the Princess had a few culinary skills thanks to she-witch back at Denion.

"Doesn't it bother you when I call your mother a witch?" Suvica asked Link as lunched was finished and they hit the road.

"I get the sudden urge to stab you in the face, but don't mind," Link replied.

As the day passed by, the morning tension eased away. Malon and the Princess started their own girl-talk, while Blue Fluffy chatted with Link about the Lost Woods and occasionally about the she-witch. Suvica tried to insert himself into several of the conversations, only to be easily rejected with his lack of conversational topics.

Malon and the Princess were becoming more accustomed to traveling on their feet, complaining less by the day and appearing more at ease by the hour; at the very least, the two of them stopped pestering Suvica about carrying them the rest of the way to Death Mountain.

Sunset was quick to arrive. Since cooking in a tree was much more difficult than it sounded, they ate before the sun disappeared. The Princess used her magic to summon a small ball of fire, floating a few inches above the moist grass of Hyrule Field, and placed a metal pan above the gentle flame. Suvica salivated as the Princess threw slices of meat onto the pan along with a few spices from she-witch's house. Suvica used to hate cooking, but after being awakened to the powers of culinary persuasion, cooking became one of the few things he liked about humans.

It was a good thing Link stored enough food in his pouch to feed a small city for weeks, and even better that all food that went into the pouch came out just as fresh. When the Princess's cooking pan was sizzling with roasted meat, Suvica was already picking the strips of cooked flesh off the burning metal and dropping them into his mouth.

"Where are you table manners, Suvi?" Malon demanded, slapping Suvica's hand away when he went for seconds. "We have plates, you know!"

"And I've got heat-proof skin," Suvica shrugged, seizing his second piece of sizzling meat. "I can't believe I hated cooking so much before I met you all. That reminds me, I haven't had a pancake in weeks! Link, make some!" Link punched Suvica in the face instead, so he decided to shut up (he'd smack Forest Boy around after dinner). Suvica always ate ten times more than Link, Malon, and Princess Zelda put together (Blue Fluffy didn't count because it ate veggies, something he wouldn't touch even if he was starving in the middle of the Gerudo Desert). As the sun disappeared, Suvica found them another tree to stay in, Link made the beds, and everyone slept with full stomachs.

Some excitement finally happened the following morning. Soon after breakfast, Malon pointed at an object sticking out of the fields of Hyrule like an ugly zit, an orange zit. Suvica looked to the distance, eventually spotting the object of Malon's fascination.

"A Peahat," he said, grinning in remembrance as he stared at the cone-like monster rooted into the ground with taunt orange skin. It was too far away for him to judge its exact size, but from previous experience he estimated it was at least twelve feet tall with a radius of three feet. Humans preached that Peahats were vicious and highly dangerous locus of Hyrule Field. Suvica said Peahats were cute and easy to tame. "My dear travel mates, I've found us a ride. Wait here."

"A ride? I must assume you are referring to that Peahat," the Princess said. "But Peahats are vicious and—!"

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. Wait here." He spread his wings and flew over towards to the orange zit. When he was above the Peahat, he angled his wings and landed right in front of the field-inhabiting pest; it was a little bigger than he expected, but only by a bit. "Yo! How's it going?"

The Peahat didn't reply, obviously. These roaches did only two things: Reproduce by spawning Peahat Larvae, and attack anyone who entered their territory. Right now, Suvica was neck deep inside the Peahat's personal space. Reacting to his intrusion, the orange zit sprouted several leafy blades from the base of its body, each more than fifteen feet long. Once the serrated branches were fully extended, they began to spin. Soon, they were rotating so quickly the Peahat glided a few heads above the ground. Armed and a little dangerous, the flaunting field-roach closed in on Suvica, its intentions clear: Get close enough for its spinning blades to cleave him in two.

Suvica raised his right hand, allowing his black scales to ripple from his skin and coat his arm. The Peahat's spinning blades surged forward, but Suvica merely stuck out his armored arm and watched the Peahat's humming blades make contact with his scales. He barely budged from the blow, but the field-roach collapsed due to the sudden stop in its rotation.

"Time to put you in your place!" He grasped the edge of one of the Peahat's blades with his hand and lifted all two hundred pounds of the monster. With the orange zit at his mercy, Suvica got straight to taming: Swinging the Peahat in wide circle while occasionally smashing it into the ground every now and then. As a finale, he threw the Peahat skyward, flew after it until he was above the helpless pest, and smashed it back towards the ground with a clenched fist.

A few moments later, Suvica was sitting on the top of the Peahat (comfy as a cloud), while it weakly hovered over towards his mates, who watched the whole process with astonished eyes.

"Suvica! How did you—?" The Princess failed to form her entire question.

"Very nice." Link complimented, clapping his hands.

"Takes a monster to know a monster. I knew he'd come in handy one day," Blue Fluffy nodded to herself.

"Suvi! This is awesome! Can we ride it too?" Malon cheered, bouncing up and down on the spot in glee.

"That's why it's here. Hurry up and land," Suvica ordered, stomping on the Peahat's head. The creature moaned, slowing down the rotation of its blades to landing in front of Malon and the others, who climbed up the Peahat's leathery skin and scurried to the top.

"Now, take off, my slave!"

The Peahat immediately obeyed.

_Ah, this is why I love Peahats,_ Suvica sighed in content as the field-roach took off until they were gently gliding hundreds of meters above the vast fields of Hyrule. With their new ride and a pleasant overhead view of the land, they traveled a week's worth of walking in a single morning.

* * *

As night arrived, Suvica's new slave approached a small city the Princess identified as Luxvil. In comparison to Hyrule Market and Denion City, Luxvil was small and basic city. No giant towers or fancy buildings, only simple stone houses protected by a ring of lumber posts which served as a wall to keep the undead out.

"Wow, look at all the undead," Link said as the night breeze picked up, causing a little turbulence. Luxcil City was a brown dot surrounded a rummaging lake of undead skeletons, clawing at the city's walls in a futile attempt to break in.

"Fairy Boy!" Malon asked, pointing at the city. "Do you think we can stay there today? It'd be nice to sleep in a proper bed!"

"Sure."

"If Link says so." Blue Fluffy added.

"No way!" Suvica rejected.

"I cannot see why not." The Princess shrugged.

Everyone stared at Suvica, their only protestor. "Come on, think about it!" He shouted, pointing at the city hundreds of meters below them. "What if this city is another den for corrupt nobles and the Princess has us staying here for months to solve every little problem before we actually leave? Do you want to risk that?"

"Most of the corrupt Nobles of Hyrule were gathered at Denion and should be under the custody of the Royal Hylian Knights by now," the Princess said gruffly. "Please do not presume every city of Hyrule is as corrupt as Denion! Besides, now that we have reached Luxvil, Death Mountain should be a day's walk away."

"Then let's just use our new slave and fly over there right now!"

"Once we reach the base of Death Mountain, it's half a day's climb to reached the Kakariko Village, a small outpost nearly a fourth of the way up Death Mountain, and another day's climb to reach the city of the Gorons hidden within the mountain."

"All the more reason to fly there!"

"The air currents surrounding Death Mountain are vicious and unrelenting because of the cold atmosphere and the heat from Death Mountain itself. The mountain is an active volcano, and because of the fierce air currents caused by the continuous conflicts in temperature, not even a dragon could fly safely up Death Mountain. As a dragon, I thought you were aware of this."

Suvica chomped his teeth, hard. He remembered his parents telling him the same thing before, but since he rarely paid them any heed, he'd forgotten that minor detail. "Fine! Whatever! We'll land, stay the night, and leave the following morning! I've had enough with human cities! Unless there's a revolt or war going on, there's no point in staying long!"

"Um, guys?" Malon spoke up.

"What?" Suvica demanded, feeling rather touchy at the moment.

"We're being shot at, is that okay?"

Something whizzed past Suvica, putting a small cut on his cheek. When he touched his face, he felt blood trickling on his fingers. Alert, he leaned over the edge of the Peahat to see a storm of black-painted arrows, camouflaged by the night sky, whizzing towards their Peahat.

"It's the archers of Luxvil City! They've spotted a monster and are reacting to protect the city!" the Princes said with a smile that did not benefit their current situation. "They're protecting the city! I told you this city was not corrupt!"

"_Hello_! We're on the Peahat, so that means they're shooting at us too!" Suvica shouted. "We need to land before—!" Too late. From the way their slave started to shudder, Suvica guessed that one or more arrows were lodged in the Peahat's weak spot: A stub at the base of the monster. In a matter of moments, their ride was out of control, flying higher and higher at a frightful rate. Suvica knew what was going to happen next and pushed everyone off the side and into a free fall back to earth. Before he could follow his falling mates and abandon the Peahat, it reached the designated height and exploded, pressing a shockwave of heat and air against his body. A normal human would've been torn to shreds from the close-range blast, but not Suvica. Instead, the Peahat's detonation sent him spiraling towards the earth with a head splitting headache.

Suvica's ears were ringing, his head in a daze. When he came to, he was staring face up at the moon, feeling the wind drag at his hair. With his mind blank from the blast, he remained content simply plummeting to the ground hundreds of feet below while staring face-up at the moon. Then his sense of urgency kicked in as he remembered everyone else was in a sky-dive, except they didn't have wings.

He summoned his wings and tail and dove after the others. He reached Link first; Forest Boy's arms and legs were spread out to slow his fall as much as possible, and even in this situation, there wasn't a glimmer of fear in his eyes.

"Link!" Suvica shouted, barely hearing his own voice past the pressure pounding at his ears. He reached out to grab Link, yanking him out of his fall. What Link did, on the other hand, was beyond Suvica's expectations. Forest Boy accepted Suvica's hand, but instead he hanging on, he pulled himself close and shouted in Suvica's ear, "Get Malon!" before placing his feet against Suvica's chest and kicked off, accelerating downward towards the plummeting Princess. Suvica didn't know how Link was going to get out of this one alive, but he knew him well enough to know that Forest Boy didn't do anything without thinking it through (hopefully). Accepting the fact that Link and the Princess were beyond his help, Suvica angled his wings and veered off towards Malon. He spotted her without trouble thanks to her flame-red hair pressed against the darkness of the night, snatching her out of her fall and hugging her tight as he threw open his wings. The sudden wind resistance sent them both upward and hopefully out of the city's sight. Doing his best to avoid getting spotted by Luxvil's sentries, Suvica angled himself away from the city while searching for Link and the Princess.

It was thanks to Link's Spin Attack that Suvica was able to find them. Moments before they hit the ground, Link charged his drawn sword with magic and, with the Princess in his arms, held it as far away from his body as possible. He twisted his body and spun, causing the Spin Attack to erupt from the blade, accelerating their midair twirl thousand-fold; he efforts mimicked a Peahat's method of flight, allowing Link to momentarily stop their fall and hover a few feet above the ground. When his Spin Attack ended, he and the Princess dropped the remainder of the six feet. Their landing looked painful, but at least they were alive. However, the two of them were smack-dead in the middle of an undead horde, dizzy due to rotating like a high speed top. Suvica flew towards them with air support, letting his lightning blast away any skeleton within a wide berth of Link and Zelda, before diving towards them with Malon in tow.

"Fairy Boy! Zelda! Are the two of you okay?" Malon asked in a panicked voice after Suvica released her. She hauled the Princess off Link's chest and let her rest onto the grass before gently shaking the pair of them, hoping for a response. Link revived first, spazzing to life as he hastily scrambled to his feet.

Seeing Link alive made Malon shed a few tears of relief before tightly wrapping her arms around him. "Fairy Boy! You're alive!"

"At … the … moment …" Link croaked, his eyes spinning.

Malon released him and rattled his shoulders with enthusiastic excitement. "Fairy Boy! You flew! You flew, even if it was only for a moment! I never knew you could fly!"

"Neither … did I." Link was looking a little green, but his eyes managed to lock onto Suvica. "If it was only you here, I would've guessed I crossed over to the Shadow Realm, but since Malon is also here, I guess I'm not dead."

Suvica couldn't resist a grin. "Nope. This is the purgatory known as Hyrule. Crazy stunt with the Spin Attack. I didn't know you could fly with that. I guess magic has all kinds of uses."

"Guess so," Link wobbled on his feet. "I'd rather not do that again. I spun so many times I think I left my brain behind somewhere." He looked around again. "Where's Navi?"

"… _groan _…"

Link removed his patched-up hood and looked inside. Suvica peered over to take a peek, spotting Blue Fluffy looking more green than blue. "You okay, Navi?"

"… Link … never … again … ever."

"I'll try. But you never know, I might have to pull that stunt again in the unforeseeable future." Link said, cradling Blue Fluffy as he scooped it out of his hood.

"Let me … _gack_ … run away … first."

"Sure." He turned to Malon. "How's Zelda?"

"A-Alive," the Princess moaned, managing to sit upright with Malon's help. "A wonderful d-display of magic, I must say. Y-You saved our lives, b-but I fear you failed to save my dinner. P-Please excuse me for a moment." With that, the Princess emptied the contents of her stomach onto the grass.

"A puking princess … I wish I had one of those human painters here right now to paint this scene so I can remember it forever," Suvica said wishfully.

"HALT!"

Suvica spun around, Malon and Link jumped to their feet, and the Princess continued to puke. Several Hylian soldier, each mounted on their own steed, galloped towards them while knocking aside the undead in their way with hoof or sword. Some were armed with blades others held torches to chase away the darkness. These men were different from the cutthroats back at Denion; these soldiers smelled of iron, steel, sweat, and a blood, the scent of a true Hylian soldier. The formed a protective circle around Suvica and the others, warding away the undead while leaving Suvica and the others no escape route

"Wait up, Charles, they're only children." A second soldier noted. "Hardly threatening."

"You want to see threatening?" Suvica growled, clawing his fingers in preparation to toss these soldiers to the Gorons.

"Ha! He's a gutsy one. He'd make a fine soldier when he grows older."

"What are you children doing here? Where did you come from? Are you demons in disguise?"

"We were captured by the nasty Peahat you shot down!" Malon explained, waving her arms to make exaggerated figures. "He took us from our home and dragged us all the way here! It was so scary!" She was getting better at making up stories.

Suvica watched the soldiers' helmed faces display looks of shock. "By the Goddess! You poor children were kidnapped by a Peahat?"

"Wait, was it the Peahat our archers shot down?"

"Yep!" Malon confirmed.

"But then how did you get from there—?" one of the soldiers pointed at the sky, "—and land all the way down here, in one piece?" then pointed at the place where they stood.

Malon was lost for an answer, so Link stepped in.

"We managed to hurt the Peahat enough for it to fly close to the ground," He explained. "When it was low enough, we jumped off one by one. That's when it started to fly towards the city and got shot down. We ran for the city when the undead started coming after us, and that's when you came to our rescue."

The soldiers bought Link's fabricated story with ease. "You are some brave lads. No wonder your parents gave you a weapon," a soldier said, eyeing Link's sword. "Well, the night is young, and you children won't be heading home anytime soon. You should stay here, at Luxvil. We're not a large city, but we can provide for a few lost children."

"So strange, I could've sworn I saw lightning strike around here somewhere."

"It's your imagination, Dick. Get your priorities straight, we've got to get these kids into the city, stat."

"Thank you … for your hospitality …" the Princess coughed.

Another soldier looked over at the Princess to see her dinner splattered all across the grass. "Are you sick, lass?"

"A … little."

The soldier sheathed his sword and lifted the Princess onto his horse. "We'd better get Hifden to take a look at her. She could be sick. Might be shock."

Two of soldiers looked concerned. "You sure that's a good idea? Don't you remember what happened to that lunatic's last patient?"

"He's the only doctor we've got," the soldier holding the Princess shot back. "Either of you got a medical history I don't know about?

"Enough!" This soldier was obviously the leader; he picked up Link and set him on his horse. "Hifden may have a loose peg or two, but he's a fine doctor. Let's move, men. Get these children into the city. Jaff, they're your responsibility once they're safe. The rest of you, back to your posts! Remember, it's our sacred duty to look after this city and its people, so I expect you all to be back at your posts pronto. Am I understood?"

"Yes sir!" was the unified response. Malon and Suvica (to his chagrin) were picked up and placed on separate mounts before the soldiers brought them back to Luxvil. The shabby gate was a stack of logs haphazardly nailed together, but it opened without incident. Inside the city's walls, Suvica and the others were set on the ground and the horse riding soldiers went back to their duties. Only one remained behind, the soldier called Jaff.

"Your captain is very strict," the Princess noted woozily. She looked like she was trying her best not to hurl again.

"Very," soldier Jaff laughed, letting his own mount be taken away by his fellow comrades. "But he's the most honorable man around, even if does have a heart of stone. Captain Garth, the Rebellious Fool, as the Royal Council calls him."

The name meant nothing to Suvica, but the Princess's eyes lit up like candles. "Captain Garth the Rebellious? I've heard so many rumors about him!"

Soldier Jaff laughed harder. "Rumors? Like how his glare can silence the most insubordinate soldier? How his presence drops the temperature around him by ten degrees? How even the most ruthless criminal would rather throw himself onto his own sword rather than face Captain Garth? How the captain can only be killed by having the Master Sword thrust into his chest?"

The Princess paused. "Um … no. I heard that Captain Garth never gives up his pursuit for the truth, even if it means angering the highest officials of Hyrule in the process."

"Oh yeah, there's that. Well, sounds like the captain. Tell me, where are you lads and lasses from?"

"Denion," Suvica spat without thinking

"Denion?" Soldier Jaff was beyond baffled. "You're kidding me! We got a messenger bird from the Royal Court updating us about the situation in Denion! You're all from the same Denion that had a revolt a few days ago? Unbelievable! Does that mean you kids were there? Were you part of the rebellion?"

"Ha! More than that! We fought as well!"

"That's so terrible!" Soldier Jaff gasped (not the response Suvica was looking for). "First you suffer under Pavo's totalitarian rule, and then you were kidnapped by a Peahat? You all must believe the Goddesses have forsaken you all. Fear not, for we soldiers of Luxvil shall help you find your way home!"

"Actually," Link stepped in. "We were thinking about visiting the Kakariko Village, you know, on Death Mountain where the Gorons live. After everything that's happened in Denion, we thought it might be safer there."

"Geez, to think a Peahat brought you to Luxvil, the closest city to Death Mountain. Maybe the Goddesses are watching out for you children after all. Still, I wouldn't recommend it."

"What? Why not?" Malon asked.

"I suppose it's only natural you haven't heard, considering you've all been shut off from the rest of Hyrule in Denion. The Kakariko Village is cursed. The people of the mountain village are plagued by monsters and ghosts."

Just like that, Suvica's day got better. "Curses? Monsters? Ghosts? Damn it, tell us more!"

"But enough talk, all of you must be cold!" Soldier Jeff chuckled, ignoring Suvica. "Let's find you all a somewhat-good doctor and then a place to stay! Follow me, I'll show you around." Since the Princess wasn't going anywhere in her condition, and there was no way either Link or Malon was going to leave her behind, Suvica knew they were going to be staying the night. Soldier Jaff carried the Princess, allowing Suvica, Link, and Malon to tail close behind him.

Luxvil City was very different from Hyrule Market or Denion. It lacked the mansions, the expertly decorated buildings, and smooth roads. Luxvil's streets were either loose gravel strips or packed dirt roads, and although the shops and houses were properly built and crafted, they weren't anywhere near as flamboyant as the estates in Denion. They passed a few of the city's folks, dressed in average leather trousers and shirts, walking down the dirt streets, lit by shabby wooden lampposts, along with the occasional patrol of soldiers.

Yet the most profound difference was not what Suvica could see, but what he smelled. He thanked the Dragon Gods there wasn't a hint of that foul perfume in the air, but that wasn't the only thing which was missing. There was no scent of human blood, no smell of decaying bodies, no aroma of tears; not a hint of human suffering. Instead, the only odor pervading his nostrils was sweat, steel, livestock, and lots and lots of dirt, all the signs of happy-go-lucky humans.

"Great, now I really hate this place," Suvica growled.

"You say something, Suvi?"

"Nothing."

Soldier Jaff brought them to a brightly lit structure, two stories tall and about four-floor spaces wider than the witch's shed back in Denion. "Hifden! You still conscious in there? Come on, doc! Open the door!" Soldier Jaff shouted as he banged on the charred front door. Suvica heard someone hit the floor inside, followed by the sound of breaking glass and timbering towers of books. Finally, the door opened from the other side. When Suvica heard the words "doc" and heard he could help with the Princess's "sickness," his imagination brought up the image of a crusty old man covered in white hair and wrinkles. Instead, they were greeted by an adult no older than twenty by the smell of it, with stark white hair, black eyes, steel-rimmed glasses, and hid his six-foot tall body with a long white cloak. The doctor's most prominent feature was his face; half it was malformed by a harsh scar, but it wasn't a burn scar caused by fire. The disfigurement smelled of a liquid acid Suvica used to use to polish his scales. It shined them like diamonds and ate through human flesh faster than molten lava.

_Where'd this guy get dragon-scale-polish and how was he stupid enough to get some on his face?_ Suvica brightened at a thought. _Maybe he'll lend me some._

"Awhs, Mfr. Jawff. Howf tice tof kee youv." Crazy Doc Hifden's words were awkwardly slurred, probably because half his mouth was sealed shut by his acid burn. Suvica wondered if the Crazy Doc's tongue was also half gone. "Men whof far theve cutiefs?"

"Children who have been captured by a Peahat and brought here against their will," Soldier Jaff explained. "Now that I think about it, I never got to hear all your names."

"I'm Link."

"Suvica."

"M-M-Malon. Are you a monster, Mr.?"

"Noh, I'mn nost. Thash fery rude, whittle mirl."

"S-Sorry."

"Anth chu?" Crazy Doc stared pointedly at the Princess, cuddled in Soldier Jaff's arms.

"M-My name's … Navi. Pleased to meet you, Doctor Hifden." The Princess smiled sheepishly. Suvica swore he heard an aggravated ring come from Link's hood, and smiled smugly at the reason why.

"Fink, Balon, Suwica, Mavi," Crazy Doc acknowledged. "So wbut seebes to bee fa mroblem?"

"This lass here is sick," Soldier Jaff answered, lowering the Princess onto the ground. "Can you please take a look at her?"

Crazy Doc grabbed the back of the Princess's collar and lifted her towards his disfigured face, holding her with one hand while leering at her as he would a test subject. The Princess cringed as Crazy Doc examined her with his mangled eye. "Fell, chu book wfine. Chu juus needa wittle booz in chu."

"Booze?" Suvica asked, feeling a bit of excitement. "Can you count me in?"

"Fot bfooze, booz!"

"Why don't I tear the other half of your mouth open? Then we wouldn't be having this problem," Suvica sighed, cracking his knuckles. Crazy Doc's slurred words were already starting to grate on his nerves.

"Fhat evfer. Flease, mum bon em." Crazy Doc offered, stepping aside and pushing his door wide open as an invitation. Malon jumped back several steps, looking like she'd been invited to a monster's den. Link, of course, hopped up the stairs with a smile and crossed the threshold without a problem. After seeing Forest Boy stroll in without a problem, Malon ran in after him, squealing, "Don't leave me!"

"Um … you may put me down," the Princess said, waving her hands in front of Crazy Doc's face to get his attention. She was still dangling in Crazy Doc's grip, and from the way he jumped when he turned to look at her, giving her the "what-are-you-doing-there?" look, he had forgotten she was in his hand.

"Warry, massy." Crazy Doc apologized, putting the Princess down and pushing her inside. "Fwew too, win boy." Crazy Doc gestured to Suvica. "I'b gotta wenty of booz."

Suvica looked to Soldier Jaff. "How can you stand living in the same city with this guy? I can barely understand a word he's saying!"

Soldier Jaff's lips bent upward. "You get used to it. When he first came to us, half the people saw his face and wanted to chase him out. But it's our duty as soldiers to judge a man by his actions, not by his image. It was a little bit of a blessing that we accepted him; he's a marvelous doctor with unrivaled knowledge of medicine, monsters, and their weaknesses."

"Be honest with me," Suvica said after shooing Crazy Doc back into his den. "You've wanted to stab him once or twice, right?"

Soldier Jaff looked insulted. "Never! I'm a proud soldier of Hyrule! I would never harm an innocent civilian, regardless of how they looked!"

Suvica glared.

"Only twice," Soldier Jaff admitted. "The first was when he brought a swarm of Peahat Larvae into the city for a little experiment of his. The second was after he stole the sacred Mirror Shield from Hyrule Castle's Royal Treasury during his one week trip to Hyrule Market. He put us through all sorts of trouble with that fiasco."

"The Mirror Shield?" Suvica asked; he wasn't familiar with that weapon.

"You must be joking, kid! You haven't heard about the legendary Mirror Shield? It's said that—!"

"—soldiers will be punished for taking unregistered breaks."

Soldier Jaff made an impressive jump to see his all-work no-play Rebel Captain Garth standing behind him. "Captain! I was just telling the kid about—!"

"—how I'll be kicking your ass into duty if you don't get moving!" Rebel Captain snapped. "Kid, Hifden may have his problems, but he's an honorable man, most of the time. You'll be safe with him for a night. Rest, and we'll figure out how we'll get you home in the morning. Let's go, Jaff!"

"On your tail, captain!"

Rebel Captain strode off into the night-dark streets with Soldier Jaff close behind. Between the monster's den in front of him and the opportunity to run away now and test to see if he could fly to Death Mountain, Suvica began his internal tug of war. To stay or not to stay?

"Suvi!" Malon called from inside, "Mr. Hifden has Lon Lon Ranch mead!"

* * *

Several barrels of alcohol later, with his tongue thick and his head buzzing merrily, Suvica belched a large puff of smoke in Crazy Doc's face. Chuckling at his meager prank, Suvica tossed his cup over his head, feeling strangely disappointed to see Link catch it instead of letting it shatter against the wood-paneled floor. Suvica swaggered in his seat, rolling his head as his eyes flew to random objects Crazy Doc kept in his room.

Everything about this room screamed "mad scientist". The floor was littered with parchments containing human nonsense. More than three-fourths of the room was filled with creaking shelves, stacked with an uncountable number of bubbling flasks, potions, and random trinkets. Monster parts (Wolfos tails, Dodongo teeth, Octorok tentacles, and way too much more) decorated the inner wall. The one item that really caught Suvica's attention was the oiled skull of a small dragon, mounted on the wall like a trophy, but since it wasn't anyone he knew, he let it pass.

He teetered on the seat belonging to the lone desk in the room, which was on the verge of collapsing from the sheer amount of human "medical" tools piled on its surface. Human medical techniques made its way to Suvica's top ten list of "Hilarious Things About Humans." These silly land-lovers thought cutting open an already bleeding wound and then trying to stitch it close with string helped save lives. Why not add a little spit and let the Cucco scratches heal on their own? What was the point in knifing open a little cut and turning it into a bleeding gash? Ridiculous.

Malon and the Princess sat on the floor, making themselves comfortable on the small piles of parchment they collected, using them as cushions. Link was leaning against the leg of the chair Suvica sat on, and he could smell Blue Fluffy inside his hood. Crazy Doc was prancing around the remaining available walking space with a hurried pace and a disfigured scowl, his half-ruined face all the more gruesome in the dimly lit space. He was counting the number of empty mead barrels over and over again, occasionally scowling at Suvica, who returned Crazy Doc's funny glares with a burp. Suvica and Crazy Doc had been the only ones who enjoyed a good mug of mead (everyone else stuck with water and milk), but while Crazy Doc drank three cups, Suvica chugged ten barrels.

Malon cautiously raised her hand. "Mr. Hifden?"

"Fhat?" Crazy Doc demanded, kicking over a stray barrel.

She flinched to the venom in Crazy Doc's voice, and it took several persuasive words from the Princess for Malon to summon enough courage to speak again. "Um … how did you hurt your face?"

Crazy Doc's eyes mellowed; not because he was sorry for scaring Malon, but because he looked bored from retelling his past so many times to curious strangers. "Fit's a fong borry. Kits farted a mew beers a-fo, fen I fas fravelfing pin fa founbain brainges fof fef founbain fan fas—"

"I can't understand a word you're saying," Link interrupted. "You're a doctor, right? Someone who heals people? Why haven't you fixed your own face?"

"My thoughts exactly," Suvica smirked.

Crazy Doc sighed heavily as he kicked his way down a few shelves. He brought out a giant slab of black slate, pulled the wheel-mounted sheet into plain sight, and began scribbling on its smooth exterior with a white stick he got from inside his cloak. Being the illiterate dragon he was, Suvica was utterly perplexed at the strange symbols Crazy Doc painted on the smooth piece of slate.

"Yes, we can read your handwriting," the Princess answered the written question. "As atrocious as it is, it is legible." Crazy Doc wrote something else. "I'm sorry, I'll refrain from insulting your handwriting."

Crazy Doc's hand went at full speed; it seemed he wasn't unfamiliar with writing his words for others to read. While everyone continued to read Crazy Doc's incomprehensible scribbling, Suvica could feel a light sweat soak the back of his clothes as he stared blankly at the puzzling symbols.

"Whoa, talk about bad luck! Right, Suvi?" Malon asked after reading Crazy Doc's story.

"Sure," Suvica laughed hesitantly, feeling his unnecessary need to refrain from appearing stupid before Malon swelter inside his chest. _Maybe I really should just tear open his mouth._ He contemplated, flexing his fingers and eyeing the distance between himself and Crazy Doc.

"Want me to translate?" Blue Fluffy asked in a sly voice. Suvica could feel the pesky insect nested inside his black hair. "If you say, '_Please, oh mighty Navi, helped this brain deprived dragon understand the amazing Hylian language_,' I might consider it."

Suvica punched his head, hard.

"Hey! Ow, ow! Evil brute!"

"Pixie poison!" Suvica snarled back. "Just shut up and translate before I develop a serious itch!"

"You two get along so nicely," Link chuckled.

"Shut up Link/Forest Boy!"

"Fine, I'll be your translator for tonight." Blue Fluffy growled. "But if you hit me again, I'll dye your hair blue in the morning! Alright, it says, '_Like I said, it's a short story. It happened a few years ago, when I was traveling the mountain ranges beyond Death Mountain. Everyone already knows plenty about Death Mountain, the largest active volcano in Hyrule, but scholars barely know anything about the smaller mountain range beyond Death Mountain. Therefore, I strayed from the usual path and ventured deep into the mountain ranges. After a day's worth of traveling, I came upon something remarkable. I stumbled across a small group of dragons, four to be exact. There were two large dragons, and two smaller ones. The smaller beasts were bathing themselves in a mysterious liquid that bled from the lifeless black ground, and it made their scales shine with a brilliance all the Nobles of Hyrule would envy! When the dragons left, I approached the small pool to inspect it, but I tripped and dropped half my face into the substance. Next thing I knew, I was in terrible pain, and I ended up like this._' That's what he wrote."

"I knew he was an idiot."

Link, whose reading speed was not up to par with Malon and the Princess's, finished a few seconds later and asked, "But if this happened a few years ago, why haven't you fixed your face already?"

Crazy Doc erased the characters on the slate with the sleeve of his robe and resumed writing; Blue Fluffy translated. "It says, '_It sucks to say my injuries are beyond the help of healing, both medical and magical. I'm cursed to look like this until the end of my days. I don't mind too much. I'll never find a girlfriend or get married, but it's no great loss Either way, women are a pain._' "

"I've got a question." Suvica spoke, nodding at the dragon skull on the wall. "Where'd you get that dragon skull from?"

There was a glint in Crazy Doc's mangled eye. " '_You could tell that belonged to a dragon? Nice eyes. It's was easy. After I got my face patched up, I returned to that acid pit and lay in wait. I got lucky and a baby dragon happened to come by for a bath. I drowned it by shoving it head first into the acid with a stone. After it drowned, I took my time dissecting and studying its anatomy. I made quite a few amazing discoveries, so I took a few of its knucklebones and its skull as a souvenir._' " A droplet of anger touched Suvica's throat as a low growl managed to escape from his jammed lips. Weakling or not, no dragon deserved to die in such a shameful manner.

The Princess fidgeted. "Pardon me, Doctor Hifden. I don't mean to be rude, but there is a pressing question I wish to ask you, and it has nothing to do with your face or your past."

" '_Ask away, Navi._' Oh, I'm so getting Princess Zelda for this when we leave."

"Luxvil is the closest city there is to Death Mountain. Have you heard any news concerning the Gorons of Death Mountain?"

Crazy Doc tapped his chin as he lost himself in his thoughts. " '_Now that you've asked, I've remembered. You children may not know, since it is a child's privilege to remain blissfully ignorant of the news and world around them, but our relationship with the Gorons is greatly strained. A few months ago, Commander Ganondorf came through this city before journeying to Death Mountain. He told us it was a routine check up to see if our alliance with the Gorons remained strong._' " Suvica felt his chair wobbled. He looked down to see Link gripping one of the chair's legs so tightly that his fingernails were digging into the wood.

The Princess also reacted to Ganondorf's name, but while Link struggled to hide his hate, she fought to hide her fear. "Did anything happen to the Gorons during Ganondorf's visit to Death Mountain?"

" '_No honorifics for Hyrule's Commander of the Royal Guard? How nice it must be to be young. As a matter of fact, something did happen. Commander Ganondorf stayed at Death Mountain for three days. When he returned to our humble city on his way back to Hyrule Castle, he told us the Gorons were experiencing a great difficulty of their own and their alliance with us was as brittle as ice during early winter season. Upon hearing the news, King Ceylon declared that all access to Death Mountain was strictly forbidden to all those without royal clearance, and so it has been ever since. No one may visit the Gorons without permission from the Royal Council or from a member of the Royal Family. It's a pity, the Gorons are such a kind race. I enjoyed playing a good game of rock-cards with them. Because King Ceylon has restricted access to Goron City, it's impossible to tell the Goron's current state of affairs. Everyone wonders what could be going on with them, but no one has any answers._' "

Link leaned over towards the Princess. "Could Ganondorf have already taken the Spiritual Stone the Gorons safeguard?"

"I know not," the Princess replied, just as quietly. "Nevertheless, it is our duty to ensure the safety of the Gorons. If they are in any peril due to Ganondorf's actions, then we must save them. Plus, there is still a chance Ganondorf does not have the Goron's Spiritual Stone." The Princess raised her voice as she asked Crazy Doc, "What of the Kakariko Village? The kind soldier who brought us here told us the village was suffering from a curse. Do you know how the village fairs?"

Crazy Doc erased the black board and began writing from the top. " '_It's true, the Kakariko Village is reeling from some sort of curse. Events that cannot be explained are occurring all across the village. The villagers claim the dead are rising from their graves, causing all the gravediggers to flee save for one. Others state odd noises are coming from village's famous '_cursed_' well. There's also the disappearance of the Ltula Family; they're a family of merchants that possesses a wealth equal to that of the Royal Family. No one knows where they've disappeared to, but their vacant manor is rumored to be possessed by angry spirits. If you're not careful, these spirits whisk you away at the dead of night and destroy your sanity. Finally, the greatest carpenters of Kakariko and Hyrule, carpenters who have worked diligently all their lives, suddenly refuse to work! Ghosts, disappearances, and slacking workers; the Kakariko Village is most certainly cursed._' "

"The richest humans of Hyrule have gone missing?" Suvica grinned widely. "If we find them, think they'll make us rich too?"

"G-G-Ghosts?" Malon trembled, her face whiter than her own dress. "Can we s-skip Kakariko Village … p-p-please? I don't do too w-well with g-g-ghosts and c-curses."

"I'm sure we can." Link answered. "All we're interested in is the Gorons, right?"

"Certainly not!" The Princess protested. "If we stumble across those in need of our assistance, it is our duty to comply! We cannot turn our backs to them! If it is a curse which plagues them, then we shall break the spell and set the village free!" Then the Princess got wide-eyed and teary, using her pleading expression perfectly. "Please, Link?" This girl was learning how to use her female traits quickly.

Crazy Doc rapped his knuckle against the black board. When he had everyone's attention, he wrote and Blue Fluffy translated. " '_Excuse me, my little warriors, but what exactly are you doing in this city?_'"

"We were kidnapped by a Peahat?" Malon said sheepishly.

" '_Please don't take me for a fool._' "

"Says the guy who ruined his face by tripping into a pool of dragon-scale- polish," Suvica snickered.

" '_I know enough about monsters to know that Peahats do not kidnap children or any living prey for that matter. Peahats do two things only: spawn Peahat Larvae and kill anyone who enters their territory. Soldiers believe learning more about monsters is needless, but I find it helpful. You children were not kidnapped by a Peahat, and I doubt any of you will be staying long enough for Captain Garth to ship you back home. Plus, you're all far too interested in Death Mountain and the Gorons, so it's clear where your real destination lies. What are your true intentions, and do not lie to me._' This doctor is starting to become a pain." Navi murmured.

Malon and the Princess peered over to Link and Suvica with pleaful glances. "What shall we do?" the Princess asked.

Link took two seconds to think before asking. "If I said we really were kidnapped by a Peahat and you're just a quack, what would you do?"

Crazy Doc scrawled a single sentence on the black board with an extra edge to his letters. " '_I'd whip some manners into you for insulting my intelligence and hand you over to the soldiers._' "

"What if I told you that Navi here—" Link pointed at the Princess, "—is actually the Princess of Hyrule I kidnapped from Hyrule Castle and that my friends and I are on a quest to stop Ganondorf from destroying Hyrule?"

This time, Crazy Doc hesitated before responding, " '_Then I'd have to report you all to King Ceylon and have him bring the Royal Hylian Knights here to arrest you all for high treason against Commander Ganondorf and for kidnapping Princess Zelda of Hyrule._' "

Link nodded. "I see. Well, if that's the case, don't blame me for what happens next. Suvica, he's all yours."

Suvica felt a fire burn behind his eyes and as a sneer twisted his face. "I got this." Without any visible warning, his tail jut from his back, digging into the floor and propelling him towards Crazy Doc. "Clench your teeth, Crazy Doc!" He laughed, slamming a fist in baby-dragon-killer's face and sending him flying into a nearby wall. Either Suvica hit the doc harder than he planned, or that wall was plain weak; Crazy Doc hit the wall and crash through it and into the neighboring house, crumbling into a unconscious heap on the ground.

Malon and the Princess were slack-jawed at what he'd done, but Suvica was feeling invigorated. "That's what you get for messing with my kind." He turned to the dragon's skull and said, "Don't you come cursing me in the next life for not avenging you!"

Naturally, the Princess was the first to voice her objections. She blabbered on and on about how sorry she felt for the baby dragon Crazy Doc killed but said how Suvica should've settled things more diplomatically. Then she vented her frustration at Link, who was digging around Crazy Doc's shelves, demanding to know why he allowed Suvica to take such overly drastic measures.

"Firstly, because there was no way we'd get another lie past him," Link said as he tossed aside a few monster limbs and hissing potion vials over his shoulder. "Secondly, he's a man who stuffs fairies into bottles." He found the objects of his search, pulling two bottles from the shelf, each containing a pink fairy (they weren't Fountain Fairies like Pinky). "Anyone who brutally holds a fairy against their will is just as a bad as Suvica."

"Wow, you're making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside." Suvica noted.

"Then I'm happy for you," Link replied, yanking the corks off the two bottles and allowing the fairies to merrily circle him several times before flying away. "Let's go. We can't stay here anymore, and if Death Mountain is close by, we should be able to reach it by sunrise."

"Um, Fairy Boy? Small problem. Luxvil City is still surrounded by undead, remember? How are we going to leave?" Malon asked, peeling a few ink-moist scrolls from her dress; she made a face at the stains they left.

"Not a problem. You give the undead too much credit. Let's leave before the soldiers get here. Last thing I want is to be chased out of another city."

"We wouldn't have to run if we had settled things peacefully," the Princess sighed as she stood. "Link, should we ever come across another city or village, can we please leave Suvica outside to graze in the fields?"

"Am I a pet?" Suvica growled.

"Don't worry, I'll keep you company, Suvi!"

_Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all_.

"Hey! Can we get moving? Someone's bound to notice our dear doctor hanging upside-down against the side of someone else's house sooner or later." Blue Fluffy huffed and puffed, buzzing out of Suvica's hair and flying through the freshly made opening in the wall.

"Considering Hifden's questionable reputation, perhaps the denizens of Luxvil will assume our dear doctor simply undertook a hazardous experiment," the Princess said as she hopped outside.

"Or our Rebel Captain Garth will pursue us to the ends of the earth for the truth," Suvica chuckled, following the princess outside. "Or until his life accidentally ends," he added, low enough so the Princess wouldn't hear him.

Link and Malon were right behind the Princess and Suvica as they made their way eastward. Their feet noisily trampled against the loose-gravel streets of Luxvil, drawing a bit of unwanted attention and complaints from awakened sleepers, but they were able to reach the eastern area of Luxvil's log wall. Link took care of the shabby watchmen posted atop of the wall with a deku nut, incapacitating the archers. With seconds to spare, Suvica hooked his fingers beneath the closed gate and lifted it open. Undead attempted to swarm in through the opening, but Link blasted them away with a set of Disk Attacks. After clearing the way, he, Malon, and the Princess ducked beneath the gate before Suvica stepped past its threshold and lowered it behind them.

From there, everyone got down as Link unleashed a Spin Attack to mow down the skeletons surrounding them from all sides. Suvica followed up, inhaling a pocket of air before launching bolts of electricity to clear out a straight line in front of them. Before more skeletons could swarm in to refill the opening, Suvica and Link safely lead Malon and the Princess past the undead lines.

Their meager troubles didn't end there. Though undead lagged behind them as they ran, there were plenty of skeletons emerged from the grass ahead of them. They were easily dispatched by Suvica's fist or Link's sword, but their endless numbers ate away at their endurance. The Princess tried to help by burning down a skeleton Link or Suvica missed with her Din's Fire, but when she almost burned off Suvica's eyebrows with a poor aimed spell, he "politely" asked her to shove off.

Suvica and Link continued to run while protecting the girls from the undead the following two hours. Suvica's buoyant energy was starting to wane, and Link's breathing was getting heavier with each passing minute. Malon and the Princess were more accustomed to long distance runs thanks to the last few days of constant traveling, but their breathing was far more laborious than Link's, and their strides much shorter.

When the sun peeked over the horizon, casting a slowly spreading wave of light across Hyrule Field and forcing the undead to find refugee within the earth's abode, the girls hit the grass with exhaustion and relief. Link also skid to a stop with a small sigh as he leaned over and pressed his hands against his knees. Suvica, the least exhausted of them all, decided to do a few flips and handstands for the heck of it.

"We … there … yet?" Malon asked between gulps of air.

"I think so … _whew _… if that's the mountain we're looking for," Link answered, stretching his back and standing to full height. Suvica got off his hands and onto his feet, turning around to watch the sunrise.

Death Mountain loomed over them, its base wider than the largest of dragons and its peak standing above the clouds. The smaller mountains surrounding Death Mountain were mere hills in comparison to this grand volcano. Surrounding the head of Death Mountain was an abnormally perfect ring of smoke. Suvica's old man once told him the clouds symbolized the condition of Death Mountain; when all was normal, the clouds were normal, yet during times of great crisis, the clouds would take on a chaotic figure. Right now, the clouds looked a little darker than how Suvica remembered them, but he didn't place too much stock in his parent's nonsense.

Malon looked at the mountain and moaned again. "We've got to climb _that_?"

"At least there are stairs," the Princess Zelda panted, a feeble attempt to raise Malon's hopes. Still, the Princess was right; as Suvica squinted to see the base of Death Mountain, he noticed a stone stairway carved into of the side of the mountain, curving upward and disappearing halfway up and out of Suvica's vision. Somewhere on the mountain was the "cursed" Kakariko Village.

"I got to admit, that's impressive," Link complimented while stretching the cramps from his legs.

"You've got that right," Suvica agreed, tracing the silhouette of Death Mountain. "The largest mountain in Hyrule and its most active volcano, as well as the home of the Gorons. At least they've got good taste. If the Gorons didn't live here, I'm sure the dragons would've moved in."

"No, not Death Mountain, I'm talking about him." Link beckoned his chin behind them. "He's been following us since we left Luxvil City. Honestly, I'm more amazed he managed to catch up to us."

Suvica spun around, fingers clawed and teeth bared in preparation for a fight. Someone followed them from Luxvil? Was it Rebel Captain Garth, here to pursue the truth about Crazy Doc's mysterious accident, or a stray soldier here to claim justice for Luxvil City's doctor?

It was neither.

He felt his mouth drop as he saw the fifteen year old boy, dressed in black leggings with a red tunic and onyx cloak, slowly jog towards them with his chest fighting for air. He stopped a few feet from Malon and the Princess, and their eyes were also growing wide from wonder. The boy pushed his vibrant red hair from his ruby eyes, his playful smile bending the scar running across his face. "I finally … _pant _… caught up with you guys."

Suvica was the first to speak. "What the hell are you doing here, Rail?"

* * *

EDIT: Hello there! Chapter 16 of the FanFic Three Spiritual Stones is finally out! Finally, finally, finally, we're out of Denion. Since this chapter is being told of Suvica's point of view, we get to learn a little bit more about our dear thunder dragon. As for Link's mid-air hovering spin attack...I was playing a little Super Smash Brawl at the time and I thought it'd be a little cool to add it. Still, I can't see Link doing a lot more death-dives in the future, so let's wait and see if he ever uses it again.

Sorry that the chapter came out a lot later than usual. I've been busy, keepin my excuse simple.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed. Please review if you've got any thoughts, and look forward to the next chapter.


	17. Chapter 17, The Fiend

**Chapter 17**

**The Fiend**

Rail's groggily opened his eyes, his face throbbing like he'd been hit with a battering ram at close range. He was staring at the cloud-dotted sky, his body rested against the cool mattress of grass and his head propped on someone's lap. He didn't have to look to see who, as Zelda's face entered his realm of vision; concern was written all over her face.

"Rail, are you okay?" she asked, brushing his loose red hair from his eyes.

"W-What happened?" He asked feebly. He tried pulling himself up, but found the smallest task to be impossible for his fatigue ridden body; moving his fingers was even a laborious task.

Zelda placed her cool hands against Rail's forehead and helped him turn his head, directing him to Link from the Lost Woods and Suvica the Thunder Dragon. The two look-alike boys, identical enough to be twins, were arguing, but Rail couldn't make out what they were squabbling about.

A stray thought made his cheeks flush. "Did I trip and fall? Is that how I ended up like this?" If so, Rail felt like being crucified with embarrassment.

Zelda shook her head. "No, you didn't. The moment Suvica saw you and demanded to know why you were here, he rushed at you and …" she let the sentence hang, but her reluctance to explain brought forth his missing memories. He remembered finally being able to catch up to Link and his friends, feeling his pulse race in gratitude when he saw them. He remembered jogging towards them, his breathing scarce (fleeing from the dead all night long did that to you), and then the shocked expressions on everyone's faces. After that, he remembered Suvica's fist closing in on his face.

Rail groaned. "Did Suvica explain why he punched me?"

"Nope!" Another face popped into his vision, followed by a current of red hair. Malon from Lon Lon Ranch. There was a small glimmer of concern in her eyes, but it was mostly overshadowed by her apparent excitement at his arrival. At least someone was happy to see him. "Rail! It's nice to see you again! Sorry we weren't able to say goodbye back at Denion!"

"You should be sorry," Rail laughed softly, his face throbbing with each drawn out chortle. "You're the ones who helped me accomplish my six-year long goal, then you disappeared without a farewell. Harsh."

"Then I should've been harsher!" Suvica growled, stomping over towards Rail and the two girls. He could feel the ground tremor with each step the dragon took, and his stomach churned as Suvica steadily got closer. It was hard to believe there was such a powerful beast hidden within that skin sack. "What _are_ you doing here?"

"What does it look like?"

"To be honest, it looks like you came here to have Suvica knock the stuffing out of you," Link said, a step behind Suvica. How could the kid behave so calmly around a dragon who swung around massive iron poles like twigs? "But you can answer Suvica's question: What are you doing here?"

Rail summoned the strength to pull himself back to his feet. "I want to help."

"Rejected!" was Suvica's immediate response.

"I didn't know a monster's vote counted." Rail grinned, trying to shake the lingering pain from his face. "Can't you keep this beast on a leash?"

The dragon's face contorted into a deeper snarl, and the only thing holding him back was the restraining hand Link kept on Suvica's shoulder. Link asked, "You said you want to help us, but do you even know what we're up to?"

"Not a clue. But what can I say? You helped me, and now I'm obligated to help you. Sounds fair, doesn't it?" Link pondered Rail's words while Suvica put on jeering faces. Then Rail added, "Besides, you guys can't be in that much trouble. I'm a few years older than all of you, so my problem was probably the biggest: Taking down Pavo, right?"

Link frowned. Zelda looked troubled. Malon grinned, but was rubbing her toes nervously against the grass.

Suvica hollered. "There it is! The beauty of human ignorance on display! You think your problem is greater than ours because you're _older_? How ignorant are you, human?"

"Very ignorant," Rail confirmed. "You're all acting like I'm completely clueless about what's going on, and that's the truth! I have no idea what you guys are up to! So fill me in! The only reason I don't know what you're all up again is because none of you will tell me! If you don't want me to be ignorant, then you've got to say what sort of mess you're in!"

Zelda was looking more troubled than ever, and Malon was drawing figures of ponies into the ground.

Suvica was still scornful. "Bah! We don't have to tell you squat! Now run along and take care of your old geezer!"

"Sheesh, what's your problem, Suvica?" a female voice demanded. Troubled that he couldn't see the owner of the voice, Rail looked around for the source. "I'm here, dummy." He looked forward; fluttering right off the tip of his nose was a glowing blue sphere with translucent wings. "Hi, nice to finally talk to you out in the open! I'm Navi."

"Holy buttered up nut crackers!" Rail nearly jumped out of his pants. "You're a fairy!"

The lustrous orb flew closer to his face. "Aw, his reaction is so cute! Link, can we keep him? Please?"

Rail blinked ten times before he was able to accept the fact that there was a mythical forest fairy flying in front of his face. He'd heard plenty of stories about fairies from local story tellers, his deceased mother, and his way-too-old grandfather, but to actually have one speak with him as if he were a cuddly pet was a bit too much. Although he knew Link had said he was from the legendary paradise in the Lost Woods, he never truly believed him until now. "Link … is this … your fairy?"

"She's my partner," Link replied. "But we're straying a bit from topic here. Rail, are you sure you want to help us?"

Rail puffed up his chest, letting his shock make way for his determination. "Absolutely! I'm indebted to you and Zel … I mean … Princess Zelda! I will repay you all, no matter what I have to do!"

"You've got to bow down and kiss my toes, land-lover," Suvica scowled.

"Why do you hate me so much? Back at Denion, it was me who hated you, and you who made fun of me!" Rail snapped, standing toe-to-toe with the dragon so he was looking straight down into Suvica's yellow eyes

"Because you changed! You were so much more amusing when you were a pissed off human who thought of nothing but revenge! Now you're just some happy-go-lucky fool who never even killed the man you swore vengeance against! I HATE humans like you! You act all self-righteous and noble it makes me want to puke!"

Suvica's words brought a smile to Rail. He couldn't defeat the lightning newt in physical combat, but now that his mere existence was irking the Thunder Dragon, Rail couldn't help but feel a small pang of satisfaction. "It's called being a grown up. Maybe you'll understand it someday."

"Listen here, human! I will rip your—!"

Link intervened, slapping Suvica on the back of his head and tripping the dragon when his focus wavered. "Putting Suvica's thoughts about you aside," Link continued nonchalantly, "I'd be happy if you helped, but I'm more concerned whether or not you will or won't after you hear what we're up to."

"Believe me, no matter what kind of mess you're head deep in, I can adapt to any situation!"

* * *

Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot.

_Poke._

"Yes?" Rail muttered halfheartedly. Left Foot.

"Are you okay?" That was Zelda. Right Foot. "You've been out of it ever since we told you what we hope to accomplish."

"Oh, don't worry." Left foot. "Give me some time to adjust here." Right foot. "Two major shocks in a row … a little hard to take in at the moment." Left foot.

"Two major shocks?" Right foot.

"Please, give me a little time." Left foot.

"Yes, of course." Right foot.

Rail sighed; the weight of Hyrule was sudden placed on his shoulders, and it was heavy. He slumped his head, feeling confusion and depression subdue his mind with raw disbelief. He blankly registered his feet climbing the stone stairway of Death Mountain one step at a time: Left foot, right foot. For the first two hundred and fifty six steps, he let his mind wander, a mental-defensive strategy to keep hold of his sanity. He could barely feel the burn of exhaustion in his calves as he continued to climb, with Link, Navi, and Suvica in the lead while Zelda and Malon trailed behind him.

How confused and depressed was he? The last time Rail was confused, it was when he suffered a mere two hours of sleep and woke up in a sleep-deprived insanity, wondering whether he was a boy or girl and debating whether he should eat his breakfast with his hands or feet (he regained his sense of judgment an hour later). The last time he was depressed, it was when he accidentally stepped on a puppy's tail and heard it yowl in pain. If that's what it took for him to feel confused and depressed, just what sort of words were supposed to describe his feelings now? He learned that Link, he boy he felt indebted to, was actually the dishonorable criminal who kidnapped Zelda from Hyrule Castle; such a despicable crime gave him a notoriety that made the vilest criminal act seem like a practical joke in comparison. He learned the honorable Ganondorf, the greatest Commander of the Royal Guard there ever was, the one in charge of overseeing the King of Hyrule's protection, the one responsible for the alliance between Hylians and Gerudos, was actually a harbinger of evil plotting to send Hyrule into its darkest age imaginable if not stopped; he'd make the Demon King and Cross the Fallen look tame in comparison. In the span of ten minutes, the time it took Link and Zelda to tell their story, Rail's recently purified world had been flipped upside-down and shaken like the Macarena.

First he learned Sheba's, Link's mother's, startling secret, and now this. What was his world coming to? After six years with nothing but revenge on his mind, he thought Pavo's arrest and unforeseen death would give him some form of clarity to caress his mind. Now his soul was being knocked around by the harsh weight of Link and Zelda's story. He was still going to help Link, because no matter what sort of situation he was in, he was still indebted to the boy; at the moment, he just needed to find the resolve to back Link up with one-hundred percent of his power.

_Why am I doing this?_ Rail asked himself, glaring into Link's back. _Why am I letting the story of one kid mess with my mind? Why am I not walking away? Why am I not ignoring their words and living a nice life of peace? My own revenge is complete, and Suvica made it clear my help is unnecessary. So why am I still here? Why am I letting these kids disturb me so much, when walking away now and ignoring the truth could be so much easier?_

Rail's clenched his fists, his strides gaining strength with every following step he took. _I'm doing this because I'm a man, a warrior! I owe Link far too much, a debt that can't be repaid with words alone, a debt which can only be set straight with actions and blood! I know the truth is in their words, and I know that I'm no warrior if I run with my tail tucked between my legs! I know the truth, I know the disaster which will come if Link and his friends fail to stop Ganondorf, and I'm a coward if I step aside and turn by back to reality! My father would disapprove of my cowardice, my mother would be disappointed, and my grandfather … he would … he … would probably drink his way past a few ale bottles. Never mind him! I'm doing this because I'm a man, a warrior who doesn't run from or hide from the opponent, regardless of who they are! As long as I know my actions are righteous, I'll pursue my goal with all my heart and soul! I'll—!_

_ Wham!_

Something slammed against Rail's face like a rock, and he would've tumbled backwards and down all three hundreds steps of stone stairs if Zelda and Malon hadn't caught him. Blinking past his tears, and clutching his aching nose with both hands, he looked forward to see Suvica with a raised fist and a look of deep scorn.

"What was that for?" Rail demanded angrily after thanking Zelda and Malon for their help. He massaged his nose, relieved to find it wasn't broken.

Suvica planted himself four stairs above Rail, so that he was the one doing the staring down. "What do you think it was for, human? The moment I saw your face get all disgustingly noble, I knew what you were thinking, and it really pissed me off! So I punched you, hoping you'd fall down and die!"

Rail prayed all dragons weren't as snobbish as Suvica. "I found my resolve! I know I can support Link and Zelda—that is—Princess Zelda with their journey! There was no reason for you to punch me for that!"

Suvica jabbed an accusatory finger at him. "There's every reason to punch you for that! You're thinking disgustingly righteous thoughts, and I don't like it!"

Zelda stepped forward so she was one stair away from the rambling lightning newt. "My beliefs are also righteous! I wish to fight for my people! Yet you never strike me!"

"That's because you'd die if I did, and then my fun would be cut short!" Suvica puffed, blowing smoke from his nostrils.

"What about me?" Link asked, a bit too indifferent about the conversation. "Am I righteous?"

"Ha! We've already had this conversation before!" Suvica laughed. "The moment Ganondorf is taken down is the moment I rip your head off! You're the fight I'll be drooling over once all this is over! But not Rail! Rail is nothing more than some mushy human who can't kill a Cucco even if his life depended on—!"

Link kicked Suvica in the back, actually picking the newt off his feet and into empty air. The next second, he was rolling down the stone stairs in a ball of curses and crack jokes, disappearing down and around a narrow bend and out of sight. A tumble like that would kill a normal human.

"Think he'll be alright?" Rail wondered with genuine concern.

"It's Suvica you're talking about," Link said as-a-matter-of-factly. "He'll survive just about anything. Come on, we're wasting time and daylight."

"We're leaving Suvi behind?" Malon asked, cupping her hands and peering down the mountain's stone steps.

"I hope so," Navi mumbled.

"He'll catch up. Come on, let's go." Link turned around without sparring a second of concern for Suvica's safety, resuming his climb up Death Mountain's steep stairs. Rail still didn't entirely get the relationship between Link and Suvica, but it was definitely messed up.

He let his worries for Suvica drift away; the kid had the durability of a dragon. If a tumble down some stairs was all it took to snuff him out, he was certain Link would've killed him a long time ago. Zelda and Malon restarted their trek up the stairs after Link, and once Rail gave Suvica a silent prayer for good-safety, he climbed after them.

With his mind strengthened and his soul resolute, he was able to keep focus on the grueling task at hand: Getting to the Kakariko Village alive. His legs were starting to shake and wobble, and he felt the burn in his kneecaps intensify as the day progressed.

"Let's talk," Link offered, keeping his eyes on the stairs in front of him. "It might help you keep your mind busy enough to forget you're tired." The boy from the Lost Woods was barely even panting, with only a small spot of sweat dampening the shoulders of his green tunic to show his fatigue.

"What makes you think I'm tired?" Rail asked, struggling to show an open grin to hide his exhaustion. He was three years old than the kid in the lead, yet he was the one fighting to make it to the end of the stairs alive.

Malon gave him a sly smile. "You can't keep a secret from Fairy Boy. It's like trying to keep my dad from a cup of ale."

"Tell me about Denion City," Link continued. "What happened after we left?"

"Besides the obvious?" Rail asked, allowing his breathing to labor a bit. "After all of you left and sealed all the gates of Denion City, everyone started crying for Zeld—gah, this is annoying—Princess Zelda."

Zelda slowed her steps, allowing Rail to catch up to her so that they were side by side. "You do not need to refer to me by my title. Calling me Zelda will do."

Rail let that fall of his chest in relief. For some reason, calling Zelda "Princess Zelda" was similar to calling a younger sister "Your Majesty"; it just didn't feel right. "Thanks, I needed that. As I was saying, after you all left, everyone was sobbing themselves dry for hours. We got a surprise visit from the Royal Hylian Knights, led by Glen the Courageous, around midday."

Zelda's lips part a bit. "By midday? Not sunset? They arrived sooner than I anticipated. Perhaps it was to our good fortune we fled in such a hurry."

"Glen demanded we open the gates, and when our step-in leader told the Courageous the gates were jammed, he had a pair of magicians he brought along blow them opened; they surprised the sorrow right out of everyone. You guys should've been there to see the look on Glen's face. He's got a well known reputation for being happy and gentle, yet when he rode into Denion with a legion of Royal Hylian Knights at his back, you'd think the God of War stormed into our city. I wonder what happened to him?"

"He met Fairy Boy," Malon giggled.

He looked to Zelda for an explanation. "It's an early story. When Link was escorting me from the castle, Glen and a few of his fellow warriors arrived in pursuit. Link defeated them all, and we were able to successfully escape.

Rail was too tired to hide away his surprise. "Link, you defeated the Courageous? That a momentous victory!"

Link shrugged, unimpressed. "I caught him off guard. I could tell from the look on his face and the way he held his sword that he wasn't taking me seriously. I used that to my advantage and defeated him before he could get serious. Glen's physically stronger than me and more skilled with the sword. If I fight him again, he won't take me lightly, and I don't know whether I'll be able to win or not."

"But you've got magic, Fairy Boy, and Glen the Courageous doesn't!" Malon said, stumbling lightly over an uneven step as she spoke. "If you use your Spin Attack, you could beat the Courageous easily!"

"I doubt it."

Link's unwavering belief in his defeat had Rail curious. "Why are you so sure you'll lose? You're a great fighter for your age, and your magic is strong enough to bring down Pavo's way-to-huge house. Everyone saw it fall to your Spin Attacks."

Link laughed. "Did you count how many I used? It took everything I had to rip his place apart. My magic is strong, sure, but it's immature. All I can do with it is destroy. Sooner or later, someone will come up with a counter, and I have a feeling that someone will be Glen. And Rail? Are you going to get back to telling us what happened in Denion after we left? You seem to have a knack for falling off topic."

"Oh, sorry about that. Right … where was I?"

"Glen storms into Denion," Navi offered.

"Right. So Glen storms into Denion with a legion of Royal Hylian Knights at his back with a face so cold he could've put out a fire just by looking at it. For a moment, everyone was afraid these soldiers were here to kill them and rescue all the corrupt Nobles and criminals held in Denion's dungeons. Instead, Glen had his men arrest the criminals while he and a few of the Royal Hylian Knights searched the city the following hour. I think they were looking for someone."

"Zelda and Fairy Boy?" Malon asked

"Most likely. Nothing much happened for a while, though there was this one kid who ran around boasting how he was Glen's disciple and singlehandedly orchestrated the Denion Rebellion before bringing down Pavo with only his pinky. Weird kid." Rail thought he saw Zelda scowl to herself, but her dark expression was so fleeting he must've imagined it. "After a few more minutes of searching, Link's mother, Sheba stepped forward."

There was a falter in Link's steps. He didn't stop climbing, but he looked over his shoulder and at Rail. "What happened next?"

Rail bit his lower lip. Should he tell the truth, or fabricate a lie? If Malon was right, and secrets were impossible to keep around Link, he would tear the truth from Rail sooner or later. "Your mother came forward and requested that Glen make clear his intentions. You should've seen the look on everyone's faces, people of Denion and Royal Hylian Knights alike. She spoke to Glen as if he were a kid, like she was demanding some respect from him."

Zelda let a bit of fear show on her face. "What happened next? Did the Royal Hylian Knights attack Sheba? Did she hurt any of them badly?"

"No she … wait, what? Did Sheba hurt the soldiers? Aren't you supposed to worried whether or not the soldiers hurt her?"

"Certainly not. Sheba is far too strong for that. I'm confident all of the Royal Hylian Knights could've attacked her together, and she would've emerged victorious without a scratch."

Rail laughed. "If you told me that before the Denion Rebellion, I would've called you crazy. But now, I agree. If the Royal Hylian Knights had attacked her, they could've died or ended up mortally injured."

"You've seen Sheba's strength for yourself as well?"

"No. I never gave myself the time to see her fight back at Denion. But I know her name … everyone knows her name."

Zelda appeared confused. "Her name? Her name is Sheba Moontear, and I'm unfamiliar with the importance of that name. It holds no royal or Noble titles, and has absolutely no reputation."

Rail felt his heart race with prior excitement, as the memories of that day brought forth an unstoppable pulse of anticipation. "Let me continue. When Sheba spoke to Glen, everyone thought she was a goner. The Royal Hylian Knights were already surrounding her with naked weapons and wounded egos, but when Glen saw her, he did something no one expected. The cold anger on his face disappeared so quickly it was like it never existed to begin with, and then he got to his knees and bowed. He even ordered his men to do the same."

Zelda portrayed both shock and puzzlement at Rail's words as she tried to properly comprehend what he was saying. "Glen the Courageous, one of the most powerful and prideful soldiers of Hyrule … _bowed_ before Sheba?"

Rail nodded, affirming her words. "The Royal Hylian Knights were just as surprised as you are now, but his next sentence had then all on their knees. He said they were standing in the presence of Lillian H. Skyloft the Wise, Moon Blade of Hyrule, Glowing Star Magician of the King, and the only female to be presented with the prestigious title of '_The Wise_'. She was also Glen's sword instructor when he was young, teaching him the skills he needed to claim the title of '_The Courageous_'."

This time, both Zelda and Malon froze where they stood, wearing equally disbelieving expressions and suffering from emotions that probably had yet to be named. Link was unfazed; he even walked up eight more steps before realizing no one was following. Navi, on the other hand, sighed as she whispered, "I knew they'd find out eventually."

Zelda was the first to find what was left of her voice, which was broken and barely audible. "Link's mother … Sheba … is actually…" She had to remind herself to keep breathing, "… Lillian H. Skyloft? That … that can't be! I had my suspicions, but for them to be … it can't be! She went missing twelve years ago, before I was born!"

"Whoa …" Malon turned to Link, who was sitting on the stairs above them, waiting for them to catch up. "… Fairy Boy … you've got an _awesome_ mom! Wow! If Skyloft the Wise is Fairy Boy's mom … doesn't that mean Fairy Boy's dad is … is …!" Malon's enthusiasm died, replaced by cold horror.

Rail gulped, and in the silence that followed, his words sounded loud enough to be a cannon blast. "Everyone knows who Lillian H. Skyloft's husband was, and everyone knows what he did."

"What did he do?" Link demanded, getting to his feet and taking one step down the stairs, closer to Rail and the girls. "Who's my dad?"

Even Zelda was averting Link's glare, spearing her eyes into the stairs. "Link, you do not need to know who your father is, or what he did. Your mother is a great person, and that's all you need to know of your lineage."

Rail also looked away; if there was ever a curse dreadful enough to kill someone just by hearing it, this was it. Those who didn't know what _he_ had done should _never_ know, especially _his_ son. Rail still wasn't entirely sure if keeping secrets from Link was possible, but now he was going to find out; this was one piece of information Link couldn't know. But when Rail looked up back to Link, he felt the icy winds of fear blow in his heart.

Link stood over them with an appearance of such unadulterated rage and gnashing fury that Rail understood one thing: Keeping this secret was going to be impossible. Before Link's wrath, Rail's anger towards Pavo was a child's grudge. Navi took off, fluttering from Zelda to Link, and flying close to her partner's ears. Rail didn't know what the small fairy said, but he was glad she did; the storm subsided, and Link's vehement demeanor cleared. "I'll hold you to that, Navi. Sorry everyone. It's bothering me, knowing nothing about my parents yet seeing everyone else knows everything. Sorry." Link turned around and marched back up the stairs. "You guys coming?"

"S-Sure," Rail murmured, keeping his eyes focused on Link's sword; he was afraid Link might spin around at any moment and force his sword into Rail's throat. "You want … to hear what happened next? Back at Denion, I mean."

Link didn't turn around was he answered. "Sure."

"Well, after everyone was done gasping and bowing, Sheba … or Lillian …"

"Sheba is fine."

"Alright … Sheba repeated her first question, asking Glen why he was at Denion. Glen told her that Hyrule Castle received news of Pavo's deplorable behavior, and that the missing Princess of Hyrule was trapped within Denion as well. Therefore, the King of Hyrule sent Glen and almost all of the Royal Hylian Knights to Denion in order to arrest the perpetrators of Denion and bring Zelda back to Hyrule Castle. While the Royal Hylian Knights were busy securing prisoners and preparing them for transport, Glen questioned Sheba further. I couldn't hear everything they said, but I did hear her say Zelda was no longer in Denion. Also, Sheba asked that when Glen returned to Hyrule Castle, she wanted him to officially revoke her title of '_The Wise_'."

"Were you able to hear why?" Zelda asked.

"No, I couldn't hear anything after that; a hundred Nobles and criminals bound together by rope and chains tend to make a lot of noise. All I could see was Glen protesting to Sheba's request. The two of them talked some more, and Sheba said something which startled Glen pretty badly, though it made her smile when she said it. After the Royal Hylian Knights rounded up all the prisoners, the soldiers reported that Pavo had been murdered."

Zelda jumped. "Murdered? Pavo was killed? How?"

"No one knows, and no one really cares. If he stood trial before the Royal Hylian Council, there's no doubt he would've been sentenced with the death penalty. When the Royal Hylian Knights found him, he'd been stabbed to death in his own ceil. No one mourned for him or cared that he died. A lot of people cheered as the soldiers dragged his corpse from the dungeon."

"Who could kill a man in cold blood like that?" Zelda demanded. "Even if Pavo were to be sentenced to the executioner, he should still be given a chance to explain himself before the Royal Hylian Court! Why would someone take the role of the executioner and kill Pavo in his ceil?"

"No one knows or cares, Zelda. All we know is that the people of Denion are glad Pavo's dead. After they moved the corpse, Glen told his second in command to take the prisoners back to Hyrule Castle to be judged while he took a second platoon to pursue Zelda. He paid his respects to Sheba two more times and left. As soon as he did, Sheba disappeared. No one saw her leave, but her small house was stripped bare and not a trace of her existence remained. In the confusion that followed, I asked my grandfather whether or not he'd be safe in Denion, because I was planning on following you lot to offer my aid. He told me I should do what I needed to do, so I left the city the following morning on horseback. I covered a lot of ground, but my horse got eaten by the undead on the same night, so I ended up running the rest of the way."

Link nodded, but said no more. Rail questioned his actions, wondering whether or not telling the truth was the right thing to do. He remembered his father telling him being too honest was never a good thing, and that lies could save people more than the truth.

Rail had to be straight with himself: He wanted to help Link, he wanted to help Zelda, and he wanted to help save Hyrule. Suvica was scary as a dragon, sure, but Link was a monster all on his own, a child with an abnormal amount of determination and hatred buried inside his heart.

In all honesty, Link terrified Rail.

* * *

Suvica caught up with them an hour and a half later, rampaging up the stairs like a pissed off dragon. He was ignorant of the conversation which took place before his arrival, and Link acted like nothing happened as he laughed and traded blows with the angered lightning newt.

After Suvica had sufficiently vented his irritation, their silent stair climbing continued. Link had been right; keeping up a conversation helped the mind wander away from their fatigue, but after the last thousand steps, no one was in the mood for another pep talk. Suvica occasionally made a slight comment or joke only a dragon could laugh to, but spent most of his time flicking balls of snot in Rail's general direction.

Another hour's climb went by, Rail was in agony. His face stayed carved in stone, but after crawling up these stone steps beneath the scorching sun, it was starting to crack; his muscles were cramped to the point of tearing, and his clothes were drenched with so much sweat he looked like he'd been swimming within a body of water. Zelda and Malon were doing a bit better, since Suvica spread his expansive black wings and shaded them from the sun. The two girls were as exhausted as Rail, but weren't sweating nearly as much as he was. Suvica looked bored; the heat, emanating from both the sun above them and the mountain beneath them, had little to no effect on him. Just once, he tried to fly his way to the top of Death Mountain, only to come crashing back down like a meteor.

Link stayed eerily quiet the whole time, barely showing the slightest sign of fatigue. He was covered in as much sweat as Rail, yet his steps were smooth and steady, as if he were strolling across a flat plane of land. Now and then, Rail could tell Link's temper was flaring from the way his shoulders hunched and his steps sharpened, but Navi would calm him down by whispering something into his ears. If those words could keep the monster in check, Rail wanted to learn them too.

At long last, the stairs evened out into a straight dirt road, which gradually transformed into a flat path of neatly trimmed grass. As Rail took his last step off the stairs and arrived upon smooth land, he felt like he'd ascended to the Sacred Realm. As he blissfully walked across the even path, his feet thrumming from his ordeal with the stairs, he resisted the spawning urge to get on his back and roll the rest of the way to the Kakariko Village.

The grassy route gently sloped downward. Rail was grateful he wasn't claustrophobic, because with the pathway sunk into the mountain's skin, the neighboring cliff walls loomed around them like prison walls. It took only a minute's walk for the surrounding walls to spread out as they arrived at the entrance of Kakariko Village.

Well, it was more of a wooden wall than an entrance. Composed of white oak panels, it was a sheet of painted wood nailed together and supported against the opposite ends of the cliff sides. A large rectangular opening was cut into the center of entrance, allowing anything as large as a fully stocked wagon to pass through with ease (although why anyone would drag a wagon all the way to the Kakariko Village was beyond Rail's understanding). A Hylian soldier was posted at the entrance, swinging his spear in several fluid motions to pass the time. When he noticed their arrival, he put a halt to his practice and lifted his helmet's visor to show them all a smile.

"Welcome to the Kakariko Village! It's been too long since we've had any visitors!" the soldier said cheerfully.

"I wonder why," Malon moaned, massaging her thighs.

The soldier lifted his hand to his eyes to shade them from the sun as he looked around. "Five cute guests! Where are you parents?"

"I'm told they abandoned me when I was a baby."

"Meh, I ran away from home. Who needs parents?"

"My dad's drunk back at Lon Lon Ranch."

"I was … kidnapped from my home."

"My father and mother are dead, and my grandfather is drinking at Denion."

The five of them walked past the guard as he blankly stared at them, muttering, "And I thought my childhood was bad."

The Kakariko Village was a small place, but after what Rail had been through, he felt as though he'd never seen such a beautiful village. The houses were of basic structure, with white-wood painted walls, color-tiled roofs, and had plants hanging from their window stills. Some of the houses were posted on higher land than others. One particular structure was large enough to be a mansion, but was clearly abandoned with its boarded windows, cracked paint, and mossy walls. In the center of the village was a white-stone well, and beyond the well, constructed on an elevated platform of land, was a giant four-winged windmill. The whole village was built in a small indent on the side of Death Mountain, safe from any occasional eruptions of lava from the active volcano.

If there was anything odd about the village, it was the fact that the largest, most muscular men were prancing about the village like little girls. They were playing jungle-gym on a half-finished house, swinging from bare support beams and playing hop-scotch on stray bricks. The women were working harder than these men, herding Cuccos and pulling bails of water from the well to feed their crops, pets, and children.

Malon took a deep breather, wobbling on her feet so badly it looked like she was dancing. "Can we stay here for tonight? Pretty please? We didn't even get to sleep last night."

"Damn straight we're staying! We've got to see the village's famous curse in action!" Suvica laughed; his priorities were seriously skewed.

Link rubbed his sweat-coated brow with the sleeve of his tunic. "Sure. I'm also tired, and if Zelda is right, we're not even half way to Goron City. Let's see if we can find a place to stay."

"Perhaps there is an available Inn?" Zelda wondered. Rail wasn't too sure, since all the buildings appeared the same to him; not one was labeled "Inn."

"That one," Suvica pointed to a building near the edge of the village, built against the face of a cliff. It was twice the standard size, with plenty of people leaning out from the three story building's windows. "Let's stay at that place."

"Why there?" Rail asked.

"Because it smells of meat."

As it turned out, the small manor wasn't an Inn, but it was still a place where they could stay. The owner, a plump lady with her haired tied in a bun with a blue and white stripped dress, was more than happy to accommodate them with a free room. Better yet, she informed them that no expenses were necessary; the food and lodgings were for free.

"Why the generous hospitality?" Zelda asked the manor owner, Bessie.

"Because we've got an over abundance of supplies, my dear," Bessie replied, leading them to their room on the second floor. She unlocked the door with a bronze key dangling around her neck, walked in, and threw the windows open. It was a nice place, a little bigger than Sheba's house. There was a pair of beds side by side in the center of the room with drawers lined against the walls. "Kakariko Village receives much funding, as you may know," Bessie continued, tying the window drapes against the wall.

"Where does the funding come from?" Rail asked.

It was Zelda who answered. "It's Impa, Caretaker of Princess Zelda. This village, the Kakariko Village, is the village where Impa grew up in. In the past, the Kakariko Village was the home of the Sheikah, the guardians of the Royal Family of Hyrule. Later, Impa opened the gates of the Kakariko Village for all those who wish to live here in peace. She is often considered the leader of this village."

Bessie slapped Zelda on the back so hard she almost flew out the open window. "You know your stuff, gal! If only my son was as studious as you!"

"But why does Impa fund the village? Is it because she's the leader?" Link wondered, taking off his drenched hood and resting it on the window, letting it soak in sunlight.

"Impa is not only known as the leader of the Kakariko Village because she was born and raised here, but because she goes to great lengths to turn this small village into a bustling city which may someday rival Hyrule Market. She spends much of her rupees on the construction of Kakariko Village, but because of the lack of visitors, those rupees do not have many places to go."

"That's why we've got rupees to spare, my dears." Bessie strolled to the door, saying, "Dinner will be at sunset down in the mess hall, children. You can find the mess hall by following your noses. You're all a sweaty bunch, so feel free to use the bath in the basement. Don't be late, because we hate leftovers!"

At the mention of a bath, Malon was grabbing her spare clothes and snatching Zelda from the bed. "Come on, princess! After days of travel, we can finally be clean again!"

"Hey! Why do you two get to go first?" Suvica demanded.

"Lady's privilege." Malon said with a wink, bursting out the door with a stash of spare clothes in one hand and Zelda in the other.

"I never knew you liked baths," Link noted, staring at Suvica.

"Even a dragon gets fussy over his scales," the newt mumbled, walking towards the window and taking a seat. "Heck, at least we made it to Death Mountain. Where you do think the Gorons keep their shrine in honor of their Goron Hero?"

Link reached into his mysterious pouch and pulled out several bottles of water, taking a deep drink from two of the bottles before answering. "I wouldn't tell you even if I knew. Once the Gorons start tearing you apart, I don't want anything to do you with. I'm off to clean my clothes. I'll see you at dinner."

"Clean your clothes, where?" Rail asked. His own tunic was starting to stink of sweat, and he wasn't going to have that stench clinging to him all night long.

"At the well. They've got plenty of water there, and I saw some soap downstairs," Link replied, snatching his green hood from the window and giving it a sniff; he made a face at the odor. "I've only got one set of clothes, so I need to take care of them. I can't let magic do everything for me"

"I'll go with you." Rail had been resting on the floor, but was back onto his two aching feet as the prospect of clean clothes.

"I'm staying," Suvica announced. "I don't smell like rancid meat, like the two of you, and I didn't sweat like a dying Moblin, so I'm good. I'll clean myself off after Malon and the Princess are done."

Rail felt his ears twitch. "Suvica, why do you refer to Zelda as the Princess? I don't call her princess, and neither does Malon or Link. I can hardly believe a dragon like you is bothering with formalities."

"I call her Princess because it's the one thing she doesn't want to be at the moment! Happy? Now scram! You two stink!" Suvica gave Rail a dangerous glare, and he was smart enough to know when to take a hint and back away slowly. Link rifled through the room's drawers, pulling out several sets of tunics and pants. He found a pair his size, wriggled out of his sweat drenched green clothes, and put on the fresh clothing. Rail did the same, finding a pair of brown trousers and a white sleeveless shirt to put on after taking off his sweat-smelly clothes.

Link hauled his mass of green fabric into his arm, picked up his sword (leaving his wooden shield and mystic pouch in the room) and headed for the door. Rail followed, and the two of them made their way downstairs, requesting a bar of soap from Bessie before walking out the manor doors. It was short jog to the well, stepping around the prancing builders, working women, playing children, and stray Cuccos. At their destination, Link plopped his soggy green tunic onto the shortly trimmed grass and propped his sheathed sword against the well. Rail also threw down his odorous set of clothing. Using the buckets placed at the rim of the well, they took turns pulling up water and washing their outfits. They scrubbed their tunics with the soak and doused them with water, repeating the processes until they were both certain their tunics would smell clean once dried. Several times, Rail swore he heard moans echoing from the bottom of the well, but passed it off as his imagination. When the rinsing was complete, they stretched out their clothes against the short grass and let them dry beneath the heat of the sun.

"Link? Why are you carrying your sword around?" Rail asked, leaning against the cool stones constructing the well. "Are you expecting trouble?"

"I kidnapped the Princess of Hyrule," Link chuckled, grabbing his sword and pulling the blade an inch from its sheath, letting the pristine steel glimmer in Rail's eyes. "I should always be expecting trouble."

"I guess so."

Link sat beside Rail. "So are you going to tell me about my dad now?"

Rail stiffened. Link was beside him with his sword drawn an inch from its sheath. He understood what happened; Link lured Rail outside, alone, to interrogate him while the others went about their own business. Did today mark the end of Rail's journey already? "Link … I …"

"No, I'm not going to use my sword on you," He laughed, letting the inch of harsh steel disappear into the sheath. "And don't worry, I'm not going to torture and interrogate you. I only want you to tell me anything you can about my dad."

Rail felt his heartbeat hammer inside his ribs. "Why were so angry before, when we wouldn't tell you anything?"

Link rested his head against the well, letting his eyes wander at the sky. "It bothers me. I know absolutely nothing about my own parents, yet all of Hyrule knows everything about them, yet won't tell me anything."

Rail tried putting himself in Link's boots; something like that would definitely anger him as well. Wanting to know more about your parents, yet having the world ignore your pleas. It would feel like the world was turning its back on you, laughing at your confused suffering. He was starting to understand why Link reacted the way he did, and the guilt stemming from that knowledge made Rail waver. "Your father … Cross H. Skyloft …" Rail took a deep breath, "In the past, he was more commonly known as Cross the Powerful, holding the most regal of the three Royal Titles. He was a warrior with immense power, yet unrivaled kindness. He was nominated to be the next head of the Skyloft Family, the most powerful and influential Noble family to serve under the Royal Family. He's a Noble by birth, unlike your mother."

"My mom and dad were Nobles?"

"Yeah. Don't worry, they were nothing like Pavo," Rail assured when he caught Link's look of worry. "The Skyloft family was always trying to make Hyrule a better place, spreading wealth to the poor while helping anyone who needed their aid."

"You said my mom wasn't a Noble by birth. Isn't her name Lillian H. Skyloft? Doesn't that mean she was also a part of the Skyloft Family, which makes her a Noble?"

Rail shook his head. "No. Your mother was of common birth. She was raised in Girmald Village, a small town on the outskirts of the Gerudo Desert. When Cross was—I think—eleven, he was kidnapped by a small legion of Gerudos and taken to their fortress in the Gerudo Desert. He didn't go down easily. Even as a kid, he took down thirty of the pirates trying to capture him with his amazing sword skills. The previous King of Hyrule, King Rondell, our King Ceylon's father, ordered the Royal Hylian Knights to pursue and rescue him, but after six months of aimlessly wandering in the unexplored terrain of the Gerudo Desert, everyone began to accept that Cross was beyond Hyrule's help. However, before they could officially pronounce him dead, he emerged from the Gerudo Desert with Lillian at his side. This rural town girl braved the deserts of the Gerudo Desert, infiltrated their highly defended fortress, and rescued Cross. Everyone was stunned at this miraculous feat, and even more so when Cross announced he would be accepting Lillian into the house of Skyloft, giving her the name Lillian H. Skyloft."

"Just wondering, what does the H stand for?" Link interrupted.

"Hyrule, of course."

"Oh. A little dull, but sure, why not? What happened next?"

"Next came the uproar. Everyone knew Lillian's background and her common birth. Having a commoner accepted into a Noble family has never been heard of before. Sure, some Nobles can ask to be married into different Noble family, but that's as far as it goes. So when Cross took Lillian into the Skyloft family, everyone from the lowest Noble family to the Royal Council forbad such a transgression. Still, your dad was stubborn and steadfast and refused to listen to the mockery other families threw at him. Still, to make things worse, Lillian said she wanted to be a soldier for Hyrule."

"Why's that worse? My mom's pretty strong."

"You grew up in the Lost Woods, so it's only obvious you don't know. In Hyrule, women aren't treated as equally as men. Men can do almost anything they want: Become writers, builders, carpenters, musicians, anything. Women, they're expected to obey unwritten laws. They're supposed to grow up, be good wives, make their husbands look good, have kids, look after the children, prepare food, that kind of stuff. Many Nobles see a woman picking up a sword or any weapon of the sort as blasphemy, something the Goddesses scorn."

"Why?"

"I don't know, that's just the way it's been."

"That's ridiculous. I've seen my mom do things the soldiers of Hyrule can't even dream about. And aren't the Goddesses also female? If one of them picked up a sword, would the other two call it blasphemy?"

Rail burst into laughter, hugging his sides because he feared his lungs would drop out of his chest. "Ha, ha! Maybe, Link, maybe. Anyways, the Nobles called it blasphemy, stating it was against sacred law for a female to wield a weapon. Regardless, it didn't stop your mother from trying to apply as a soldier, and since she was the savior of Cross H. Skyloft, she was granted permission by King Rondell. Since words couldn't sway her, the Nobles from different families decided a little pain would instead. They snuck their own personal guards into the entry tests, disguising them as applicants, hoping one of them would fight against Lillian and injure her so badly she'd flee from Hyrule in shame."

"But the exact opposite happened, didn't it?"

Rail snickered; he remembered how his own mother would light up when she told him this story. "Yep. Not only that, but they say your mother barely took three seconds to defeat each of her opponents. She was rivaled only by Cross with the sword, and he was considered Hyrule's greatest swordsman at the time. Her actions broke every unspoken laws and prejudice against women until not even their fragments could be pieced back together. Then to add insult to injury, she signed up to become a Mage, a title given only to the greatest of male magicians. Your mother handled magic like it was a toy, using it in ways not even Hyrule's greatest Mages could achieve. Soon enough, her exploits unknowingly made her the idol of every female in all of Hyrule. But with her fame, she became the target of every egotistical Noble male in Hyrule. They didn't like how a girl was triumphing over Hyrule's most laudable achievements with barely a sweat dropped. Since they could never beat her in a straight up fight, they resorted to tricks and treachery. They hired assassins, poisoned her food, and rigged her room with enough traps to kill a man ten times over. Don't look so worried, Link. Your mother never fell for a single plot."

"Because she saw through them all?"

"No, because your father was there for her. Because he was born as a Noble from the most esteemed family in Hyrule, he had his fair share of assassination attempts on his life. He protected her with his experience and knowledge, always tricking perpetrators into revealing themselves and handing them over to the Royal Hylian Court for treason. Back then, those two were called the Couple of the Goddesses. Everyone believed they were made for each other because it was the wish of the Goddesses."

Rail noticed Link's grin, a genuine smile overflowing with warmth. Then he noticed Rail was watching and hastily straightened his face. "But what happened? Why is my mom a hero and my dad someone no one will talk about?"

A sudden hesitation halted Rail's story; did he have any right to tell Link the crimes his father committed? Did he have any right to tell him what sort of monster his father became? If someone was to tell him the truth, it should be his mother, Lillian H. Skyloft.

"Rail? What. Did. My. Dad. Do?" Link demanded, emphasizing each word, as if his life depended on the knowledge every well informed Hylian kept hidden in their hearts.

Rail decided it didn't matter; Link would learn the truth eventually, whether it was in a day, year, or decade. If someone was going to tell Link, Rail decided he was going to be the one. "I need to give you the big picture first. Forty years ago, before your father and mother were born, the Gerudos declared all out war against Hyrule. They were led by a witch calling herself Twinrova, a frightful user of magic and a master of fire and ice. When the Gerudos initiated the war, they struck without warning, greatly sowing death and demoralization throughout the land. Somehow, Hyrule managed to reorganize their forces and bolster their troops with reinforcements from the Gorons and Zoras. When your father was kidnapped, sixteen years after the war started, Twinrova hoped to use him as a bargaining chip in battle, but you mother rescued him before the Gerudos could actually put Cross's status as a hostage to use.

"Even while Lillian H. Skyloft was making her name known to Hyrule, the war between Hyrule and the Gerudos was still taking place. There were outbreaks of small battles each week, and an occasional large scale war at least once every three months. Lillian's greatest accomplishment occurred when she discovered a secret operation the Gerudos spent two years planning to assassinate King Rondell. She warned your father, and together, they saved and protected the King of Hyrule from a massive attack force Gerudos managed to sneak into the castle. It was because of their heroics that Cross was given the title '_The Powerful_' and Lillian '_The Wise_'. After that, the Gerudos retreated, and Hyrule hastily presumed victory. The following two years of peace only strengthened their belief, during which Lillian accepted Glen as a disciple and trained him to succeed the empty throne of '_The Courageous_'.

"After those two short years ended, the Gerudos returned with a greater attack force. This time, their ranks were bolstered by monsters. Legions of Beamos tore our lines in half, armed Dinolfos ripped our soldiers to pieces, Wallmasters would swoop in from the sky and snatch our men away, undead Stalfos refused to die regardless of how many times they were struck down, armies of Moblins smashed down our gates, and handfuls of Iron Knuckles cut through our toughest defenses. Twinrova didn't just summon the common beasts of Hyrule to do her bidding, but also the most ruthless. She had the devious Poe Sisters slay our greatest warriors one by one, lured the infamous Dead Hands to our graveyards to claim more victims when we went to bury our dead, and even enlisted the help of several dragons to tear apart our fortresses. Against such overwhelming odds, Hyrule prepared itself from her impending demise.

"Eventually, Hyrule's fighting forces were dwindled to a small number, laughable in comparison to Twinrova's dark horde. Hyrule's final soldiers, the Goron's last fighters, and the Zora's remaining warriors, barricaded themselves within Hyrule Castle, awaiting their doom. During their last moments, everyone prayed to the Goddesses for aid. Perhaps their prayers were heard, because a spirit descended upon the madness which was Hyrule, coming before Cross and Lillian. No one can recall what the spirit looked like or what it said, but Cross agreed to its requests. Then the miracle happened; a pillar of light exploded from the far off and forgotten reaches of Hyrule before crashing into the castle where the last pockets of resistance remained. When it disappeared, Cross was holding the Master Sword, the Blade of Evil's Bane, the very sword from the legend of the Skyward Hero. From that moment forward, Twinrova and her army fought a losing war. In the face of the Master Sword, her dark armies could no nothing but run. In the span of one day, Cross put an end to the twenty-six year long war, and was soon proclaimed as the Champion of Hyrule. With the demons slain and the Gerudos defeated and pushed back into their wretched desert, Hyrule entered a true age of peaceful, but even that only lasted for four years."

"Cross the Champion and Lillian the Wise spent their whole lives fighting a war they were born into, and now that it was over, they wanted to spend an equal number of years in serenity, away from war and politics. They were married within the walls of the Temple of Time, with all of Hyrule as their audience. Although they retained their titles as '_The Powerful_' and '_The Wise_,' they relinquished their status as Nobles and moved to a peaceful village on the outskirts of the Lost Woods right after their wedding. They built their own home and claimed their own small plot of land. After they left Hyrule Castle, their story falls off the scrolls of history. What we do know is four years after your father and mother left Hyrule Castle, Lillian became pregnant, and Cross … Cross became Cross the Fallen, better known as the Fiend.

"No one knows why, but the Champion of Hyrule became the Fiend of Darkness. Without warning, he began attacking people, villages, and cities at random, slaughtering men, women, elderly, and children without discretion. In a mere week, he caused more death and havoc than the Gerudos with their Great War." Rail stopped, taking a moment to wet his mouth with a small scoop of well water and to see how Link was reacting to the story.

He portrayed no emotions; his mouth was set, his cheeks were firm, and his eyes were steady, like he was listening to the story of a stranger. "How much damage did my dad cause?"

Rail soaked his palms with water. "After the war with the Gerudos, there were sixteen large cities and sixty-five smaller villages and towns left in Hyrule. During the four year period of peace, the number of cities increased to twenty-four, and the small towns numbered around eighty-one."

"So?"

Rail licked his lips. "Today, there are only four large cities and fourteen smaller towns and villages. In the span of one week … the Fiend caused that much damage."

"What else?"

"Huh?"

"What else did my dad do?" Link asked, burying his face in his hands, hiding whatever expression his face portrayed. "Cities, villages, humans … that can't be it. There must be a greater reason why my dad is so feared. What is it? Please, tell me."

Rail looked away from Link to stare at his own emotionless expression on the surface of the well water. "After the destruction of Hyrule's most populated cities and villages, the Fiend targeted everyone else. Gorons, Zoras, monsters, Gerudos … none of it made any difference to him … everyone was his enemy. In desperation, King Rondell and Queen Galatis begged Cross the Fallen to stop his senseless rampage. The King and Queen were close friends of Cross and Lillian, and hoped their words would reached the Fiend's ears. You can't being to imagine how relieved they were when Cross agreed to come and stand before the Royal Hylian Court to be tried for his crimes. But on that dreadful day, within Hyrule Castle's walls, the tragedy occurred. The King and Queen of Hyrule stood before Cross, who was chained to the Chair of the Tried, surrounded by the Royal Hylian Council. The moment the trial started, Cross broke free from his bonds and killed everyone, even …" Rail faltered. "… even the King and Queen of Hyrule. The Fiend only feigned cooperation; his real goal was to get close to the King Rondell and Queen Galatis and slay them once they were in his blade's reach. By the time the Royal Hylian Knights entered the court room, they were too late. Cross stood in the middle of the ruined chamber, covered in the blood of the King and Queen. He escaped, leaving Prince Ceylon to be the last surviving member of the royal family. Soon after the king and queen were killed, Hyrule entered a dark age.

"In order to understand the chaos Hyrule went through, you need to know everything that was happening. With their King and Queen dead, the surviving high officials of Hyrule began a tug-of-war for power. There were those who wanted Prince Ceylon to succeed the throne, to become the next king, while others argued the prince was far too young to be a king and claimed they should be the acting regent. While Nobles fought and scrambled for power, they ignorantly turned their backs to the people. Without a ruling power, the people consolidated on their own, forming their own separate allegiances and small armies. A civil war was sparked, a bloody battle pitting the Nobles against the commoners. The Nobles wanted to put the common people back under their thumbs, while the people of Hyrule wanted to be free from the influence of a higher authority.

"The Gorons and Zoras did not stay quiet while the civil war ensued. Instead of trying to quell the fighting, they helped propagate it. After losing so many of their own to the Fiend, they accused the Hylians for the Fiend's rampage, claiming that they championed a mad man and were unfit to rule the Kingdom of Hyrule. The three races fought against one another while the Hylians still struggled for power, a battle to see who could control more land. This four way battle—Nobles, commoners, Gorons, and Zoras—was only further propelled out of control when the demons and Gerudos joined the fray. The monsters refused to serve the Gerudos again, blaming the desert pirates for their loss in the Great War. They wanted to eradicate the Hylians, Gerudos, Gorons, and Zoras from Hyrule, but without a sufficient leader these beast could only plunged headlong into battles and frays to further proliferate the chaos. The Gerudos wanted to strike against all the other races in the name of vengeance and betrayal, so they using cunning and manipulation to drive bonds of madness and hatred into the following battles. While all this was occurring, the Fiend continued to wreck aimless death and destruction everywhere he went. During those dark days, it didn't matter where you went: All of Hyrule was a battlefield.

"All this foolish insanity last for six months, yet it was far worse than the Great War between Hyrule and the Gerudos. There was only death, death, and more death. Those who tried to remain neutral from all the fighting knew if things continued the way they were, Hyrule would destroy itself. They tried to find a solution to bring peace back to the land. They were led by Princess Ceylon, whose throne was usurped by one of the last remaining Royal Council members. Yet the more they sought for a way to restore the peace, the further they fell into misery when there was no solution in sight.

"But at the precipice of despair, a ruthless form of hope was born. Cross the Fallen spread his mindless wrath into another village and had started to burn it to the ground, killing its inhabitants and slaughtering every living creature in sight. No one realized that inside a small hut at the edge of the village, Lillian the Wise was in labor, struggling to give birth to her child. I suppose no one but Lillian will know what happened within the inferno consuming the village, but when the final embers died away, she emerged from the ashes with a newborn baby in her arms and Cross the Fallen dead at her feet, the Master Sword plunged into his chest. With the Fiend dead, the Master Sword disappeared back into legend. No one knows how your mother killed the Fiend, or what happened to her afterwards. All we know is she ran away from the remains of the village with her baby in her arms, covered in blood and tears.

"After that, all we have is speculation. Many say Lillian went mad with grief with the death of her husband, so she took her own life and left her newborn baby to wolves. Others say she took a ship and sailed away from the land of Hyrule with her baby in her arms, determined to leave the land which caused her so much misery. A few say speculate she fled to the depths of the Gerudo Desert with her child, a lone vagabond that preys on the desert pirates in spite and vengeance with her child." Rail turned to Link; his hunched over body seemed dull and lifeless. "I don't think anyone could've guessed her child grew up in the Lost Woods while she traveled Hyrule as a medicine peddler under the name Sheba Moontear."

Link didn't say anything except, "What happened next?"

"The fighting dwindled. The Fiend, the source of everyone's anguish, died. The news spread fast, forcing the Hylians to stop fighting question their reasons for battle. The Gorons and Zoras ended their conflict when they heard the man who killed so many of their kind met his end. Monsters continued to randomly attack the Hylians, Gorons, and Zoras, but were easily pushed back now that the three races ceased fighting each other. The Gerudos disappeared back into their desert, reappearing later with a new leader, Ganondorf, and a peace treaty to prevent further conflict. Prince Ceylon used this moment to claim the throne and reform alliances with the Gorons and Zoras. This time, peace returned to stay. Cross H. Skyloft is now known as the Fallen, the Fiend of Hyrule, and the Bane of Light, while Lillian H. Skyloft is called the Grieving Widow, the Tear of the Moon, and the Savior of the Realm for slaying her husband and helping to restore the kingdom. Some people have devoted their lives looking for her, searching to find out if she really did take her own life, or if she's secretly living amongst us. Even more people, to this day, search for her lost child."

Link kept his head bent low, his voice diminished as it rebounded off the ground. "For me? Why?"

"Because they want to know whether you're the offspring of Cross the Fallen or the son of Lillian the Savior."

He laughed hollowly. "I'm a child of the Great Deku Tree, tell them that."

"Will do," Rail said lightly. "Link, there's something else you need to know."

"I'm all ears, whether I like it or not."

"There's the Legacy of the Cross, which curses Hyrule to this day. We have an alliance with the Gorons and Zoras, yes, but it's incredibly frail. After the Gorons and Zoras attacked the Hylians during the Civil War, our bonds of trust were never the same. We retain the outward appearance of a strong alliance, but the truth is it could break at a moment's notice. The Gorons and Zoras fear another Fiend could appear, they're afraid another Hylian will take up the Fiend's mantle. If they get the slightest _feeling_ another Fiend could be born, they'll break our alliance, crush the Hylians, and tear out the seeds of destruction before it can sprout. That's the Legacy of the Cross, the curse which can spark another Civil War at a moment's notice, the blight that can consume all of Hyrule and drag the land into another age of darkness."

Link laughed sourly. "If they get the slightest feeling another Fiend will appear, the Gorons and Zoras will attack Hyrule? And here I am, the son of the Fiend, marching up Death Mountain heading right for the Gorons."

"If we're not careful, the worst case scenario will occur. It won't help us if the Gorons learn of your lineage. Besides, to all of Hyrule, there's no one better than you to be the next Fien—"

"HEY!"

Rail almost dove head-first into the well at the abrupt shriek. He shook the scream's echo out of his ears as Navi fluttered in front of his face, her normally blue body seething with a murderous red. "Watch your mouth! How do you think Link is feeling about all this? The last thing you need to do is call him the Fiend's successor!"

He nodded, properly abashed. It was a spur of the moment sentence, while he was lost in his own train of thought. Calling Link the next Fiend was a terrible thing to do, something which clawed at his heart with rusted nails. "I'm so sorry, Link. That was wrong of me."

Link's laugh caught Rail off guard. "No, it's okay. You never know, you might be closer to the truth than you realize."

"Thanks … I think."

* * *

EDIT: Chapter 17 of the Three Spiritual Stones FanFiction story is out! Yay! Hello, hi, and thanks for reading. X3

As you can see, Rail joins the fray, bringing us up to speed about what happened in Denion after Link and other left and telling Link more about his parents. Funny thing is, I had previously planned to write Chapter 16 from Rail's point of view, to show you how he felt after defeating Pavo and writing about the events to follow. I wrote a Chapter 16 from Rail's point of view, but after I read through it a few times, my first, second, and third thoughts about the chapter were "Holy sweet mother of jesus in heaven, this is too boring!" And thus, Chapter 16 was scrapped and rewritten from Suvica's point of view. Since Rail was pushed aside last chapter, I decided to have him tag along for a while and had him become the star of Chapter 17. He came in to do what the others wouldn't, tell Link of his past. Navi promised Sheba she wouldn't say anything, so she was no good. Considering how Zelda doesn't want to hurt Link, she couldn't be the one to tell Link. Malon's not the greatest story teller, so she was also discounted. Having Suvica (yes, he knows about it too) tell the story to Link...I shudder at the thought. So that's how Rail steps in.

Cross H. Solana and Lily H. Solana...I still wonder if those are suitable names. I chose the name Cross because it can be used as a name and as a word in a sentence, like "Don't cross that line!" (It's just like the name Link, it's a name and can be used as a simple word in a sentence) Their middle name "H"...well...I thought it added a little flare, so it went in as well. As for the last name of Solana...that part was a little interesting. I tried coming up with random last name starting with "S", but when I accidentally did spell-check on it, "Solana" came up. Sorry if there are those that don't agree with the names, I'm not the greatest name inventor. Forgive me. ^_^;;

Like always, if there's anything you'd like to comment or review on, feel free to do so! Chapter 18, "Curse of the Kakariko Village" will be told from Link's point of view. Look forward to it!

EDIT: The name Solana was replaced with Skyloft, because it sounds way better! (7/4/12)


	18. Chapter 18, The Curse of Life

**Chapter 18**

**The Curse of Life**

Link watched the night draped across the Kakariko Village, bringing a silent shroud of darkness to the mountainside village. The night was perfectly clear, but he knew the sky remained covered by a sheet of smog and cloud; it was the only explanation for why not a single star, or even the moon, could not be seen overhead. There were no lanterns to light the village, no stars to shine the grass, or moon to brighten the night. Only his eyes could see in this deepening darkness.

And yet, he still saw nothing. He was trapped by the disordered thoughts of his own mind. Rail's story repeated itself over and over again in his head, like a recipe Dentri and Hapi couldn't stop reiterating until the whole village knew it like the back of their own hands. He leaned against the corner of the room, beneath the cover of the darkest shadow. His lips were sealed shut because of the dry mountain air, and because he hadn't opened them since his one-sided storytelling with Rail. He hadn't slept in two days, yet not a spot of slumber could close his eyes.

Link thought he knew what evil was. Pavo was evil, the Gerudos were evil, and Ganondorf was evil. Each time an enemy stood before him, he knew what he had to do: Fight. No matter what stood in his way, he'd find the courage to step forward and keep fighting, no matter what was stacked against him. But what about now? What about Link's father, Cross the Fallen, the Fiend of Hyrule? From what Rail said, there was no doubt the world saw him as evil. He killed and slaughtered for a nameless pleasure no one could describe, and this frightened Link. Children inherited traits from their parents, he'd seen evidence of this in all of the towns and cities he visited. So what did that make him? Perhaps the question wasn't too far-fetched after all: Is he the dark offspring of the Fiend, or the son of the Savior?

None of it made any sense. Why would his father, with all his kindness and courage to battle against evil, turn into the villain he fought against all his life? Was it the way of the world, an inevitable fact of life? Could you only live long as a hero by eventually becoming the villain? No! That couldn't be! His mother never succumbed to such terrible desires, but was it only because his father fell to the darkness first? Then what about him, Link of the Kokiri Village? What would he become seven or ten years from now? Would he become the savior Zelda predicted, or the monster everyone feared? His mother told him he had a destiny to fulfill, yet he no longer knew where his road of fate led. He didn't know, he didn't know, he didn't know.

Link groaned, causing his sleeping friends to stir at his vocal discomfort. He'd never been plagued by such questions in the past. He remembered that day in Oron City, where he said he didn't care about his parents, when he said they meant nothing to him. While it held true for a few days, everything changed after he met his mother. Meeting her for the first time, and _knowing _she was the parent who abandoned him so long ago, impaled him with a lance of hurt and anger. He wanted to turn his back to her, to ignore her as she ignored him, to let her know the pain of being abandoned.

He couldn't do it. Everyday Link spent in his mother's arms was another day his prior anger towards her faded away. He could feel her love, her sorrow, and the grief. He remembered the night in Denion when she abruptly held him in her arms while he pretended to sleep, whispering, "I'm so sorry," while shedding tears. He couldn't hate her, especially after hearing what she'd done to save Hyrule. She must've had her reasons for leaving him in the Kokiri Village, under the care of the Great Deku Tree, and Link had long since forgiven her for her actions.

So what about his father? How was he supposed to feel towards the man who wrought so much misery? Every time Rail spoke of one of Cross's horrendous deeds, Link wanted nothing more than to loudly protest against his words. He wanted to defend his father from the crimes charged against him, to defend his family's name, yet what proof did he have? All of Hyrule was a witness, and Link was the sole defendant, acting only on his emotions. After meeting his mother and learning of her achievements which shook the world, he wanted his parents to be people he could be proud of, people whose names he could speak with pride. Instead, his father was the Fiend, and his mother was the woman who saved Hyrule by killing her husband.

For the first time in a long time, Link was confused. He learned his parents were great and extraordinary people everyone envied, and then was enlightened to their tragedy. He learned what it felt like to be proud of his parents, and was immediately shown how it felt to be ashamed of them. Although their history shouldn't affect his ultimate goal, slaying Ganondorf, Link couldn't help but be swayed by their story. He wanted to know why his father became the Fiend, he wanted to discover the reason for his rampage, and he wanted to know why his mother did nothing to save him while she had the chance. Gradually, his road of vengeance blurred as his questions rooted within his mind.

What should he do? Should he continue with his mission to stop Ganondorf while ignoring the history of his family? Or should he uncover more of the Fiend's legacy to right the wrongs of his father? Even if they weren't his crimes, as his father's son, Link felt bound to right the wrongs the Fiend committed. He told Zelda that if she ever made a mistake, it was her duty to clean it up. He would be a hypocrite if he didn't follow his own advice. Yet in a deep, rebellious, part of his soul, he refused to believe his father could be responsible for such actions. He wanted to prove his father's innocence, he wanted to blame someone else, anyone else, for the civil war Hyrule was forced to endure because of the Fiend, but all of Hyrule held the truth in their hearts, and that was something he could not change while he himself remained muddled over his convictions.

When his mind could no longer contain the frenzied torrent of thoughts within his head, Link picked himself up and slammed his head against the wall. Once, twice … eight times he rammed his forehead into the wall, and eight times the blossoming pain helped to clear his head until nothing remained. After he felt properly liberated from his own conflicting beliefs, he looked to the wall to see the red flower he painted on its white surface.

Unfortunately, his mind-clearing exercise awoke his slumbering friends.

"Link? What's wrong?" Zelda asked in a panic, fumbling beneath her blanket.

Link was glad he was the only one with eyes sharp enough to pierce the darkness; he didn't want anyone to see him like this. Zelda heard the ruckus he caused and was blindly scrambling across the bed she'd been sleeping on. Malon was snoring beside her, but was steadily rolling towards the edge of the bed because of Zelda's frantic movements. Rail was resting on the bed besides the girls'. His head was propped with a pillow, and he had pushed aside his blanket because of the hot mountain air. Still, Link could tell he was awake, because Rail was staring at his general direction with eyes of regret. Suvica was lying back-flat on the floor, snoring loudly.

"Nothing's wrong," Link replied to Zelda, who was tentatively reaching one foot off the side of bed and blindly grasping at the shadows. "Go back to sleep, I needed to clear my head."

He heard Suvica jolt awake when Zelda accidentally stepped on his face; he sniff at the blood-tainted air. "By banging your head against the wall? If wanted to clear you head like that, you could've asked me. I'd gladly punched you to clarity." Then Suvica whispered with a snicker, "Maybe to permanent clarity."

"…Epona…" Malon mumbled, turning in her sleep, bumping into Zelda, and knocking them both head-first onto the floor. "Whua? Whozzat? Whuzzappening?"

"Go back to sleep already," Link tried to laugh. He navigated his way through the shadows, passing by the open window and bending past Suvica, who was on his feet randomly throwing punches. "I'm going to take a breather. My head still needs clearing, and I don't want to break my skull over it."

"Come on, Forest Boy!" the dragon whined, tailing Link by using smell of his blood trickling from his forehead. "Let me take a swing at you! You'll feel better in no time! I guarantee once I'm done with you, you won't feel anything at all anymore!"

"Sleep," Link repeated. This time, he let some of his pent up exhaustion blacken his voice. Suvica stopped punching, staring at him while looking puzzled. Malon grew concerned at his words, protectively wrapping her arms around Zelda's waist. He didn't want to infect anyone else with his negative emotions. Zelda called his name twice more, but Link ignored her and continued towards the door. As he passed by Rail, he heard him whisper, "I shouldn't have told you." He took a moment to stop and quietly replying, "I'm glad you did."

He turned the door handle and opened the door, reclosing it after he'd slipped out of the room without making so much as a squeak. He walked along the darkened isle with much-practiced silent steps, hearing the occasional snore or sleeping-murmur from within the neighboring doors. He kept his left hand pressed against his profusely bleeding forehead so no more of his blood could stain Bessie's manor. At the end of the hallway, he unlocked the double-panel window and let a draft of warm mountain air breeze inside. Using both hands, he grasped the top of the window still and pulled himself up and out. He scaled the outer wall with relative ease until he climbed to the top of the manor and rolled against the warm tiled rooftop, staring blankly at the smog-blotched sky with his arms and legs stretched against his side.

"Hey, let me look at that." A bright blue flare of light nearly blinded Link's night-adjusted eyes, forcing him to blink past his fluttering vision.

"Navi, please turn it down. Are you trying to make me blind?" He groaned, rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands.

"Oh, sorry." The light emanating from Navi's body dimmed, allowing him to look directly at her. "You left me behind in your hood back at the room. That was rude of you." His partner said, plopping Saria's hand-sewn hood onto his lap.

Link ruffled his hair; he'd forgotten he had taken off his hood before the sun fell. Good thing he did, or else it would've been blooming roses. "Sorry."

"Apology accepted." Navi gently landed on Link's bleeding forehead. He winced on contact, but loosened up as a soothing wave of coolness started to caress his wound.

"Thanks, Navi," he said, feeling the flesh on his forehead slowly repair itself.

"I'm not as good as Pinky when it comes to healing, but I do well enough."

Link closed his eyes, letting his partner's magic heal the flesh and bring a medium of harmony to his wretched mind. "I'm glad you're here. I should also thank you for when you calmed me down when we were walking up Death Mountain's stairs. If you hadn't, I'm afraid I might've done something I'd regret."

"All I did was promise to tell you the whole story about your parents," Navi replied, withdrawing her healing touch once his head was mended. "It would mean breaking my promise with Lillian, but she'd understand. I can't let you torment yourself anymore."

Link laughed hollowly. "No need to say anything, Navi. I had Rail tell me everything, and I have to admit, I wasn't expecting my dad to be a Fiend everyone in Hyrule feared. Honestly, after hearing Rail talk about the amazing things my mom did, I was hoping he was someone I could respect, someone I could look up to with a smile. I was so … so happy to meet my mom. Although, after hearing Rail's story about the Fiend, I don't understand why she left me in the Kokiri Village. If my dad was such a terrible person, wouldn't my mom want to keep my close as the last remaining member of her family, or was she so ashamed of my dad she was afraid I would turn out the same way?"

"No! Of course not, Link! Lillian would never do that! She wanted to stay with you, even though it would mean both your deaths!"

Link turned to his partner, wondering how she knew so much. "Navi, you've had your fair share of secrets. Some of them concern my family, don't they?"

"Yes … yes, they do."

"Then why haven't you told them to me? Are you also ashamed of my dad? Are you also so scared I might be the next Fiend?"

"What? NO! Never!" Navi vehemently denied. "I've kept my secrets for my own selfish reasons. Link, you have to understand, I'm new when it comes to dealing with emotions. I'm a toddler with a toy I don't know how to use, yet I still do so with pleasure. Happiness, hate, sorrow, jealousy … they're all experiences I've never felt or understood before."

"You hate Suvica plenty."

"Yes, I'd drown the despicable dragon at the bottom of Lake Hylia of I could. But forget him! He's not the problem right now."

"I am, right?"

Navi shook her head. "No, I am."

"What do you mean?"

"I should've told you what I'm about to say a long time above, well before Rail told you Hyrule's version of the Fiend."

Link diverted his attention to his partner. "What do you mean '_his_' version? There's more than one?"

"Remember the story of the Skyward Hero? Zelda's version of the story was different from Halden's because she heard the common tale, while Halden was there to see the truth."

"Navi … are you saying—?"

"Yes, Link. I know the truth about your father. In a way, what I'm about to tell you will bring you relief and hate."

A knot formed in Link's stomach. "Are you saying his crimes are worse than how Rail described them?"

"Crimes?" Navi scorned. "What crimes? Your father didn't do anything. He was a great man, and would've been a loving father. He never lifted a finger to harm Hyrule."

"What are you talking about? According to Rail, all of Hyrule knows about the Fiend and what he's done! How can you say he's innocent?"

"Because he is, now shut up and listen," Navi snapped. "I don't want you hurting yourself over a lie the world believes. Now I don't know the whole story about your father and mother. Everything that happened before your father took hold of the Master Sword is a mystery to me. However, I can tell you everything which took place afterwards. You see, I'm the spirit your parents talked to, the spirit that delivered the Master Sword to your father. Hold it!" She said as Link gawked at her in disbelief. "Before you ask anything, let me talk first. Your father did end the Great War with the Master Sword's help, and he wielded it with such finesse I truly believed he was the one I was waiting for, the Hero of Time. In order to find out, I followed him and your mother when they renounced their Noble statue and went to start a family near the Lost Woods."

"Did they know you were watching them?"

"Um … not really."

"So you stalked them?"

"Hey! Let's me get to the point!" Link felt a little bit of his playfulness revive as he teased his partner. Navi continued: "Anyways, I watched over them until I was absolutely certain of one thing: Your father wasn't the one I was waiting for, he wasn't the Hero of Time. He had many of the qualities necessary, but it was only a matter of time before the Master Sword rejected him."

"Hold up, the Master Sword can reject people?"

"Yes. Only a true Hero of Time can wield the Master Sword. Your father did an impressive job using it for so long, but I could tell it was costing him dearly. Every time he picked up the Blade of Evil's Bane, it became harder and harder. I was about to appear before your parents again, to retake the Master Sword, until he showed up, the one responsible for the Fiend: Ganondorf."

Hatred surged into Link's chest as he heard the spiteful name, but he kept it in check in order to hear what his partner had to say next. "What happened?"

"Zelda told you this before, but I'll say it again. You already know that Ganondorf is the physical manifestation of the Curse of Demise, meaning he has two purposes: The elimination of the Skyloft family, and claiming the Triforce. But he didn't simply kill your father, he wanted to make sure the world rejected him. Ganondorf was in possession of a very sacred, very dangerous object, known as the Mirror of Dusk. If your reflection is caught by the mirror, it will absorb all your hatred and give it physical form, summoning forth a perfect replica of yourself. But that's not all; the demon spawned by the Mirror of Dusk is your equal in every way: Appearance, physical abilities, thought process, and weaknesses. However, it is an image created from negative emotions, a monster with all your abilities yet none of your compassion. Ganondorf used the Mirror of Dusk on your father to create a demon in his image, a Dark Cross, the real Fiend of Hyrule. It wasn't your father who brought Hyrule to its knees, but Ganondorf's latest servant. All of Dark Cross's evil deeds and ill repute fell upon your father, which is why he is called the Fiend, and not Dark Cross."

Link could barely breathe after hearing what Navi said. His relief which came with his father's innocence was immense, but the rage directed towards Ganondorf's treachery overshadowed it by far. "If that's true, what didn't my parents do anything to stop Ganondorf or Dark Cross?

"Because Lillian was pregnant, and Cross could no longer lift the Master Sword. Your father did everything he could to prove his innocence, but after the crimes Dark Cross committed, no one would believe his words. Everyone ran the moment he approached them. When the King and Queen summoned him to speak before the Royal Court, he readily accepted, hoping it was the chance he needed to prove his innocence, but things only got worse when Dark Cross intervened. Your father could only watch, as he was tied down to the Chair of the Tried, while Dark Cross slew the King and Queen as well as all other witnesses. When your father managed to free himself, Dark Cross had already fled, and the Royal Knights found your father standing in the middle of the carnage. With the deaths of the King and Queen of Hyrule on his head, your father could do nothing but run."

"Then how was Dark Cross slain in the end?"

"He was killed at the village where you were born. After your father was irrevocably branded as the Fiend, Ganondorf decided it was time end the Skyloft line. He approached the village with Dark Cross and rained death and terror upon everyone who lived there. Your mother had recently given birth to you, so she was in no condition to fight. Therefore, your father kept both Ganondorf and Dark Cross at bay in a losing battle. A moment of luck smiled upon him when he managed to wound Ganondorf grievously enough to incapacitate the Gerudo King for a while, but during that instant, Dark Cross made an attempt to kill you and your mother while Cross was busy. Your father grabbed Dark Cross before the fiend could kill you or your mother and held it back, but he was weakened in his fight with Ganondorf, and his dark replica was breaking free from his hold. In a last attempt to save his family, your father begged me to give him the strength to lift the Blade of Evil's Bane one last time. I agreed, and nearly killed myself to claim your family as the rightful owners of the Master Sword for a few more seconds. However, your father was too busy holding Dark Cross in place, so your mother, while holding you in her arms, picked up the Master Sword in Cross's stead. Your father told Lillian to stab him and Dark Cross together, to put an end to the Fiend once and for all. Although it broke your mother's heart, she prioritized your life over everything else and thrust the Master Sword into your father and Dark Cross. The Master Sword destroyed Dark Cross, sending his dark form back into the abyss, but it also killed your father. That's why, when the fire of their battle cleared away, Lillian was found holding the Master Sword embedded in Cross's chest. The moment the temporary contract was over, the Master Sword returned to its pedestal while your mother took you and ran from Ganondorf's wrath. With Cross gone, Ganondorf sought to bring an end to you, the last son of the Skyloft family. Lillian took refuge in the Lost Woods, where she chanced upon the Kokiri Village and pleaded for the Great Deku Tree to protect you. He agreed, repelling the Gerudo King with his magical might while promising to raise you as his own child. Lillian, however, was not allowed to stay, for the Kokiri Village was a place for children. It's the reason why she left you with the Great Deku Tree, to lead Ganondorf away from the village and protect you.

"That's the truth, Link. Lillian did abandoned you, but it was because she couldn't bear to let anything happen to you, not while Ganondorf pursued her all across Hyrule in order to kill you. Your parents were willing to sacrifice their own lives in order to save yours, undeniable proof that they loved you above all else. You should be proud of them."

Link didn't say anything. A few minutes ago, he was tearing up his world and beliefs over a crime his father never committed. Now Navi told her otherwise, centering all the blame, guilt, and hate upon the Gerudo King. Slowly, Link felt his resolve return, solidified by his courage and vengeance. Everything made sense once again; he knew his enemies with more certainty than ever. Link lost his fathers (his biological father and the Great Deku Tree) and his life with his mother to the man from the desert. His unending resolve to slaughter Ganondorf grew stronger until it he could barely contain himself.

He stood up, pulling out his Kokiri Sword and jabbing it towards the smoggy sky. Focusing his magic and guiding it with his revitalized sense of rage, he watched his blade glimmer and shine within the familiar casing of blue energy. No! Not enough, not nearly enough! He snarled as he pushed everything that drove him, everything that hurt him, everything that defined him, into his magic. With an echoing roar, the blue powers surrounding his sword burst into deep orange as his magic intensified. With his pent up emotions and prior confusion, Link bellowed the first word on his tongue:

"GANONDORF!"

He swung at the sky, watching an extra-large Disk Attack hurl form his sword and rise towards the peak of Death Mountain. This time, his flying ring of magic was an orange disk of destruction, twice as large and rising thrice as high before dispersing into small magic flecks which drifted down to the Kakariko Village in a light cascade.

Several sleeping occupants of the village shouted at him to "Shut up and go to sleep, brat!" while his companions below demanded to know if the Commander of the King's Royal Guards was in the vicinity. Link laughed at their concerns, feeling more liberated than before.

His parents were all heroes, people he could always be proud of; their legacy was nothing to be ashamed about. As he felt the hollow burden of his father's guilt break away, he remembered his mother's words to him: _You're my only son, Link, and despite everything I've done, I'll always love you._ His joy and relief was so intense he had to choke down a sappy sob.

"Feeling better?" His partner inquired as he sat down on the blue tiled roof.

"Much," Link sighed, blinking away unshed tears and feeling a larger drain on his stamina; using the intensified orange Disk Attack was much harder to use than his blue magic, yet the result was gratifying. "After meeting my mom, I was dying to know more about my dad, and was angry when no one would tell me anything about him. After hearing Rail's story about the Fiend, I felt … ashamed. But not anymore. Thanks Navi, thank you for telling me. Still I wish you'd told me sooner. Did you see me? I was banging my head against the wall."

Navi laughed along. "You scared the wings right off me! I was afraid you were going to take up Suvica's offer and let him beat you up!"

"I don't think I would've gone that far."

"I bet you were."

"Well, maybe just a little."

"Called it."

Link lay back on the rooftop, spreading out his arms and legs with a grin. "It's good … no, it's great to hear my dad wasn't the monster everyone makes him out to be."

Navi landed on his chest her folded her wings against her round body. "You're welcome. I can't have you killing yourself over such a misunderstanding, a really big misunderstanding at that."

"Do you think I should tell other people the truth about my dad, Cross?"

Navi rolled around on his chest. "You can if you want, but who's to say they'll believe you? A copy created by the Mirror of Dusk is pretty much an exact replica of its target. It's like you and Suvica, only there's no distinct physical features to tell the two apart."

"You got any other secrets you want to tell me about?" Link asked playfully. "You never know? I might learn about another lie fabricated by Ganondorf and suddenly decide to off myself."

"That's not even funny," Navi said seriously. "Besides, you said so yourself when you spoke to Zelda: You shouldn't believe the words of others so blindly until you figure out the truth for yourself."

"I think this was a little different. All of Hyrule believed in the same story about the Fiend. How was I supposed to know it wasn't the truth? But yeah, I guess it is a lesson to be learned. This'll stick with me to the end of my life."

"Hey, Link? Want me to tell you another secret? I had an admirer in my past life, although he was a little creepy. The guy could track me down anywhere in the world as long as I called for him."

"Is this something I should be jealous about?"

"Nah, not really. He's probably a pile of spare scrap by now. I kind of miss him, now. While we're on the topic of secrets, let me share one more."

"You're awfully open about yourself today," Link noted, sitting up and letting Navi prance into the air. "Alright, what's your next big surprise?"

"Ta-Da!" she flew in front of his eyes. "How do I look?"

Link took a peek, and for a moment, didn't recognize the figure in front of him. Instead of the familiar blue orb he called his partner, he was staring into a little figurine about as large as his open hand. She had smooth blue hair, with her shoulders draped in a cloak half purple and half blue. Her bodice was covered with a patterned short-skirt while her legs were dressed in crisscrossed stockings. The small figure waved her arms, smiling at Link with her petite face. She was still encased in a shimmering blue orb with wings, yet it was more transparent now, revealing the being inside.

"Navi?" he ventured, reaching out with one finger to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. The tiny individual reached out and poked the tip of his finger.

"So, how do I look?" she asked in Navi's voice.

"Very nice. Is that … something like you're true form?"

Navi laughed, causing the orb around her to ring in mirth. "Not really. I've always been in here, visible for all to see. You've always known I'm not your average fairies, and it's true: I'm not. Most people only see the glamour around me, but for you, I made an exception. So?"

"So … what?"

"Do you remember anything? This form is almost identical to my past life's appearance. Anything clicking in your brain?"

"I can't say there is," Link shrugged, watching Navi pout to his response and stomp her tiny feet on his finger. Before, he could only feel the (what did Navi call it)

glamour surrounding his partner, but now his finger registered the two little taps caused by Navi's feet.

"Well, you'll remember eventually. Until then, I can be patient. I've waited a thousand years, so waiting a few more is nothing."

* * *

It was an odd feeling, being at peace after everything he'd been through. His goal had always been set in stone the moment he left the Kokiri Village, yet his trail grew increasingly complex the following days. The apex of it all was when he met his mother, going through all the hurt and joy that came with her appearance. Yet her continuously reluctant to speak about his dad kept him at the edge of his seat, and when he learned everyone else knew about his father yet kept him in the dark, his bottled frustration grew harder to contain. He was losing track of his vengeance because of his persisting questions about his family, always desperate to know more about the couple who brought him into this world. His pain upon hearing the story of the Fiend was great, but the relief which came with the truth was greater. Not only that, his family's suffering was directly tied to Ganondorf. Armed with this information, he knew once and for all what he had to do: Kill Ganondorf, destroy the man causing his family so much misery. He said it so many times before, yet today was the first time he felt so sure of his answer. Ganondorf was his mortal enemy, and Link was going to make sure his blade reached the Gerudo King's heart, one slow step at a time.

"Navi?" Link spoke to his fairy partner, who was still in humanoid form.

"I'm here," she replied, sitting on his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"I'm still wondering if you could give me another hint to who you really are. It's the only thing that's bugging me now, figuring out your identity."

"You can't figure it out for yourself?"

"I probably could, given time, but the more I think about it, the more—I don't know—_astounded_ I get. You're not a normal fairy, and you say you've been waiting for me for thousands of years. We were partners in another life, whatever that means, yet you remember everything about me while I know so little about you. Then you said you're also the spirit who brought the Master Sword, the legendary weapon which slew the Demon King, to my parents, which they used to end the Great War. You're a little bundle wrapped in mystery."

"Like I said before, you'll remember everything as long as we stick together. Think you can wait a bit longer?"

"Maybe?" Link grinned. "Or you could tell me right now."

"And spoil the fun? I'm having one of the best times in my lives, and you want me to ruin the surprise already? I think I liked you better as an adult. Hurry up and grow up!"

Link laughed to that. "It's not like seven years is going to instantly pass by on a whim. Alright, I'll play your game. At least tell me this: Is '_Navi_' the same name you used in your past life?"

"Well, no. My original name was the inspiration, but that's all I'm saying. Don't worry, I believe in you. I'm sure you'll remember someday."

Link thanked her for the encouragement, and words leisurely became lost between them. Their conversation lapsed into a comfortable moment of quiet which neither of them wished to break. Simply having his partner close by, knowing how she was constantly there for him, was immensely reassuring. Wanting to fill the air with his gratitude with something other than words, he reached into the Pouch and brought out Saria's pink ocarina. He cleared his mind, letting an image of Saria's smiling face blossom as he positioned his fingers over her ocarina, brought it to his lips, and played her favorite song.

_Link?_

Link scrambled to his feet, knocking off an unsuspecting Navi as he looked around. He swore he heard Saria's voice.

"What was that for?" Navi demanded, flapping her wings and slapping the tip of his nose, letting him feel her annoyance.

"I heard Saria, I heard her voice." He replied quietly, unsure if he actually communicated with his faraway friend, or if his head had been hurt worse than he thought. "I was playing a song on her ocarina and heard her voice!"

Navi didn't look worried. "Well, it's not that surprising."

"It isn't?"

"No. After all, ever since the creation of the world, music has always been a conduit for magic, though not many people realize this. Use a song properly, or play it at the right moment, and you can do some amazing things. You said you heard Saria's voice? Then do what you were just doing, before you freaked out, and try again."

Link nodded. Resolute to hear Saria's voice again, he remained standing as he brought Saria's ocarina to his lips, let her image fill his thoughts, and played her song.

_Link!_

Excitement shot down Link's back as he clearly heard Saria's voice in his mind. This time, he continued to play while responding to Saria's call. _Saria! Is that you?_

_ Link! It is you!_ Saria voice was just as excited and happy as his own. _I'm so glad to hear your voice again! Thank the Goddesses for this miracle!_ _Are you alright?_

_ Huh? Oh! Yeah, I am! Sorry, my head was elsewhere for a moment. But this is amazing! I can hear you as if you were right next to me!_

Saria's warmth brightened, filling him with the nostalgic sense of the Kokiri Village. _Me too. But how? How can we speak to each other? Are you back in the Kokiri Forest? Are you coming back to the village?_

Link was reluctant to dampen Saria's spirits, but he informed her of his whereabouts anyways. He could feel the warmth of her presence falter for a moment, but it rekindled just as fast. Eager to hear more of her voice, Link explained to her how he established their connection.

The excitement was revived in Saria's voice. _Really? You played my favorite song and heard my voice? That's wonderful! But doesn't that also mean you haven't been practicing very much until now?_

_ What? No, no! I've been practicing a lot! I even got a few tips from Malon!_

There was a pause at the other end. _Malon? Who's that?_

_ Malon? She's the girl I'm traveling with. She's helping me on my quest, along with Zelda, the Princess of Hyrule._ Link explained.

There was an even longer pause. _Zelda? There's another girl with you?_

_ Hm? Yeah. She's been a big help as well. I've been doing what I can to help her save Hyrule._

An even longer pause. _W-Well, you must surely be enjoying their company! Are they … attractive?_

_Yeah, they're both pretty cute._

Saria disappeared. Link opened his eyes and blinked twice. He was still playing and still concentrating hard on Saria, but he lost contact. Did Saria break off their link? Why would she do that? After all the time they spent away from one another, he thought she would've wanted to talk a while longer. And why did Saria feel so troubled over the fact that Zelda and Malon were cute?

"Something wrong?" Navi asked.

"Um … maybe?"

* * *

Link remained completely clueless to Saria's strange reaction. He tried contacting her a few more times using her ocarina and playing Saria's Song, but each and every time he could feel her purposely cut him off. What had he done wrong? Was there a problem if he was traveling with Zelda and Malon? Did Saria dislike it when he traveled with other girls? But Navi was a girl and Saria never raised any objections to that.

He eventually gave up resuming contact with Saria when a grumpy sleeper dwelling opposite of Bessie's manor flung his windows open and started chucking random items at him.

"Want some girl advice?" Navi offered as the light sleeper slammed his windows shut.

"No, I can figure this out on my own." Link assured. "I'm sure I can work things out. There's probably a misunderstanding somewhere."

Navi's aura turned a sly yellow. "Aw, you're too cute like this, Link!"

"Thanks, I think."

The night was steadily brightening, and Link could see the smoky mantle obscuring the sky thin as the sun appeared over Death Mountain's ridge. As the sunlight began its return, the shadows gradually weakened, turning the pitch black blanket over the Kakariko Village into a musky gray sheet. With the growing absence of darkness, he saw more and more of the village from his new view point. He was at level with the lone windmill, high above the "cursed" well in the center of the village (it did make weird noises, but nothing else), and could count the total number of buildings with their locked windows.

He paused, for the windows got his attention. No matter where he looked, every window on every building was shut so tight an ant couldn't squeeze their way in. Why was that? The night wasn't cold. In fact, it was practically blazing because of the smoldering heat coming off Death Mountain. So why was every single window in the village shut tight? Either the people really liked their privacy, or there was something stalking the night.

The Kakariko Village's curse.

Then he heard it: The sound of thin limbs scrapping against walls as they scurried about. How many were there? One, two, three … six, there were six of them, each with eight scrawny legs and moving at a habitually hasty pace. Link instinctively thought of a Skullwalltula, but his battle intuition told him these creatures couldn't possibly be the wall-climbing arachnid monsters. He could tell, from the sounds they made when they scampered and crawled, these monsters had the general shape of a Skullwalltula, but were far too large and fast. Skullwalltula hung from walls hidden from plain sight before pouncing upon their unsuspecting prey. These creatures were actively moving about the entire village, searching for their intended target.

"Link, what's wrong?" Navi asked, sensing his rising alarm.

"Company. Six of them, and I don't know what they are," Link replied tersely. His ears twitched as he heard one of the creatures dart across the building wall to his front-right, yet his eyes were too slow to properly identity or see the arachnid. He heard the same itchy-scuttle to his left, yet when his eyes managed to catch up with his sense of hearing the monsters were long gone. These arachnids were fast, too fast to be Skullwalltulas. This must be why the people of Kakariko Village locked their doors and windows tight during night: To prevent these unidentifiable creatures from entering their rooms.

Link's blood went cold; there were two windows in village which were still ajar. One was in the hallway in Bessie's manor on the second floor, and the other was the open window belonging to the room where his friends were sound asleep and totally unaware of the mysterious enemies.

He ran to the edge of the roof, leaning perilously over the ledge in time to see the afterimage of a shadow disappear into the open window on the second floor. Navi dove into his hood as Link snatched his Kokiri Sword and prepared for the worst.

As soon as his weapon was back in his hands, Link heard the expected scream echo from inside the room. One of the creatures jumped from the window with Zelda in its scaled legs, leaping high above the manor and Link, using four of its legs to hold Zelda beneath its vulnerable belly while balancing itself in midair using its other four limbs. Zelda struggled against the claws pressing her against the arachnid, but her movements were slurred by a lingering touch of sleep. Link didn't know what these things were or why they wanted Zelda, but there was no way he was going to let them take her.

He jumped off the manor, charged his Kokiri Sword with magic, and executed a midair Spin Attack (_Oops, I forgot to warn Navi … oh well_). The magical propulsion lifted him ten feet into the air, but when he stopped rotating, he was still several feet beneath creature holding Zelda. Link aligned his options in order to determine which plan had the highest chance of success. Take out his Fairy Slingshot and shoot the creature with a deku seed? No, the deku seed didn't have enough impact behind it, and he didn't have the time to sheath his Kokiri Sword, pull out his Fairy Slingshot, aim, and then fire. Arm himself with a deku stick and smash the arachnid? Also impossible, there wasn't enough length to any of his deku sticks to reach either the monster or Zelda. Throw the deku stick? Not the smartest idea, since the power behind the attack would be harmlessly minimal. Use his Disk Attack? Too risky. Link had faith in his magic's strength, but the creature was latched too closely to Zelda; it wasn't possible for him to accurately aim his Disk Attack to avoid Zelda and hit only the creature.

Or was it? Link had two forms of offensive magical attacks: The Spin Attack and the Disk Attack. Both had a wide range and great power but made little distinction in targets. What he needed right now was a spell that retained its power yet sacrificed its wide range for accuracy.

The time it took for Link to formulate his plan was less than a second. To a spectator's eye, it would've seemed like he devised his plan beforehand instead of on the spot. He tightened his grasp on his Kokiri Sword, drew it back to his cheek, and aligned the tip of his sword so it pointed directly towards the monster attached to Zelda's back. Taking a deep breath, and realizing he'd reached the peak of his jump, Link let his magic flow from the center of his body and concentrated it into the point of his sword, causing only the tip of the Kokiri Sword to glow in an iridescent blue.

Betting his chances on his own skill, luck, and improvised magic, Link thrust his magic imbued Kokiri Sword forward with a twist, keeping it aimed at the creature. His magic speared from his Kokiri Sword, creating a lancing cyclone of blue magic which cut across the air and stabbed the beast, narrowly avoiding Zelda yet leaving her unharmed all the same. The unknown arachnid was torn of Zelda's back by Link's Spear Attack, accomplishing his goal yet providing an unexpected outcome. By shooting a magical force upward, he experienced an equal and opposite reaction downward, sending him plummeting back towards the ground faster than he wanted.

He didn't panic. His body was parallel to the ground, so he was in no position to successfully pull off a mid-air Spin Attack to alleviate his fall. Fortunately, Suvica was there to unwittingly be his saving grace. As Link fell past the side of Bessie's manor, Suvica stuck his head out the window and grabbed him by the ankle before he could hit the ground.

Yanked to a stop, and feeling the contents of his stomach almost force their way out of his mouth, Link dangled two stories from the ground. "Thanks, Suvica."

"Flying doesn't suit you, land-lover," Suvica smirked before looking up to see Zelda begin her fall back down. "Time for you to play hero again." The dragon looked way too happy about what he was going to do next; he readjusted his grip around Link's ankle and hurled him back into the sky. As he shot skyward, he intercepted Zelda's fall and wrapped his right arm around her waist.

"Are you okay?" He asked, holding her close to his body as they continued to climb through the air. _Dang it, Suvica! Was there a reason you threw me this high?_

Zelda buried her face into his tunic, her voice muffled as she spoke. "No, I'm certainly not okay! We spend far too much of our time airborne these days! I fear the Goddesses will find our increased time in the skies amusing and transform us into birds."

He tried not to laugh at her whimpering as he looked down as they started to fall … again.

"Link! What were those things?" Zelda demanded, keeping her eyes shut. "What do they want?"

"No idea! But we've got bigger problems at the moment! Hang on! I'm going to use a Spin Attack to slow our fall!"

Her face went pale. Before he could execute his plan, Zelda wrapped her hands around his chest and shouted, "Farore's Wind!" It was the same spell Link's mother used back at Denion, only this time, Zelda was the caster. Link watched his body dissolve into beads of green light along with Zelda's. Their dissembled bodies burst apart and regrouped back on the ground, reconstructing their physical bodies at the front doors of Bessie's manor.

"When'd you learn to do that?" Link asked, a little surprised.

"Last … night …" Zelda gasped, still clenching onto him with frightful hands. "After … Luxvil City … our fall … I seem to have developed a fear … for heights. I learned … Lillian's spell … in case I found … myself in a similar situation."

"Why didn't you use it to escape when that thing grabbed you?"

Zelda looked up, looking a little flushed from embarrassment. "I … hadn't considered it. I was still startled by the sudden abduction and wasn't thinking too clearly. It only came to me when you told me you wanted to use your Spin Attack to avoid a critical fall."

The corner of Link's lips rose. "You didn't Farore's Wind because of your fear of heights, you learned it because you didn't want me to rescue you from a fall using my Spin Attack. I must've made you pretty dizzy that day."

"Well … yes … but now that I've learned the spell, it has much more uses!"

Link enjoyed seeing Zelda's face glow like the ripest of Kokiri apples, but the danger wasn't over just yet. Another scream, Malon's scream, hit his ears as he and Zelda looked up to see Malon get dragged out of the window by a different arachnid creature. Link wasn't too worried about her, especially with Suvica chasing after Malon with a look of murderous intent on his face. He felt a twinge of pity for the creature as Suvica grabbed Malon in one hand and ripped the creature off her back with the other. From there, he swung the assaulting arachnid twice overhead before hurling it towards the ground, where it created a foot-deep indentation upon crash landing. When Suvica saw the creature was still twitching, his wings clawed their way out his back and shot him towards the ground feet first; he hurtled into the struggling arachnid with the momentum of a small meteor. He buried the creature another foot into the ground as he landed on it, stomped on it twice for good measure, and then stepped out of the mini-crater he made before letting Malon out of his arms.

"Link! Behind you!" Zelda's shout had Link whipping around and letting his Kokiri Sword flash. Steel met flesh as he managed to tear into another mysterious spider with his blade. Despite with the deep laceration, the creature scuttled away and ducked towards the shadows, unhindered by the injury. Link's ears picked up another one of the eight-legged insects charging towards Zelda from behind, so he grabbed her shoulder and pushed her onto her knees before slashing at the space behind her. His sword met the expected resistance as he battered aside the speedy arachnid, which retreated at an astounding speed after its attack was foiled. Two more of creatures were suddenly zipping across the grass and towards his exposed back; he heard them before he saw them, so he had the necessary time to toss his Kokiri Sword into the air, grab a deku stick from the Pouch, and swing the stick so that it bashed the two overgrown-spiders back. His deku stick snapped into splinters on impact, and the two creatures fell into the shadows, only return to initiate another attack. Link snatched his Kokiri Sword as it fell back towards him and lashed out at every sound and threatening sight he could pinpoint, beating the monsters away with steel and magic. Yet regardless of how badly he wounded these creatures, his actions only redoubled their efforts.

Suvica was having similar problems of his own as two more shadow-cloaked spiders rushed at him while the third crawled out of the crater the dragon buried it in, unharmed. It joined its brethren in their frugal endeavors to abduct Malon. One of the creatures scurried up the side of Bessie's manor and lunged at Malon from above. Suvica shielded her with one of his wings and flung it aside before thrashing it out of the air with snap from his tail. Another zigzagged across the trimmed grass and tried to attack from below Suvica's guard; he retaliated by smashing the bug beneath his foot, picking it up, crushing its body in his grip, and hurling it straight across the village. The creature bounced across the ground twice before smashing into the side of the Kakariko Village's well, and before it could touch the ground with its eight legs, Suvica blasted it with a bolt of lightning, incinerating the creature with a static explosion. Yet even with all that damage, the immortal insect was on its legs before the dust settled and darted towards Malon with renewed vitality.

_This is insane,_ Link thought as he slashed and punched with every second of his available time. Only three of the arachnids attacked him while the other three struck at Suvica, yet they moved with such undying drive and speed Link felt like he was warding off an entire army. He was inflicting zero damage to these immortal spiders, and his arms were steadily converting into lead as his strength (hampered by his lack of sleep) dwindled to each constant attack he executed. His energy was further depleted by all the magic he used to no avail. Suvica's situation was the same as Link's, being forced to wildly flail his arms, wings, and tail to beat down or squash the circumventing bugs.

"Suvica! Back to back!" Link shouted; he caught Suvica giving him a short nod. Link pushed himself backwards, roughly shoving Zelda along, while Suvica grabbed Malon with one arm and threw her towards Zelda. The girls collided with one another, but it gave Link and Suvica the time they needed to press the two of them behind their backs. This way, Link could conserve his strength and guard one side while Suvica held the fort down at the other. There situation was similar to the time where Link and Suvica defended Zelda and Malon from the Gerudos in Hyrule Castle.

"What the bloody serpent are these things?" Suvica demanded with a snarl, smashing one of the six unrelenting creature away with a back-fist. "They don't die! They don't even get hurt! It's cheating!"

"We can't kill them," Link confirmed, stabbed one of the spiders with his sword and watching it easily pull itself off his blade. "But we might be able to stall them! They didn't appear when the sun was up, so maybe they'll retreat at sunrise!" Link dared a look at the sky; the glowing orb of light was still partially obscured by Death Mountain, keeping the Kakariko Village within a prolonged shadow of darkness.

Suvica let his scales ripple from his right arm and clawed five symmetrical grooves into another one of the creatures. "But why are they after Malon and the Princess? They like their human breakfasts young and female?"

"No point in waiting to find out!" Link drew his Kokiri Sword back, let his magic reverberate at the tip, and fired a Spear Attack at the closest arachnid. The lance of magic struck the creature and rocket it backwards, knocking over one of its brethren as it flew by, and planted the arachnid into the side of a house. Link could feel his disappointment bubble forth as he saw the spider crawl off the side of the building like nothing happened.

"Forest Boy! Your left!" Suvica shouted. Link let his mind become too distracted, failing to notice the arachnid coming in from his left and heading straight for Zelda's unaware back. His sword was fully extended in front of him, so he didn't have time to pull back and defend Zelda. Just as the creature was two feet way from snatching her, something fell from the sky and pinned it to the ground. Rail had awoken to the commotion, jumping from the second floor window and crushing the bug beneath Link's Deku Shield.

"Starting your morning monster hunting without me?" Rail asked with a grin, kicking aside the spider he crushed with Link's Deku Shield before and joining Link and Suvica in protecting Zelda and Malon.

"Damn straight we were!" Suvica growled, punching one of the incoming creatures. "Get out of here before you get hurt, human!"

Rail habitually ignored the fussy dragon, giving Link a meaningful glance as he raised the Deku Shield strapped to his right arm (it was a bit small for Rail's muscled arms) and added himself to make a three-man circle around the girls. "You look better. I thought I'd wake up to see you sulking in the corner of the room, not fending off a legion of spiders."

Link returned the grin, blasting away another arachnid with Disk Attack. "I have my partner to thank for that!"

"I didn't know you thought so highly of me," Rail said, fending off his own attackers.

Navi was there to correct him. "He meant me, not you!"

"Way to ruin my morning."

"You two done kissing each other?" Suvica growled, grabbing the spider flying towards Malon and throwing it with all his dragon might, zapping it with a well aimed lightning bolt before it hit the ground. Link and Rail focused on the problem at hand.

With the three of them protecting Zelda and Malon, holding their ground became that much easier. Link took his time regaining his stamina, allowing his arms to rest more often as the spiders were pressed to spread their attack patterns to cover Suvica and Rail. Now and then, Link would check to see how Rail was doing. Armed with only his Deku Shield, he acknowledged that Rail had some skills. He wielded the shield like a blade, blocking blows and striking back before the spiders had time to retreat. Just once, he displayed an unanticipated show of dexterity, hurling the Deku Shield like a Frisbee, bouncing it off the face of an incoming spider, and catching it as it spun back to him.

"I played a lot when I was a kid," Rail explained.

Their endurance battle lasted for five continuous minutes, until Link could see a line of sunlight stretching across the side of mountain and slowly spreading across the village. "We're almost there! Just hold a little longer!"

"_No, you've held on long enough._" Hidden in the shadows of a faraway building, the arachnids lurked. They forfeited their abduction attempts, and were keeping their distance.

"You can talk?" Now Link was entirely convinced these weren't the average household Skullwalltulas.

"_Yes, we can talk, and I must apologize for our rude behavior. I know it is shameless to ask this of you after what we attempted to do, but will you listen to what we have to say?_"

Link didn't see why not. "Sure," he said before Suvica could start protesting. He was curious to know more about these mysterious undying insects.

"_We do not have much time to explain before the village awakens, so let us show you our curse. Please, do not be too startled._" One by one, the arachnids stepped out of the shadows and stopped before Link. He kept his word and remained calm, but the others had a bit more difficulty with that request. Zelda flinched so badly she tripped backwards. Malon fainted on the spot. Rail reflexively raised the Deku Shield to smash the creature, but Link stopped him before it got that far. Suvica's snarl melted into an aghast look of disgust.

Link had been right before when he thought that these things resembled Skullwalltulas. They had the flat bodies and legs of a wall spider, but unlike the Skullwalltulas he knew so well, these arachnids had one grizzly difference: Their faces. Normal Skullwalltulas had a skull shaped pattern on their fore shells. On these twisted creatures, where the skull pattern should've been, was the deformed face of a human. They were half-sunk and half-melted into the Skullwalltula shells, yet Link could tell all of them were in considerable pain. Upon closer observation, he noticed each of them was gravely injured, from past and present injuries.

"What happened to all of you?" He asked.

A tone of hope entered the creature's mangled mouth. "_You wish to know? Even after seeing our curse, you wish to know more?_"

Link turned to the others for their opinion. Zelda was scared yet resolute, Malon was beginning to regain consciousness, and Rail was keeping his distance. Suvica, on the other hand, was licking his lips, as if he were imagining the spider creatures with a bit of barbecue sauce.

"Yes, we would." Link replied.

There was a look of relief in one of the Skullwalltula's face. "_Then we will tell you. Please, follow us. We don't want to scare our fellow villagers._" The deformed Skullwalltulas scurried away while beckoning for them to follow.

"You sure about this?" Rail asked, handing Link his Deku Shield. "This could be a trap."

Link strapped his shield onto his back. "If it is, we can let Suvica eat them. But no, I don't think it's a trap. Let's listen to what they have to say."

"Alright, I'll trust you."

"By the way, don't you have any weapons? I'm sure you had a sword back a Denion. What happened to it?"

"That thing? It belonged to someone else. I have a dagger my grandfather gave me before I left, but that's about it. If I want a weapon, I'll find one on my travels with you."

Link nodded to Rail's answer as he pursued the deformed Skullwalltulas, but Rail held him back with a restraining hand. "Link … tell me the truth, how did you feel after I told you about your dad, the Fiend?"

Zelda and Malon were horrorstruck at Rail's words. "You did what?" The princess demanded. "By the Goddesses, it's no wonder you were acting so strangely! Link, I'm so sorry! I should've—!"

"It's fine," Link assured them, brushing off Rail's hand. "Don't feel guilty about telling me. Besides, I learned the truth from Navi, about how my dad is actually innocent. C'mon, we're losing them." Link jogged after the Skullwalltula family, ignoring his friend's pestering questions about what he meant by Cross's innocence. It was a story for another night.

They didn't have to venture far; the Skullwalltulas brought them to the abandoned mansion in the Kakariko Village. They crawled up the ruined walls, removed a few of the panels boarding the windows, and crept inside. The Skullwalltulas invited Link and others to take the door, which creaked open with the groan of a hundred rusted hinges.

The inside certainly reflected the outside; the state of affairs within the building was just as shoddy as the outside. Cobwebs hung by the thousands from ceiling beams and in the corners of the grisly dark room. Floorboards creaked with the symphony of mold and age, dust settled across the walls like a second layer of paint, and the only living inhabitants were the rodents (who scampered away at their entrance), the insects, and the Skullwalltulas, who settled in the center of the room.

Link, well aware only his eyes could see in the lightless room, requested Navi's assistance in that matter. When she didn't respond, he took off his hood and peeked inside.

"I hate you," Navi pouted, wiping what looked like drool from her mouth. "You promised to warn me the next time you pulled your flying stunt."

Flash back. "Oh yeah. Sorry about that, I was a little pressed at the time."

"Well, Mr. Urgency, I won't tell you where I vomited in your hair. Your head's going to glow in the dark for months now." After she was done voicing her complaints, Navi pulled herself to the hem of Link's hood to survey the environment, letting her natural blue glow bath the room with light. Too bad it had the unfortunate affect of bringing the warped Skullwalltulas into clear view. "Hey … oh my … um … friends of yours?"

"_Allow me to explain_," the largest Skullwalltula spoke. Link was impressed to find its tone so steady and calm in spite of its injuries. "_My name is Ranald. This is my wife, Hisana, our two sons, Mark and Lin, and our two daughters, Mary and Lynnette._"

"Those names…" Zelda murmured, her murky fear slowly washing away to reveal bewilderment. "You can't be the Ltula family! The wealthiest merchant family of Hyrule! Your family and wealth disappeared seven years ago! What happened?"

"_Our story is simple, if not sad. Seven years ago, the Commander of the King's Royal Guard came to us. He told us he was planning to destroy Hyrule Castle, slaughter the Royal Family, enslave the Gorons and Zoras, and conquer Hyrule. He wanted our family's wealth to fund his campaign for conquest, and in return, he would grant us more power and influence than we could ever image. I refused, for my loyalty belongs to Hyrule. I tried to warn our king of the Gerudo's treachery, but Ganondorf and another Gerudo sorcerer cast the Golden Spider's Curse upon me and my family to silence us. Because of their witchcraft, our bodies were mutilated and twisted into these … these forms. You cannot understand what a horrifying experience it is, to be trapped in a body that is not your own._"

"Psh, try me," Suvica mumbled.

"This is it! This is solid proof of Ganondorf's treachery!" Zelda exclaimed. "I've always known Ganondorf plotted to destroy Hyrule, and now we have actual witnesses! If we tell my father, surely he will cast Ganondorf back to the dry desert from which he came!"

"Are you listening to yourself, Princess? Your proof is an ugly family of spiders with a seriously bad makeover!" Suvica pointed out, unnecessarily kicking one of the cursed Ltula family members with his foot. "I sure wouldn't believe a word these freaks say."

The Ltula family started to freak out. "_You … young girl … you're _the_ Princess Zelda? Our Princess, we offer our most sincere apologies for attacking you! We beg for your forgiveness!_" The Ltula family tried to bow, but considering the physical limitations of their spider-like bodies, it was beyond their ability to accomplish.

"Please, there's no need to stand on ceremony for me."

"But that does raise a different question," Link added. "Why were you trying to capture Zelda and Malon?"

"_A few months after we were cursed, my family and I locked ourselves away from the rest of the village, so they would not mistake us for monsters. Ever since then, we've been searching for those to listen to our story, to save us. We've tried hundreds of times, but everyone flees at the sight of us. It was simpler to abduct them first and ask for their assistance later. After we brought them here, many would flee._"

"The evil spirits that whisk people away at night and break their sanity," Link realized, remembering what Doctor Hifden of Luxvil City said. "But why only target Zelda and Malon? Why didn't you try to kidnap me, Suvica, or Rail?"

"_We hoped the young ladies would be more sympathetic to our plight. The vast majority of males we tell our tale to always try to slay us._"

"Then you're all very lucky you're unable to feel pain with those bodies," Rail said, inspecting the whole range of the cursed families' injuries. "We hit you so many times, yet you barely flinched."

The father Ltula gave his family a sorrowful glance before replying, "_We can still feel pain, child. The reason we can tolerate the wounds you inflict upon us is because these bodies cause us even greater agony. From the day Ganondorf and his sorcerer cursed us into these forms, my family and I have been in unbearable agony, pain that triumphs over every physical wound imaginable. It took us months to learn how to tolerate the agony. We've tried taking our own lives, but this curse surrenders us to immortality. We cannot die, but neither can we live._"

"That's terrible," Zelda breathed, clutching her dress with trembling knuckles. "There must be something we can do for you!"

"_There is. The Golden Spider's Curse that was cast upon us can be broken. When my family and I were cursed, six Golden Spiders were born as a result. Should you find and slay a Golden Spider, one of us will revert to normal. Should you slay them all, my family and I will be able to enjoy our lives once more. Please, we beg of you! Find these Golden Spiders, slay them, and free us! We shall forever be indebted to you if you do!_"

"Why should we?" Suvica laughed wickedly, crossing his arms and glaring down at the cursed Ltula family. "We've got our own beef with Ganondorf! We can't start shouldering your problems willy-nilly! Come on, we're leaving!" The dragon turned his back to the family and headed for the door.

"_Please, my family is still incredibly wealthy! We will make you richer than the King of Hyrule, please take no offense Princess Zelda, should you help us!_"

Suvica spun around and grabbed Link's hands, his eyes shining like a pair of yellow rupees. "Link! We must help this poor family! It's our sacred duty to help those who need our aid and get filthy rich in the process!"

Navi was not amused with Suvica's change in heart. "Scumbag."

"We'll help," Link replied, shaking his hands out of Suvica's. "But if you knew where these Golden Spiders were, that'd make searching for them a bit easier."

The father Ltula shook his large head. "_I'm sorry to say that I haven't the foggiest idea where any of the Golden Spiders are located. All I can tell you is that they are on Hylian land, and they are powerful._"

"That sucks," Suvica groaned. "We'll probably spend the next six years looking for these Golden Spiders! One year per spider! Your reward better be worth it!"

"Don't worry, we'll search every corner of Hyrule if we must," Zelda promised, pushing Suvica aside and leaning close to the Ltula family. "For now, I will do what I can to alleviate your suffering. Farore's Decree." She extended both her hands, which emit a shower of green lilies onto the cursed family. When she stood up, the Ltula family was still trapped in their cursed forms, but there was something different about them from the way they experimentally moved their bodies.

"_The pain … it's gone …!_"

"_Mother! There's no more pain! There's no more pain!_"

"_Oh … oh! Oh! Oh! The pain is gone!_"

"What did you do?" Link asked, leaning close to the princess.

"Farore's Decree is a curse breaking spell. Though the Golden Spider's Curse is one of the greatest curses of Dark Magic, I was still able to take away their constant suffering." Zelda answered, smiling as she watched the Ltula family celebrate their newfound, if limited, freedom. "We must leave, Link. This poor family does not deserve to remain cursed a second longer."

"_Princess Zelda, please wait!_" the second son, Lin, said as he scurried towards them. "_Before you leave, you should visit the Kakariko Graveyard!_"

"The Graveyard? Is there a reason why?"

"_That is where the Composer Brothers sleep! Their restless spirits haunt the graveyard, but perhaps you can put them to rest as well!_"

Zelda nodded. "I will see what I can do." She turned to Link. "Can we go? Please?"

"As long as we leave for Goron City right after that, sure."

* * *

EDIT: Huh...when was last time the story was told from Link's point of view? Hm...I forgot. Well, no matter. We get to see how much the past is messing with Link's head, as well as his present situation as a candidate. Before I started this fanfiction story, I had already created an outline for the entire story, and I had hoped to stick by it. Now that the story has continued on, additional bits and pieces continue to stick to the story, altering it from my previously intended outline. For starters, Link should already be at the Goron's City by now, but because of a bunch of extra stuff, he's strayed off script a bit. Also, he originally had no plans on killing himself, but after considering everything he's gone through and putting together all the new information he's been forced to accept, I figured he needed a breaking point, so that's how this chapter came to light. And Navi has been gradually fading from the story, which worries me, so I'm letting it show how much Link needs her.

And thanks for the new reviews, they mean a lot to me! ^_^ New descriptive words? I'll work on that, thanks! I'll probably have to consult a dictionary or pay more attention in my Literary Classes, but don't expect too many drastic changes at the moment. I'll get better at it!

Next chapter will be told from...told from...eh...I don't know. If I had followed my original outline, Link should have killed the King Dodongo at this point and the point-of-view baton would have been handed to Malon. Erg...hm...well, it gives me something to think about. I'll tell you more about it in the next chapter. XD. For now, thanks for reading and feel free to review if you have any comments or concerns! Thank you!

EDIT: Considering how much the story has change, I knew Link wasn't the type to off himself, but calmly sort his feelings. Also, the truth of the Fiend is shed to light, foreshadowing how Dark Link will come along (if I ever get there). Also, Navi's true character is coming to light. If you've played Skyward Sword, you know who she is. If you haven't ... that's cool too! (7/4/12)


	19. Chapter 19, Composer Brothers

**Chapter 19**

**Composer Brothers**

Zelda heaved a sigh as she traversed the trimmed green ground between morning-lit buildings, absentmindedly following Link and the others. After leaving the Ltula family's shambled house, she discarded her guise of thoughtful royalty and proceeded to mull in her self-disappointment. Malon and Rail occasionally walked by her side, asking if everything was alright, but she shrugged them off with a strained smile and demoralized response. Her despondent attitude was even catching Suvica's unwanted attention (a real feat), resulting in the poor exchange of jokes that would only make sense to a dragon. Link never asked what was wrong with her, but it probably took him a single glance to discern her problem.

As they walked past the only unfinished structure in the Kakariko Village, Link politely asked Malon, Rail, and Suvica to proceed ahead of them to the Kakariko Graveyard. Malon and Rail left with nods and words of encouragement to Zelda while Suvica rooted himself to where he stood, demanding to know why he should take orders from Link. An easily resolved issue, as Link had the dragon dashing off to the graveyard with one sentence: "You never know, one of the Golden Spiders cursing the Ltula family might be haunting the graveyard." The rupee-loving dragon was gone before his kicked up grass could settle.

When the three of them (Navi squeezed her way out of Link's hood and settled herself on his shoulder) were alone at last, Link confronted her, demanding to know the source of her depression.

"It's nothing, I assure you," she told him; her attempt at reassurance sounded vain, even to herself.

Link grabbed her shoulders, pressing her against one of the timber posts which formed the foundation of the uncompleted house, and held her there. "Zelda, we're not taking a step from here until you tell me what's going on. The moment you had Suvica's attention, you had everyone's attention."

Zelda flushed a little from having Link so close, feeling the warmth thrumming from his skin. It also didn't help to have one of the male adults of the village skipped past them, giggling like a spoiled Noble girl, and squeaked, "Kiss, kiss!" She did her best to ignore the childish adult and told Link, "The only topics which trouble me are my own selfish concerns. You have no need to worry yourself over me."

Navi's vibrant blue body gave off a flash of brown, a change Zelda never knew fairies were capable of. "Link, tickle her. I know from experience, tickling is the greatest form of painless torture."

"First June and now Zelda? You really love tickling, don't you? Well, maybe later," Link said, not bothering to hide his growing grin. "Zelda?"

Although he only muttered her name, she felt the full interrogative force behind that one word; Link was going to get what he wanted, one way or the other. "You know, many ladies would not appreciate your pushy behavior. I am allowed to keep secrets, am I not?"

"No, you're not. Out with it."

Zelda rebelliously stared at Link, disbelieving his vigorous attitude. But what broke her defiance was not his persistent, but the shadows in his eyes. He was showing concern for her, worried she was suffering from problems too great for her to bear. This was the last thing Zelda wanted: For Link to start worrying about her. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? For what?"

"For bringing unease to your heart over my selfish welfare."

Link frowned, releasing her from against the timber support stand and taking a cross-legged seat on the ground. "Zelda, sit. Now." She obeyed, sliding her back against the wood frame and bending her knees to her chest as she hugged herself. "Now, let's try this again. Start again from the '_sorry_' part. Why are you sorry? And elaborate a bit more this time."

Zelda rested her chin on her knees. "Link, am I your friend?"

"Of course you are," was the immediate response.

"Do I deserve to be your friend?"

This time, even Navi was confused, her spherical body shone with a light-purple sheen. "Sure, I don't see why not. What are you getting at?"

"I am abhorrently selfish. You helped me discover who I am and what I want to do in order to become a better ruler. You freed me from my father's overprotective hand, allowing me to see Hyrule without a biased depiction. You assisted me in discovering my desire to help my people in any way I can. You were at my side, supporting me with every ounce of your ability, when we freed Denion City from Pavo. You saved me from death when I was falling off the back of a Peahat. You've been an irreplaceable friend and my closet companion, making these last few weeks the most meaningful experience in my life. You've helped me, supported me, and even saved me. You've done more for me than anyone else in my life, and I will be eternally grateful for that."

"Link … I never knew you meant so much to Princess Zelda," Navi whispered a little too loudly. "I always thought you were a self-centered boy who was dragging Princess Zelda along to his own pace."

"Hearing this from my own fairy partner, I'm wounded," He chuckled, suppressing his small fit of laughs with one hand.

Zelda tilted her head, as if this would help her see Link in a different light. It was almost impossible to believe the drastic changes he was undergoing. Just last night, he was mutilating himself, fracturing his own skull against a solid wood wall. It was to be expected, for he learned his heritage about the Fiend; how could any child not go mad? Yet then he miraculously recovered, more determined than before to halt Ganondorf and the Gerudo King's vile plans. What transpired during those few hours of night? The more she thought about it, the more heavily her heart pounded inside her chest. The fact was that _she_ wasn't the one who helped Link change, who helped him overcome his sorrow. She was supposed to be his friend, but when he was wounded by the tale of the Fiend, she did nothing to heal him. That knowledge clamped around her lungs as a pair of scalding iron claws; it restricted her breathing while causing great pain.

Link reclaimed Zelda's attention. "You still haven't told me why—"

"You've done so much for me, yet I've done nothing for you!" Zelda was barely pushing the words past her emotionally constricted throat. "You call me your friend, yet I cannot determine whether or not I am yours. I've done nothing but burden you. I could not help you resolve matters with your mother. I was helplessly lost when we spoke of your father. Yet the worse crime I've committed … is that I was not there for you when you needed help. I did not know Rail had told you about your father yesterday, before we dined for supper. Yet I could see, I could _feel_, your unbearable suffering. Every word you didn't speak screamed of confusion and every gesture you refused to make showed me your pain. I _knew_ you were being tortured, yet I did nothing. I ruefully believed no matter what enemy you crossed, physical or spiritual, you would overcome it. I had such blind faith in your abilities I abandoned you during your time of need. I am a leech, a parasite that takes and does not give. I cannot come to call myself your friend."

Link's face was carved from stone, and Navi's purple coating slowly dissolved into a glossy white.

"And my greatest regret, my greatest lament, is that I was not the one who told you about your father, about Cross the Fall … no … about Cross H. Skyloft. I wish I had been the one to tell you about your father, about what he had done, so that I could have been the first one to help you. Instead, I hoped ignorance would keep you safe and foolishly tried to keep your family's history from you. In the end, it was a thoughtless decision." Zelda felt her tears start to rebel against her, threatening to overflow from her eyes. She pressed her knees closer to her body, quickly rubbing her defiant tears onto her dress. She wasn't about to openly show her weakness in front of Link, not now. He looked like he'd recovered from his ordeal, but his smiling face could be a clever subterfuge meant to mask his true feelings; she wasn't about to pile her troubles onto him after last night, she just couldn't.

Link's reply came as a low whisper. "Anything else on your mind?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. I always claim that I'm trying to help the people of Hyrule, yet I cannot even help the one person closest to me. I'm a terrible person, making large promises when I cannot even keep the smallest ones. I'm a sorry excuse for a—"

_Flick!_

Zelda's head jut backwards as Link's index finger suddenly smacked her forehead. The back of her head struck the wooden beam of support behind her, bruising the back of her head as well as the front. As she regained her rambled thoughts, rubbing her front and back wounds while blinking past tears, she unexpectedly found Link snickering.

"What was that for?" she demanded, rather put off at his laughing after she spoke of all her self-regrets to him.

"Leave it to you to find a reason to wallow up worries," Link chuckled, shaking the finger he used to flick her forehead. "You love to make problems for yourself, don't you?"

"What? Certainly not! I'm being quite straight forward!"

"Then let me be blunt: Stop worrying me!" Link struck Zelda with the last three words, using every fist of air in his lungs. "I thought something happened to you! I thought someone threatened you! When we left the Ltula family's house and I saw your face fall, you scared half my forest soul from my body!"

Zelda had to blink twice before understanding the true impact behind Link's words. "You … were scared? For me?"

"Yes! I was afraid something bad was happening to you! I was wracking my brain, searching for a cause, a culprit, anything to understand what you were feeling! And then you tell me that you're feeling guilty because you couldn't help me last night?"

"No … um … please wait. Turn the scroll back a few rolls please … you were scared?"

"Am I not allowed to be?"

"Well, I don't know! You've always been so bold and brave, I thought you were incapable of fear! I didn't dare think you could feel fear for my sake!"

In a dulled voice, a concoction of relief, empathy, and fickle annoyance, Link reviewed and summarized the events that occurred last night while Zelda and the others slept.

When he was done, Zelda said the smartest thing she could think of: "Huh?"

"Like I said, my dad …" Link looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, "… Cross, is innocent. He wasn't the Fiend. His counterpart, Dark Cross, was."

"What … but … Navi, you honestly believe your tale?"

"Hey!" The fairy snapped irritably, "I'm not lying, if that's what you're implying!"

"But … you _guided_ the Master Sword to Link's father during the Great War? You can't expect me to believe such a preposterous tale so easily! If all this is true, _what_ are you? I've never heard of any being, physical, spiritual, or magical, with such a close connection to the Master Sword! Who are you, Navi?"

"That's what I want to know," Link interjected. "But she loved her secrets. She won't be telling anyone anytime soon, so don't let it bug you too much. Besides, aren't you more surprised to hear about my dad's innocence?"

"If Navi's tale rings true, most certainly! But, and please don't take this the wrong way, how do you know Navi is not lying for your sake? What if she fabricated her story in order to placate your emotions?"

Link looked to his partner. "Were you lying, Navi?"

"Nope, I wasn't," Navi replied.

"There, you see? She wasn't lying. Better?"

Zelda gawked at the pair of them. "You two are most unbelievable! But that does not change anything! I wasn't the one who helped you! I'm glad Navi soothed you with her version of the Fiend, but it does not change the fact that I abandoned you in your greatest moment of need!"

Link propped his elbows onto his knees and rested his chin in the palms of his hands. "Tell me this, does Malon look troubled?"

"Malon? Well … not too much. She appeared distressed for a mere moment, but regained her praise-worth cheer soon after."

"What about Rail?"

Zelda tried hard to think back; a few moments ago, more than half her mind was relentless scolding herself while the remaining portion actually paid attention to the people around her. "Rail appeared … troubled. But I do believe he thought you were fine and released his worries."

"And Suvica?"

"Suvica is … Suvica. There's really no need to say anymore."

"And last and certainly the least, how about you?" Link asked, pointing a rather rude finger at her.

"I'm regretting."

"Exactly. I don't know what everyone is thinking all the time, besides Suvica, but I do know they trust me enough not to worry about me. You're the only one beating yourself up about my stupid actions last night. What happened, happened! You don't have the power to jump back and forth in time, and neither do I! If you feel so remorseful about your lack of action, then change! If you see me struggle, help me! If you see me suffer, heal me! If you see me fall, support me! Crying about what you couldn't do won't get you anywhere, believe me, it won't!" Link spoke his last sentence with a clear yet softened tone, filling Zelda with a sense of embarrassment and relief.

Freely allowing a tear to wet the corner of her eyes, Zelda smiled. "Why is it, when I'm alone, I feel like I'm suffering the worst, yet when I talk to you, my pitiful worries seem so meager?"

Link laughed. "That's because they are." He hopped to his feet, holding out a helpful hand for her. "But no matter how meager, I'll help you out with them. If you feel like I'm doing too much for you and you're doing too little for me, don't fret it. We're friends, stuff like this is natural." He paused. "Perhaps."

Zelda rolled her eyes (a first for her). "You certainly inspire confidence," she grinned, accepting his hand and allowing him to pull her up. "Thank you. I don't deserve a friend like you."

"Even if you don't deserve me, I still want you."

Zelda would've let a bit of her embarrassment color her cheeks if only she hadn't heard someone whistle loudly above her. When she looked up to see the source, she spotted four grown men, each with the body build of a carpenter, balancing on the incomplete house's frame above them; each were making disgustingly snobbish cheers and puckered kissing sounds. These grown men had been observing Zelda as she confessed her heart out and were acting like they were watching a melodrama on a Hylian Stage Play.

Vividly annoyed, Zelda shouted, "Din's Fire!" and blasted the four adults into four separate directions with a moderated ball of fire.

"Going, going, going, and gone," Navi commented, watching four streaks of black smoke line the sky. Zelda smiled, feeling oddly refreshed, but yelped when a booming voice screamed in her ear.

"LASSIE! What in the King's name do you think you're doing?"

Zelda stumbled, knocking herself into Link as she turned around, ears aching, at the source of the sound explosion. An elderly man, whose white hair contradicted his muscular body, was stomping towards her. She could tell this elder was, at the very least, over seventy years old, yet had the body of the fittest Hylian soldier. The top half of his head was devoid of hair and wrinkles, a dome which shone with an odd glow beneath the sun. His cobalt jacket and colorless trousers were worn down from excessive use, and his ashen mustache quivered in outrage as he glared at the fading lines of black smoke in the sky (Zelda made sure each of the four childish carpenters landed within the village's boundaries).

Navi dove into Link's hood and out of sight while he asked the obvious question. "Who are you?"

"Introduce yourselves before demanding the names of others, lad!" the muscled elder boomed, standing firm before them and crossing his well toned arms. "Didn't your parents teach you any manners?"

"They abandoned me as a baby."

"And I can see why! (_Not the usual response_, Zelda thought) If you were my brat, I'd spank the spunk right out of your rear, hanging you outside the village to be fodder for the dead, and then drag your sorry behind to the Gerudos so they'd have some extra chopped liver!"

Zelda gulped; her father's occasional outbursts of anger were nothing compared to this. "Do … do you have any children … mister?"

"Introduce yourselves first, brats! Don't think you can threaten me with magic, lassie! I don't care if you were born with your sassy powers or if some crabby Great Fairy was stupid enough to give them to you! You don't scare me!" To prove a point, the elder lifted two burgundy bricks from a pile of building materials near the base of the unfinished house and balanced them in his hands. He wrapped his scarred fingers around their crusty surface and grinded them into dust with his bare hands. "Don't underestimate the strength of Hyrule's finest carpenter!"

Zelda was swift to answer. "I'm Zel—Navi! Navi of Oron City! This is my brother, Link! We're visiting Death Mountain! Can … we have your name, mister?"

"Mason!" the elder barked, speaking his name with pride. "Hyrule's greatest carpenter! And those four fools you burnt to a crisp were my disciples!"

Link's cheeks buff up, and then a laugh slipped past his pressed lips. Zelda narrowed her dread-filled eyes on him, wondering how he could express himself so freely with an ogre leering down at them. "Those guys are your disciples? You're talking to us about our lack of respect, when your disciples are like _that_?" He pointed to a nearby tree, where one of the four blown away disciples was hanging by his feet from the lowest branch while giggling with insane pleasure.

A cord bulged in Mason's neck, but he made no reproach. "You're right about that, lad. I've been too soft on those slackers. They used to be the second, third, forth, and fifth greatest carpenters of Hyrule! I worked them hard, I did! Drilled all my techniques and skills into their thick skulls and crafted them into men I could be proud of! As a reward, I granted them a day off, and this is what they become! Slackers! Little girls! They're no good sons of bi—!"

"We get the idea," Link interrupted. "Hard to believe one day off could do this to grown men. When did this happen?"

Mason gargled a wad of spit and spat it out a few feet away. "A few months ago, and can you believe this? I gave them the day off to celebrate Commander Ganondorf's arrival to Kakariko Village! He was stopping by our humble village to visit the Gorons, so I decided to give my boys a break! Next thing I know, they turn into a rambling bunch of babies, right in front of the Commander himself! Can you imagine my shame?"

Instead of shame, Zelda felt chilled alarm. Could it be a coincidence that the hard working carpenters of Hyrule suddenly decided to lose their sanity the same day Ganondorf arrived?

"What were you and your carpenters working on?" Link asked.

"The Kakariko Village's expansion! This was a request that came directly from Lady Impa and King Ceylon!"

"My fath … King Ceylon? Not just Lady Impa?"

"That's right! Do you think they're expanding this place for fun? No! By turning this desolate little camping spot into a bustling city, we'd have more travelers, more families, and more people coming by! Not only that, it'd improve the flow of commerce and trade with the Gorons by having such a large city close to their home! This was a project we desperately needed to improve our relationship with the Gorons! But now my men are feet-licking idiots, so we can't get any work done! The very _last_ thing I need is for you, a spoiled little witch, to go blowing up my men and destroying what little work we've accomplished!"

"I'm … terribly sorry," Zelda apologized with a bow.

"You should be! I can't have some fool causing wide scaled destruction!"

With almost comical timing, Zelda heard lightning strike. Her ears were assaulted by the resounding explosion, which was soon followed by another, and another, and then another. To add to that, she heard a terribly familiar voice roar, "DIE AGAIN ALREADY!" The voice continued to bellow, and was soon accompanied by the grating noise of shattering stone: Gravestone.

Link turned his head to the ruckus, focusing his eyes towards the Kakariko Graveyard. "Wow, his timing is almost way too good. Think he was listening in on us and purposely started messing around at this particular moment?"

Zelda considered the possibility. "Unlikely?" She turned to Mason, whose wrinkled eyes were wider than her fists. "I'm truly very sorry, Mason. That's my older brother, and I will scold him later." Before the elder could get his hackles up, they ran for the Kakariko Graveyard.

* * *

The cemetery was at the south-eastern part of the Kakariko Village. There was an opening in the cliff-face circling the village, a narrow chasm leading to a smaller scoop on Death Mountain's side, the Kakariko Graveyard. As Zelda and Link got closer, the shouts, roars, and cursing got louder.

"Honestly, does he have no respect for those who have passed?" Zelda fumed as they approached the narrow gorge, the entrance to the graveyard. "I know the poor Ltula family requested we bring peace to the ghosts of the Composer Brothers, but I do strongly believe that upturning a graveyard with fists and bolts of lighting is not the way!"

"Did you really expect anything else from Suvica?" Link smirked.

Zelda yielded to the inevitable. "I suppose not."

The chasm was blessedly short (Zelda was opposed to large walls and small spaces; they reminded her of home), and the two of them found themselves in a rectangular indent of land. Gravestones lined the ground, both horizontally and vertically. Some were on higher plots of land than others, but it didn't diminish the large quantity of graves. At the very end, on the far side of the graveyard, was a large tombstone, the Royal Family Tombstone, neighbored by two smaller graves, the graves of the Composer Brothers.

Their only problem now was the Link-look-alike in the center of the burial ground, upturning chunks of dirt with his flapping wings, tossing headstones like pebbles with his bare hands, and shooting bolts of lightning from his mouth between his brief intervals for air. His tail was carving deep trenches of bones and dirt in the soil as it unexpectedly lashed out every now and then. Malon and Rail were sitting near the edge of the death field, cross legged and chatting like this was an everyday occurrence.

"Malon, Rail!" Zelda called their names, sprinting over to them. They spotted her and eagerly waved in return.

"Are you alright now?" Malon asked, bounding to her feet and hugging Zelda tightly. "I was worried, but it looks like Fairy Boy fixed you up nicely!"

"What were you so depressed about before?" Rail inquired.

"Your questions can wait. What I'm worried about now is _that_," Zelda pointed at Suvica, who had a gravestone in each hand and was swinging them like clubs. It looked like he was trying to hit something, yet there was no sign of any enemies. "Can either of you please tell me why Suvica is acting like that, and why no one is trying to stop him?"

"For starters," Rail said, "No one is stupid enough to try and stop Suvica but Link. Secondly—"

"—Take a closer look!" Malon explained, gesturing towards the rampaging dragon. "Take a really, really close look, or you won't see them!"

"See who?" Link asked.

"The ghosts!"

Zelda redirected her attention to the dragon and followed Malon's advice. At first, all she could see was a lightning lizard disrespecting those who passed away. The more she watched, the more she fought the desire to smack the dragon. She couldn't see anything expect the arrogant lizard. Zelda wanted to turn around and demand a better explanation from Malon and Rail, but then Link said, "I see them. Here, follow my finger and look hard." He wrapped one arm around her shoulder, pressed his cheek against hers so they were eye-to-eye, and pointed. Zelda felt her heart give out a small stutter with Link so close, but she wasn't about to let her personal feelings stop her from identifying the reason why Suvica was acting so sporadically.

Zelda traced Link's finger as it followed an invisible figure eluding her eyes. Finally, with time and Link's guidance, she saw them. They were a blotch of distorted space, where light curved around their silhouettes. Line by line, her mind drew out the invisible enemy's figure. The two flying apparitions each held a lantern-shaped object in one hand and a sharpened stick in the other, and were assaulting Suvica with both. Because they were invisible (or rather, transparent), she couldn't identity any definitive features, but could tell the two of them had similar shapes and statures. Though she was now aware of their presence, she couldn't get a solid grip on them; the two transparent figures weren't flying very fast (they were actually rather sluggish), but their erratic flight patterns made it easy to lose tract of them. They were like flies; they weren't fast at all, yet you couldn't keep your eyes on them. Adding together the invisible foes and Suvica's random acts of destruction, Zelda concluded the dragon knew the general location of the invisible spirits but not their exact positioning.

"How can Suvica tell what to aim for?" Zelda asked, thanking Link for his help and pushing herself away from him. If it was her fighting those spirits, she knew she'd lose track of them the moment she engaged them; the only reason she could keep her eyes on them now was thanks to Link's aid and because she was observing the battle from a distance. Suvica was fighting these ghosts while they were circling, jabbing, and smacking him, all while purposely staying out of his direct line of vision. There was no way the dragon was discerning their location through sight.

"Suvi said he smelled bad Cucco meat and suddenly started beating up the dead people's graves," Malon explained, resuming her seated position. "After Rail and I stepped back a bit, we noticed the fuzzy looking things in the air and knew Suvi could smell the ghosts."

Zelda's interests were starting to diverge between relevant and irrelevant. "Ghosts smell like bad Cucco meat? Really?"

Rail lifted and dropped his shoulders. "How would we know? I think only Suvica can smell it with his dog nose."

"So are we going to help him now that everyone's here?" Malon asked.

Suvica was juggling five gravestones, chucking each of them, with terrible aim, at the elusive ghosts that haunted him. Two of the gravestones flew over the mountain ledge surrounding the graveyard and disappeared into the sky, one was thrown straight up and came right back down, another knocked over four other headstones in its path, and Suvica's final missile passed by Link's head, missing him by a mere inch. If anything else, Zelda wanted to side with the ghosts and beat up Suvica.

"I don't see how we can help," Rail yawned, lying back down on the grass, "Besides, between invisible evil spirits and a pissed off dragon, I know which one I'm more afraid of."

"And I don't think helping Suvica beat up a few ghosts will bring peace to these spirits," Link noted. "Although … since we don't know how to bring peace to angry spirits to begin with, Suvica's idea is the only one we've got."

"Link, you can't honestly believe you can defeat a ghost?" Zelda said.

"Why not? I've never tried before." Link drew his sword. He didn't don his wooden shield, but aligned the blade with his eyes, pointed the tip of the sword towards Suvica, and raised his right hand as if to use it as a scope to aim at his target. Zelda briefly remembered that stance and took a few steps back as Link's magic started to cause the tip of his sword to glow with a powerful blue light. He took another minute to readjust his aim, occasionally shifting the point of his sword at his invisible target.

Then he lashed out, stabbing forward while twisting the blade. The resulting motion caused a lance of threaded blue energy to shoot from his sword. The spear of magic flew across the graveyard and shattered against an invisible source of resistance. The thousand magical threads of Link's spear-version Spin Attack encased the invisible ghost as it splintered, momentarily coating the spirit's body before shooting it out of the air and smashing it into the ground.

The second hazed outline froze as it watched its companion get taken out, which happened to be a very bad mistake. Suvica's nostrils flared as he caught scent of his unmoving foe, his head snapped towards the paused ghost's direction; he fired an extra large lightning bolt at the spirit. After his electricity tore through the ghost, the crisped specter staggered out of the air, only to be brutally whipped by Suvica's tail. It shot across the graveyard and collided into the headstone to the right of the Royal Family Tombstone.

"Up yours," Suvica snarled, withdrawing his wings and tail into his human body. "What took you so long, Forest Boy?"

Link sheathed his weapon. "I didn't think you needed help that badly."

Suvica cracked his neck. "I didn't. You're the one who stuck his nose into my business."

"Ungrateful lizard," Navi murmured.

"So were those the Composer Brothers?" Suvica asked, waltzing over to the tombstone beside the Royal Family Tombstone to inspect his kill. "Think their fighting spirits were seeking a challenge so they came back from the grave to fight?"

"That's the stupidest thing I've heard you say yet," Rail noted. The dragon made a rude gesture at Rail, but kept his peace. Link crossed the cemetery (or what was left of it) with Zelda and Rail at his back to inspect his kill, while Malon jogged over towards Suvica. There was a deep gash in the ground from where the ghost Link defeated had landed, yet there was no sign of the spiritual being. Suvica confirmed the "rancid smell of dead Cucco" was also gone.

The ghosts had vanished.

Zelda wasn't too surprised. Ghost stories always spoke about how the restless spirits could fade in and out of existence. However, they failed to mention the pillars of green flames which unexpectedly ignited in the areas where Link and Suvica defeated their ghostly foes. Link took two steps backwards, pushing Zelda and Rail along with him, when the flames burst forth. Suvica, when his fallen foe also transcended into green flames, grabbed Malon by the collar of her dress and leapt backwards, calling forth his wings and hovering in midair as the flames eventually died down into a fireplace-sized blaze.

_GYAAAH! You killed me!_

_ I'm dead! I'm dead!_

Two different voices resonated from the astral-flames, sounding like an echo bouncing off the side of a vast mountain range. Each syllable caused the tongues of green flames to flicker and wane.

"The dead are speaking to us from beyond the realm!" Rail exclaimed, staring into the heart of the green fires. "Incredible!"

"I like the dead when they shut up and stay still," Suvica spat, landing back on his feet four yards away from his green bonfire. He let go of Malon's dress, gently setting her down.

The flames flickering in front of Zelda, signifying the ghost Link defeated, flew to the headstone on the left of the Royal Family Tombstone, hovering a few inches above the grave. The astral fire before Suvica and Malon readjusted itself so it was directly over the grave to the right of the Royal Family Tombstone. Zelda, Link, and Rail joined up with Suvica and Malon, and the five of them stood their ground as they faced the phantom flares.

"Can we have your names?" Link asked, cautiously hefting his sword.

_We shall never answer to the servants of Ganondorf!_ The flame on the left declared.

_We, the Composer Brothers, shall be forever loyal to the Royal Family of Hyrule, both in life and in death!_ The flame to the right added, its green blaze brightening considerably.

Link sheathed his weapon. "I'm almost insulted. Who says we're working for Ganondorf?"

"I don't work for anyone but myself," Suvica growled.

"I'm just tagging along, really," Malon said after raising her hand.

"I serve my ideals," Rail stated, placing his hands on his hip and glaring sternly into the flames, like he was starting a staring contest.

Zelda looked at one flame and then at the other. She felt no malice, only loyalty and dedication. "I am Princess Zelda of Hyrule. I would never bow before Ganondorf."

The two flames started to sputter, almost to the point of dying out.

_P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P-Princess Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Zelda?_

_ M-M-My p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-princess!_

The two flames needed five minutes before they could stop stuttering, and even then, they were rather hyper-active.

_Forgive our prior rudeness, Sir Suvica. We had no idea you were an ally to our dear Princess of Hyrule._

_ Yes. You see, you have the scent of a monster, and beasts follow only themselves or the Gerudos. Forgive us for coming to the wrong conclusion._

"Don't worry, you never stood a chance against me to begin with," Suvica laughed.

_Perhaps you are correct. Where are our manners? I am one of the Royal Composer Brothers, Sharp the Elder. It is an honor to meet you all._

_ And I am the second of the Royal Composer Brothers, Flat the Younger. Likewise, the honor is all mine._

"We're pleased to meet your acquaintance, Sharp and Flat," Zelda nodded.

_So what brings our dear Princess Zelda to our humble grave?_ Sharp inquired.

"We are here at the request of the Ltula Family. They asked we bring peace to your restless souls."

_The Princess of Hyrule would come to this faraway village just to cleanse our unworthy souls? We are honored beyond words!_ Flat replied, lacing his sentence with unquestionable gratitude.

"So why are you guys so restless?" Link asked.

_To be quite frank, we are not restless spirits at all, my dear child. I'm dearly sorry our actions have aroused the concerns of the unfortunate Ltula Family, but we brothers have brought ourselves forth, from beyond the grave, to protect the Royal Family Tomb and our life's work_, Sharp answered, his flames waving gently.

"You brought yourselves back?" Malon asked, wide eyed. "Is something like that possible? Can anyone come back like you did if they try?"

It was Flat's turn to answer. _No, my dear. My brother and I prearranged our fates, so that our souls would return from the Temple of Shadows so we could serve the Royal Family once more._

Rail couldn't hide his admiration; his face softened in awe. "That is true dedication. The two of you have my respect."

"But did you purposely bring your souls back because you want to forever serve the Royal Family, or because you knew you were both going to die when you were still alive?" Link inquired.

_You are a sharp one, my boy, just like me_,Sharp complimented, allowing his burning soul to rest easily against his grave's headstone. _You are correct. My brother and I knew our end was nigh, so to ensure the evil one who slew us would never obtain the cultivation of our research, we brought our souls back from the shadows._

"The one who slew you both … was it Ganondorf?" Zelda asked.

Flat's soul bobbled, expressing his shaking anger. _Indeed it was, my princess. He wanted what we knew, and he hounded our knowledge with a wrath greater than a blood-hungered dragon's. _

"Did he succeed? Did he take your research?" Link demanded.

_Fear not, for we have continued to protect our life's work from beyond life and into death itself._ Sharp assured him.

Their prolonged conversation begged forth a different question, one Zelda couldn't resist asking. "If you can tell us, then please do so. What were you both researching so diligently?"

The Composer Brothers paused, as if contemplating what the results their actions today might cause tomorrow. Eventually, Sharp the Elder said, _Please know I tell you our secret because of our utmost respect and trust in you, Princess Zelda, and in your companions. Please, do not tell our secret to others, peasant or nobility, innocent or prying._

"You have my word," Zelda said before readily glaring at Suvica. If there was anyone in this small group she couldn't bring herself to trust, it was the dragon.

Suvica caught her leering glare and smirked. "Fear not, Princess. I'm already satisfied with the reward coming my way once I hunt down and tear apart the six Golden Spiders."

Zelda had to refrain herself from kicking Suvica out of the graveyard right then and there. "You have my word and trust, neither I nor my companions will breathe a word of your secret to unwanted ears."

_Then you have our thanks and our story_, Flat replied. _During our brief time amongst the living, many people called us the Great Composers because of the many musical masterpieces we wrote. But we brothers were not just Great Composers, we were dedicated researchers and scholars._

Sharp picked up the story. _Long ago, all those who were born within the boundaries of the Kakariko Village were born to serve the Royal Family of Hyrule, and my brother and I were no exception. Please do not misunderstand, we enjoyed serving under the King and Queen, for serving them granted us great pleasure._

_ And when our King and Queen summoned us with a mission only we could undertake, our hearts orchestrated a symphony of joy!_ Flat sang. _The king of our time, King Rondell, was aware of a mysterious power hidden within the power of songs! He requested that we Composer Brothers play deeper into this mystery, to analyze its keys and tones to better understand this unique sonata. And so we dwelled deeper into this mystery than any concerto which came before._ The musical terms were starting to confuse Zelda, but she had no desire to stop them; this was their moment and theirs alone.

Sharp's flaming soul licked and torched the air around him as he spoke. _As we studied the hereditary powers music, we discovered something which sent an allegro through our very spines! The sheer number of abilities hidden away within the tones of music goes on and on! Commanding absolute authority! Holding conversations over long distances! Instant teleportation! Control of the sun and moon! Dominance over the heavens! The script dwells on and on!_

Zelda's jaw stiffened in awe; if what the Composer Brothers said was true, music held incredible powers. She wondered if her friends were equally surprised as she was. Malon was certainly impressed, Rail was trying to look like he was paying attention, and Suvica was mumbling the words "fortune" and "reward." Only Link was unsurprised by the ghostly brother's words; in fact, he seemed to be keenly aware of the power of music.

_ But there was one song which seized our souls like no other!_ Flat cried, his excitement represented by the strengthening color of his flame. _The legendary Song of Time! No one knows the mysterious origin of this song, yet none can deny its power! The musical prowess this song presented was extraordinary, and became the main focus of our research! Our studies brought the topic of the Triforce upon us a great many times, though the fruits of our Triforce research are not but seedlings. What we did discover, however, is that a certain number of correctly performed melodies can transcend life and death!_

"That's how you brought your souls back from the dead? With a song?" Suvica scoffed, always the skeptic.

Sharp laughed, puffing emerald smoke from his soul. _Indeed we did. Our research was taxing but rewarding. Although we unearthed many secrets which deserve to remain buried, we managed to discover several divine songs, each with the capability of manipulating time, space, and even death._

Malon raised her hand, again. "But how? How can songs have so great power? What if someone accidentally stumbles across a divine song?"

_Unlikely, my child!_ Sharp laughed. _It took us, the Composer Brothers, decades to uncover a handful of songs which contain the divine notes of the Goddesses! It is unlikely some half-wit musicians can achieve the same!_

"So how did you discover these divine songs? Practice?" Malon continued.

_Mostly trial and error, as a matter of fact. We discovered there are many who are, how can we say this, _attune _to the notes of the Goddesses. These are mostly spiritual beings of great power, geniuses of musical mastery, or members of the Royal Family._

Flat's soul dimmed as he spoke. _We could never bother our king, queen, or prince with our trivial needs. No, we used other means to discover as many divine songs as possible. You may not know this, but—_

"—There are members of the Royal Family which live amongst the common folk, correct?" Zelda finished, giving Rail a small glance. "Yes, we are aware."

Malon's jaw dropped. "We are?"

Zelda rephrased her statement. "Yes, I was aware."

_Ah … I see. You've met a member of the Royal Family who is unaware of his status?_ Sharp asked.

"Yes, I have."

Even Suvica's eyebrows went up. "You have?"

"We all have."

"Who?" Rail asked eagerly.

"Please continue with your story," Zelda pressed on; she wasn't sure how Rail would react if he knew he was a member of Lost Royalty, a forgotten member of the Royal Family.

_Um … yes, of course, my princess. Anyhow, we chanced upon a young lad who possessed a well refine taste in music and was also one of Lost Royalty. Although, as I recall, his instrument of choice was a rather peculiar one, was it not, dear brother Sharp?_

_ Yes it was, my little brother Flat. I wonder how he fares now?_

Zelda cleared her throat, loudly.

_Oh, pardon us. _Sharp's soul shifted over his grave. _Anyhow, with his help and talent, along with our knowledge in musical arts, we rediscovered several works of music and magical art. The Nocturne of Shadow, the song which binds our souls to this world, is one of them. There are a few other songs we uncovered as well, each of which could wreck untold levels of havoc and chaos if used by one with evil intent._

"That's what Ganondorf wanted, your magical songs?" Link asked.

_Yes, he wanted the scripts containing our discoveries. _Flat confirmed. _Once the melody is memorized, anyone can use its power. That is why we conducted our research in secret, so evil could never taste the fruits of our labor._

_When Ganondorf discovered what we Composer Brothers were working on, he sought us out and demanded we hand over all our research to him. We refused, so the dark lord gave us one day to change our minds. Instead, my younger brother and I used the Nocturne of Shadow to bind our souls to this world, so we could protect our research even in death._

"Hardcore," Suvica admitted, almost sounding impressed by the dedication of the Composer Brothers.

_Now here we are, living a life after death, protecting one of our secret songs._ Flat said.

Zelda felt a twinge of curiosity. "One? Did you not discover many?"

Sharp's flaming soul made a bobble motion, a nod. _That we did. However, no matter how fierce our determination or how powerful the song, our souls cannot remain attached to this world forever. Thus, we prepared for the worst. Should Ganondorf or one of his vile servants return to this tomb, after we brothers have finally passed on, and desecrate the resting place of our beloved kings and queens, they will find only one of the divine songs we uncovered. The others we have spread to the far corners of Hyrule, hopefully beyond the reaches of evil._

_Princess Zelda, you fight with your companions against Ganondorf, do you not? _Sharp asked. Zelda confirmed she did. _If that is true, then please, enter your ancestor's sacred tomb. Deep within you're the burial grounds, we have written the first of the magical songs. Please, use it to defy the dark lord's will._

Zelda's first feelings were absolute terror. How could she possibly defile the sacred grounds in which her ancestors slept? To do so would bring unrest to their souls and call down a hundred years of curses and bad luck upon herself and her family. "Sharp the Elder, Flat the Younger. I'm certain you act with only Hyrule's greatest interests in mind, but I cannot possibly disrupt the slumber of my ancestors! To do so would be …" she didn't finish her sentence, allowing her silence to express the gravity of such a crime.

Suvica stepped forth, reaffirming her previous desire about kicking him out of the Kakariko Graveyard. "What are you so worried about, Princess? Your great ancestors are nothing more than dusty bones and peeled skin now. How are they supposed to care whether or not we take a stroll around their bodies? Move aside, I'll break this boulder and we'll be inside in no time."

He rudely shoved her aside, allowing her no chance to stop him as he walked up to the Royal Family Tombstone, raise his clenched right hand, and slam his fist into the wide stone tablet bearing all the names of previous Hylian kings and queens. She was absolutely appalled by the dragon's thoughtless actions and disrespect, but her dismay was routed by puzzled relief when Suvica drew back his fist to reveal an unmarked tombstone.

"Guess you're not up to your usual standards. You eat something bad this morning?" Rail asked snidely.

Suvica ground his teeth in frustration. He curled both his hands into fists and let loose a substantial onslaught of boulder-crushing punches onto the surface of the Royal Family Tombstone. Zelda could feel her stomach swish and churn in nauseating concern with each hit, yet when Suvica stopped his rampage and took a step back, the Royal Family Tomb remained unscathed.

"That's … not … possible," he gasped in disbelief, staring at his hands to make sure they were his own. "There's no rock I can't break, even in this ridiculously weak human body."

Sharp's soul laughed. _Your strength is impressive, beast, but I regret to inform you that even Ganondorf would find great difficulty in opening this tombstone. There is only one way to easily open the Royal Family Tombstone without relying upon violence, and that is with a song._

The veins in Suvica's head almost burst. "Are you telling me some whistled tune can bust open this giant rock not even my fists can crack?"

_That's correct._

Suvica threw his arms over his head in exasperation. "Great, great! Next thing I know, you'll be taming dragons with lullabies!"

Link ignored Suvica as the dragon vehemently fumed to himself. "Can you tell us then? Can you tell us how to play the song we need to open the Royal Family Tomb?"

Both the souls turned to Zelda (or that's how it looked), and Flat said, _Princess Zelda, you know the song. It was our gift to King Rondell back when we still breathed the air you drink now, a song of Absolute Authority. If any member of the Royal Family plays this song, they can speak with unconditional influence._

All eyes were suddenly on Zelda, a sense of pressure she really didn't need. "A song of Absolute Authority? I know nothing of such a song."

Sharp shook his soul. _No, you do. We can see it in your spirit; our song is as much a part of you as is your heart and mind. You have heard this song all your life without realizing its power. _Suddenly, Sharp and Flat's souls began to diminish to the point of being in danger of dying out entirely. _It seems we have spoken for too long. We must rest now, to conserve our strength so we may protect this tomb until the fire of our souls die out. Princess Zelda, we pray for your success and health. _The two emerald flames sputtered one last time before disappearing, signaling an end to their conversation with the Great Composers.

"Well?" Suvica threw himself onto the ground so he was lying down. "Show us the great melody that surpasses the might of a dragon!"

"Don't rush her!" Malon reprimanded. She walked over to Suvica and plopped herself onto his chest, gushing the air from his lungs in a small spray of sparks. "Give her some time to remember!"

"Will it help you if we leave you alone?" Rail asked, looking over his shoulder and towards the graveyard's exit.

"No, not really," Zelda replied sadly, glancing at the Royal Family Tombstone. "I fear our stay here might be in vain, for I cannot tell what song the Composer Brothers spoke of. Perhaps we should leave and begin our trek towards the Goron's City."

Link placed a reassuring hand on Zelda's shoulder, giving her a lightly shake. "Like Malon said, no need to rush yourself. Stop. Breathe. Think. Clear out your head and think of a song, and if you know it, it'll come to you."

_He always knows what to _say. Outward, Zelda nodded, letting her head hang as she closed her eyes. On the inside, she felt his words collect a modem of warmth in her chest. Still, there was a task at hand, and she couldn't be sidetracked for too long. She took a small puff of air, letting her chest fill with oxygen before exhaling with her nose. Then she let her memories wander, allowed her sense of self to slip away into her own sea of memories. Images of her past surfaced, usually the most dramatic. She remembered her first inner castle garden, yet was stabbed by pangs of disappointment when she realized it was meant to be a substitute for the outside world. She recalled her ninth birthday, sitting alone in an empty room with nothing but an overly-large cake and Impa to celebrate with. She could count all the days she spent alone, locked in her room, with nothing but the books on her shelves and the scrolls in her desk to occupy herself with. Then she remembered _that_ dream, when she foretold Hyrule's destruction at Ganondorf's hand yet was weighed down by her own inability to take direct action against him. All these memories brought forth a surge of empty darkness, crashing against her ears as a horrendous storm.

But then it faded, giving way to the light as she remembered Link, a welcomed anomaly to her structured days. She felt her reluctant exhilaration as Link took her away from Hyrule Castle, her joy when she could speak freely with others such as Malon. More memories were summoned, each more vivid than the rest. Certainly, there were hard times outside the safety of Hyrule Castle's walls, but they were worth it. As she was soothingly embraced by the recent memories of her journeys with Link, Navi, Malon, and Rail (Suvica was omitted for obvious reasons), she heard something. At the edge of her consciousness, she heard a familiar tune, a light hearted harmony complimenting her happiest memories.

_Of course!_ _How could I have forgotten_? She had discarded the possibility because of its ludicrous likelihood, but this was the one thing Zelda enjoyed about her life inside Hyrule Castle: This nostalgic song. She remembered hearing it as a baby, before attaining a conscious mind, when Impa sang it to her during her most troubled days: Zelda's favorite lullaby.

She opened her eyes, and with her head bent forward, she noticed something she'd previous neglected: The symbol of the Triforce imprinted into the ground beneath her feet.

This had to be it.

"Link, may I please borrow your ocarina?" Zelda requested. He placed his pink ocarina into the palm of her hand, and with the skill and dexterity of a veteran, Zelda positioned her fingers over the proper keys and lifted the ocarina's mouthpiece to her lips. She never played this song before, or even used a musical instrument in her life, but she'd heard this song so many times it was already a part of her.

Zelda played, her fingers instinctively flowing across the ocarina's holes as the song expressed itself from her heart. Following a firm paced tempo, she let the notes rise and fall, masterfully weaving together a melody swelling in her chest. Although her fingers flowed gracefully across the ocarina, her heart hammered as remembrance and undeterminable stimulation brought tears to her eyes. The song Zelda performed was spellbinding; she didn't need to look to know her friends were mesmerized.

Thunder roared above them to match the rhythm of her performance, and the light beneath her eyelids faded as clouds were summoned from the heavens to blotch out the sky. During the span of this one performance, Zelda was the master of the sky and earth. The world was a toy in the palm of her hands; she could brush her fingers against the crust of the earth, weave her hands around the winds of the world. A song of Absolute Authority, as the Composer Brothers had put it; a fitting description.

She reached the end of her song, finishing with a sense of bliss, longing, and finality. But the sky had not ended its thunderous drumming against the earth. Zelda lowered the ocarina, gazing into the storm she wrought. The clouds continued to blacken, the lightning refused to cease, and the thunder never stopped.

For a brief moment, Zelda felt fear. _Did I do this?_

Her thoughts were lost as someone grabbed her shirt and yanked her back. She heard Link's voice reach her ears, barely discerning the words, "GET BACK!" As she was pulled away, her attention remained on the Royal Family Tombstone. She watched as a hammer of lightning, greater than anything Suvica could've hoped to muster, dropped from the black clouds swirling above them and strike the head of the Royal Family Tombstone. The blast blinded her, and the resulting explosion tore away her hearing. All she could do was cover her head and protect herself as she was thrown aside, tossed straight into Link, and tumbled across the dried cemetery soil in a tangle of limbs.

Zelda couldn't tell if she'd passed out or remained conscious during that one event. She did, however, feel mysteriously drained, as if she'd overused her magic. Relying upon the hands pulling her back onto her feet, Zelda stood up and found the strength to reopen her eyes. The flash of lightning continued to rebound in her eyes, but slowly abated as the seconds passed. She took five deep breaths, allowing someone's gargled grumbling to slowly ease into her ears.

-right, all right! I'll fess! That was impressive."

"Wow. I always knew music was powerful, but never like this. I always believed powerful music was something that could bring a smile to anyone's face, not blow up graves."

It was Suvica and Malon, their voices strained in surprise. Zelda focused on the source of their astonishment, feeling her own shock slowly sink in. The massive tombstone, which once held the names of all the past Royal Family members, the same tombstone Suvica's rock-grinding fists failed to scratch, was gone. Not a fragment remained. As the dust settled, an earthen staircase, hidden beneath the Royal Family Tombstone, was revealed, leading deep underground.

"A song did all that," Link observed in a tone of awe, keeping Zelda on her feet. She understood his wonder; though there was a lack of stone fragments to signify the destruction of the Royal Family Tombstone, there was still an extensive black circle of charred grass around the once-hidden staircase, representing the horrific damage caused. "Really makes you wonder what kind of song the Composer Brothers have hidden down there."

Zelda released the air she was withholding; she wondered the same thing.

"Well," Suvica took a step down the stairs. "Let's go pay our respects. If there's anything valuable, I can have it, right?"

"Of course not. Lay a hand on anything and will leave you in there to keep my ancestors company," Zelda said sternly.

"I'll be glad to help with that," Rail volunteered, pushing Suvica down the stairs and following after him.

Zelda looked to Malon. "Will you be coming as well?"

"Nope, not me."

"Why not? You always enjoy adventures such as these, do you not?"

"I don't like this. Music isn't used like this. You don't use music to break things or hurt people. Music is meant to bring joy and smiles to everyone that listens. I'm sorry, but I don't want to know what kind of song is down there. I'll wait out here, if that's okay."

"Of course it's okay. Link, will you be staying outside as well?"

"Nope. I'm afraid of what might happen if I leave you and Suvica in a crypt together," Link joked. He looked down, observing the shadow cloaked stairway with no visible end. "Navi, ready to resume your duties as my blue lantern?"

Navi darted off Link's head. "Call me that again and you will be burned." In spite of her protests, the fairy did as she was told, letting the light exuding from her round form intensify as she and Link slowly descended into the Royal Tomb.

For everyone's sake, Zelda hoped this small expedition was a short one.

* * *

The air was stale, like Zelda was breathing with a wad of cotton stuffed down her throat. Her hands wandered to her neck, massaging the area as an attempt to ease her breathing. The stairs cracked and crumbled under the soles of her shoes, occasionally sending pebbles and pieces of hardened soil tumbling down the flight of steps, causing an echo to bounce around the narrow passage. Even with Navi's light, Zelda could barely see ten feet in front of her.

With each step she took, she couldn't help but notice a knot of tension swelling in the base of her stomach, making her lungs feel queasy and her head light. Her claustrophobia was acting up, forcing her to imagine unfriendly scenarios.

After what felt like an hour (it was probably only five minutes), her feet encountered a flat stone floor. Navi hovered high above their party, positioning herself a few feet above Link so her light could dispel more of the musty darkness around them. Huddled within the fairy's orb of light, Zelda, Link, Suvica, and Rail took one cautious step at a time deeper into the burial chamber. Suvica complained about the stench of the underground chamber, and Rail told the dragon to deal with it.

This was one of those moments where Zelda envied Link's powerful vision, because beyond what Navi's light could touch, all she saw was black, black, and black. After a few more seconds of blindly following Link (he was in the lead, followed by Zelda, with Suvica and Rail trailing behind her), she had to ask: "Can you see anything?"

"Too much," Link replied, his voice edgy. "Besides all the bad stuff, this place is rather clean."

Suvica cursed as he stepped into something that made a stomach-sickening _squelch_. "Clean? This is clean? I thought your eyes were good!"

Link didn't turn around; in fact, he stayed facing forward, his left hand inching for his sword. "Suvica, that's part of the bad stuff. You really want to take your foot off that."

"You don't say?" The dragon snapped, digging his heel into the revolting substance, grinding it with his sandal before lifting his foot away.

The substance moved with him.

"What the … this stuff doesn't come off!" He shouted, shaking his foot while the nauseating matter relentlessly continued to bind itself to his leg. He raised his arms, his face squeamish as he considered smashing the inexplicable essence with his fists. Before he could do so, Rail drew his dagger from inside his tunic (the weapon given to him by Halden) and hacked at the malodorous substance. Four slices later, Suvica's leg shot upward as the resistance he was fighting against abated, yet something continued clasp against his ankle.

"Suvica! Stop moving!" Rail cried when Suvica noticed the foreign attachment and redoubled his efforts to shake it off. Rail had to shout directly into Suvica's ear to get his undivided attention, and after a few pleas from Zelda to not cause a ruckus, the dragon gingerly lowered his foot with the slimy material still clinging to his ankle. Finally motionless, Navi's light was able to fully color in the unknown object, scattering its veil of anonymity.

Zelda's stomach plummet several hundred more feet into the earth when she saw what it was: A rotting human hand. She averted her eyes before she could absorb too much detail, but she only caught onto a more gruesome sight. Blood fled from her limbs, leaving the tips of her fingers and the soles of her feet as cold as the undisturbed ground she stood on. She couldn't hear her own heartbeat; all she could hear was the throat-torn groan of a monster she never wanted to see. Standing behind Suvica and Rail, an intimidating six feet tall, was a man. This man, this monster, had its skin peeled off in droves, bringing to light several decayed blotches of brown flesh. Its eyes were also gone, replaced with two scraped and shallow sockets. Its left hand was missing (hanging off Suvica's ankle), but it still reached for Rail with its festering right hand.

Zelda's body had turned to stone, her mind frozen to the point of icing over, and her throat so tightly constricted she couldn't scream if she wanted to. Her eyelids refused to fall, giving her no choice but to watch the rotting hand descend for the nape of Rail's neck.

_Whoosh!_ Her hair was blown aside as a spear of magic zipped past her face, flew between Suvica and Rail, and collided straight into the rotting undead's head. The fleshy imitation of a man flew backwards, the top half of its head splattered like a pumpkin beneath the spiked fury of a mace. Yet even with its head half gone, Zelda watch the undead creature jerked itself off the ground and continued to limp towards them once more.

"Forest Boy! What was that for?" Suvica demanded, snatching the undead hand on his ankle and tearing it off his leg. "You trying to pick a fight?"

Link replied by pointing his sword at the undead zombie behind Suvica.

The dragon turned around and cursed. As the undead zombie slumped closer, Suvica shoved his fist down the zombie's throat and tore its body into halves. "A ReDead. What in Volvagia's name is a Redead doing here?"

Rail spun around and took notice of another ReDead. "Please don't tell you mutilated the body of a previous king."

"Who cares? Now GET DOWN!" Link's command was urgent enough to force everyone to obey. As the three of them hit the ground, she could feel a searing heat pass over the back of her head, spreading in all directions. Link's Spin Attack shot outward in its most basic form, as a circle of energy that expanded with him in the center. As his magic flew into the realm of darkness, Zelda heard a collective of flesh-tearing bone-smashing sounds stem from all around them; they were surrounded by ReDead, and Link was the only know who noticed them. Zelda struggled to get back to her feet with hasty abandon, fearing where the next soulless hand would extend from.

"Zelda! Use Din's Fire directly in front of me!" Link ordered, raising his sword and firing a Disk Attack, mowing down a long line of approaching ReDead. As his magic struck each zombie it passed across, the impact momentarily illuminated the target's surroundings, revealing a mighty legion of impending ReDead. Even as the darkness regained its ground, the image of the undead army stuck to the lightless air, instilling yet a greater fear into Zelda's heart and mind. "Zelda! Hurry!"

Link's words brought her back from her fretting. She did her best to clear her mind, placed both hands towards Link, and shouted, "Din's Fire!" Her fireball blazed from her palms and crashed into the ground several yards in front of Link, exploding upon landing. With its fiery light, Zelda could see a hoard of gathered ReDead take flight as her spell's shockwave scattered the decomposing bodies across the ostensibly infinite burial chamber.

"The path is clear! Run!"

She didn't need to be told twice, picking up the hem of her dress so she wouldn't trip. Zelda ran after Link, who darted headlong into the unknown. Rail was close behind her as she ran, dragging Suvica along with him. The arrogant Thunder Dragon was convinced he could take on whatever the ReDead threw at him and pay them back in kind. Zelda thought otherwise; if that were true, Link would simply let Suvica take his fill while allowing the rest of them to stroll through the burial chamber unmolested. Since they were running for their lives, Link must've seen and estimated their numbers, coming to the conclusion that not even a dragon's rampaging could get them out of this mess.

Navi soared above their heads, keeping them within her dome of light. Although Zelda, Link, Suvica, and Rail were the only occupants, she knew their lonely status could change in a mere moment. With her senses sharpened by nervous fright, her ears and eyes worked abnormally well. She saw the torn hands wander into the light, making snatching motions at her and her friends. She heard the rasped panting of the undead as they staggered towards their next meal. Link was constantly shooting one Disk Attack after another, mowing down all the ReDead lurching in their way. Zelda was jumping over the decaying body parts of the dismembered ReDead and shot Link a look of concern. He was burning through too much magic in too little time. Even if he refused to show his growing fatigue, he could not hide the spots of sweat dotting his tunic, nor could he conceal his labored breathing.

"Why in yellow thunder are there ReDead in a supposedly royal burial chamber?" Suvica snarled, ripping a stone floor tile off the ground and hurling it into the obscurity; Zelda heard flesh and bone get crushed beneath solid rock.

"We're in a tomb! They're probably bodies being manipulated by dark magic!" Rail replied, punching aside a flailing rotten arm grasping for the back of Zelda's neck. "Maybe the Composer Brothers failed to protect the tomb and a Gerudo sorcerer came inside and manipulated these bodies to move!"

"Dumbass! There's a difference between ReDead and undead!" Lightning flashed from Suvica's mouth, striking an area not ten yards to their left. "Undead stink less than ReDead!"

"Oh yes! That's a _very_ big difference! Zelda, right! RIGHT!" Zelda's feet kicked up the pace as a ReDead narrowly slumped against her, brushing its molded fingers against her dress before collapsing. Suvica stomped on the corpse's brittle spine as he ran over it while Rail smashed the creature's face in with his heel. "Close one!"

"Thank … you …" She panted, more from surprise than exhaustion. "And Suvica, you are … correct. There is a difference … between undead and ReDead." Zelda took a moment to shift into a good breathing pace. "Undead are the remains of an actual living being reanimated by the most twisted of spells. ReDead are not the same. They are flesh and bone bodies meant to mimic human forms. They're molded from piles of meat and carbon and given the shape of a man using magic. Once formed, they're imbued with a mission to follow, even if they are torn to pieces in the process."

Suvica's tail whipped several incoming ReDead into a pile of shattered limbs. "Are you saying someone purposely put a bunch of dead bodyguards in here?"

Zelda nodded, feeling the strength in her legs fade.

"The Composer Brothers," Rail deduced, sheathing his knife back into his tunic so both his hands were free while he ran. "If someone managed to get past them, they used one of their magic songs to make these walking false-corpses in order to protect the tomb!"

"You'd think they'd warn us about that," Suvica growled. "Link! You see anything related to Ghost Bros' magic music? Let's find it and get out of here already!"

Link wiped several beads of sweat from his brow using the back of his hand. He'd gone two days without sleep and expended much of his physical and magical strength even before entering the Royal Family's Tomb; Zelda was amazed he still had the strength to stand, let alone run. "There's something glowing up ahead! It might be our destination! Keep running a little bit longer! We need to fight our way past a few hundred more of these things!"

Zelda heard a bone pop in Suvica's knuckles. "A few hundred more? I dying from this stench, and you're telling me we've still got a _few_ hundred more of these meat loafs in our way? Screw that!" Suvica stomped the ground in frustration; his foot made an unexpected _clang_ as it struck an object that was neither flesh nor stone. Then he was screaming, "Move it! Move it!" The dragon went rushing past Zelda, bracing a giant metal plate against his shoulder. He pushed his way past a surprised Link and started stampeding through the aisles of ReDead, slamming and pulverizing their rotting bodies against the metal plate he held with unstoppable momentum. Like a relentless boulder avalanching down the side of a hill and leveling everything in its path, Suvica charged into the bodies of the ReDead. Link leaned forward and put what was left of his strength into running. Zelda followed his example, and Rail picked up the pace behind her as Suvica cleared a way with his all-or-nothing dash. Zelda shielded her face with her arms, but now and then she couldn't help but watch the ReDead fly over their heads or roll beneath her feet as they were blow aside by the dragon. In no time at all, Suvica had traversed the distance and brought them to the unknown light source which was their destination.

Their problems didn't end there, as they soon identified what the light actually was. After penetrating the ranks of the ReDead legion, they stood at the peak of a waterfall and were staring down a seventy foot drop. To make matters worse, the glowing matter was actually a subliminally olive liquid, spurting from the top of the waterfall and pouring into the gathered lake below.

"That does not look sanitary," Rail noted unnecessarily.

Suvica wrenched off a stray ReDead limb wrapped around his neck and tossed it into the green fluid. "Yeah, I'd say so," he said as they all watched the limb dissolve into the waterfall until nothing remained.

"Over there!" Link pointed downward. Thanks to the illumination of the acid, Zelda could clearly identify the object of his interest. Sitting on a small plateau of stone, marooned in the lake of acid below, was a large silver tablet. Judging from its scrawled surface, it contained some form of writing.

"Could that lump of rock have the song the Ghost Bros were talking about?" Suvica asked, allowing the metal slab in his hands to _clang_ roughly on the ground.

"It does! I can barely see it from here!" Link said, squinting his eyes.

"Then what are you waiting for! Play it and hope some kind of giant ball of fire comes down on the ReDead and burns them all!" Suvica shouted, pointing at the horde of ReDead clustering together and in swarming towards them.

"I can't! I don't know why, but I can't read it from here! I need to get closer! Suvica, show me the backside of that shield!" Link ordered, reaching into his magic pouch and bringing forth a large bundle of rope.

Suvica picked up the metal object he dropped so its curved underside was turned towards Link. Only then, with the face of metal slab pointed towards Zelda, did she grasp the object's true form. It was a Hylian Shield, about as tall as Link and Suvica, and a little shorter than Rail. The Hylian Shield was a steel protector with an expertly forged toughness. It's sharply angled rim was perfect for striking foes, with a symmetrical frame which inclined into a point at the base. Its surface was adorned with the golden symbol of the Triforce in the center, along with the red eagle of Hyrule directly beneath it. Although its timely appearance was a relief to see, Zelda wondered how such a flawlessly crafted protector ended up within the Royal Family's burial ground.

Link tied one end of his rope to the shield's handle and fastened the other end to a protruding stone near the waterfall's edge. "Suvica, throw the shield! Aim for the area beside the tablet, but make sure you don't hit it! We can't afford to break it!"

"Are you ordering me around?" Suvica scowled, grabbing the weighty slab of steel by its rim and lifting it over his head with one hand.

"Just some friendly advice," Link assured.

"Then it's all good!" Suvica clenched the Hylian Shield with so much strength Zelda could see the veins popping from under his skin as he and hurled it downward. The Hylian Shield sliced through the air, rotating at a dangerously high speed while dragging the length of rope behind it. Suvica's aim, on the other hand, went wide as the Hylian Shield buried itself into the dead center of the tablet. Zelda's horror grew in proportion to the cracks and fissures that began to engulf the tablet.

"Please tell me that wasn't on purpose," Zelda moaned.

Suvica smiled. "Oops."

Link didn't waste any time. He pulled his wooden shield off his back and jumped off the waterfall. Before he could take a potentially lethal acid bath, he used his wooden shield to zip line down the rope towards the tablet; its complete destruction was only a matter of time.

"Let's go, Princess!" Suvica urged, keeping his eyes upon the wall of ReDead closing in behind them. "Do what Forest Boy did! Image you're a monkey princess and slide!"

She tiptoed to the edge of the cliff, looking down at the lake of green acid. She tried judging the distance between here and the tablet, and knew her novice Farore's Wind couldn't teleport her over such a distance. "Could you not have simply carried us all to the tablet?" Zelda demanded with false bravado, feeling her fear of heights start a stutter in her voice.

"Carry you, Link, and Rail? We'd sink too fast and die even faster! I wouldn't have been able to carry you three halfway across! I might be able to manage with just you and Rail, but there's no way I'm going to miss seeing your terrified face!" "Just carry her over to the tablet before the ReDead carry you both to the Shadow Realm!" Rail interrupted, elbowing past Suvica and mimicking Link's maneuver; he jumped off the ledge, harnessed himself to the rope using his knife's sheath, and slid down to the tablet, which was on the verge of complete destruction.

Suvica gargled a scowl. "Kill joy." His wings and tail protruded from his back as he grabbed Zelda by her wrist and leapt. She squeezed her eyes shut as she felt her feet leave the ground, feeling his wings fighting against the windless chamber, struggling to remain airborne. After several terse seconds, her back hit something solid. She opened her eyes, finding herself leaning against the crumbling tablet. The cracks were spreading across the fragile silver surface, making more than half the writing illegible and showing no signs of stopping.

"Zelda! Help us find the song!" Link shouted. He was scanning the bottom right of the tablet, an area where the destruction had yet to reach. Rail was trying to salvage together what pieces he could and fit them back into place, but with little luck. Navi was also doing the best she could, hovering close to the far-to-reach places of the tablet and reading off the sentences like a stream of water. Suvica, being the painfully illiterate dragon he was, stood back and tried not to get in the way.

Zelda threw herself onto what little remained, reading a handful of Hylian text before the tablet's destruction rendered it unreadable. Yet for all her literary haste, she could find no mention of a song; all she managed to discovery were several names of her late ancestors and their highly glorified deeds. Now and then, she ran into pieces of history she found irresistibly hard to ignore yet utterly irrelevant to the task at hand.

"I don't mean to pressure you all," Suvica's words stabbed through her concentration. "But we've got a time limit here."

Zelda didn't take her eyes off the remaining unbroken pieces and did her best to reassemble her concentration, but still managed to ask, "Which would be?"

"That."

Curiosity defeated reason, and she turned away from her reading. Now she wished she hadn't. The ReDead left behind at the faraway waterfall ledge were throwing themselves towards the lake. Some did them a favor and blindly landed into the sea of acid, while others were digging their broken fingernails into the walls surrounding them and crawled towards them like spiders. Illuminated by the glowing acid, their visible numbers were in the thousands.

Rail also let his concentration break, gasping as he watched the mass of ReDead coat the walls and steadily approach them from the left and right. "You've got to be kidding."

"The _song_?" Link repeated with urgency, putting a major emphasis on the word "song." Zelda urged herself to continue analyzing what was left of the heavily degrading tablet, but no matter what she read, all the words had lost their meaning. The better part of her mind was clouded by anxiety and fear; she could no longer keep the heinous flow of imagines of the forthcoming ReDead at bay. When she finally mustered together the courage to keep reading, it was already too late. Her section of the tablet had been reduced to rubble. All that was left of the silver inscriptions was the small segment Link was reading, and even that was bound to disappear within seconds.

_Is this it?_ A hopeless voice wondered weakly in her mind. She slumped to her hands and knees. Many of the ReDead successfully scaled the walls past the ocean of acid and were dropping onto their small plateau. Even when their bones snapped and broke from the fall, they continued to crawl towards Zelda and her friends while wailing like the damned. Rail grabbed the Hylian Shield embedded into the stone wall and pulled it free, untying the rope attached to its handle and arming himself with the steel defender. Suvica's right arm rippled as his black dragon scales protruded from his skin in his preparation to defend himself. Navi stayed at Link's side, shining what light she could onto the last remaining fragment in front of his face.

None of them had given up yet. They were holding onto their last thread of hope, and were going to hold on until the end. Resolving herself, Zelda got up and summoned a fireball, prepared to use it on the first ReDead which got too close.

But when the closest ReDead was just a few feet away, their thread of hope began to shine.

"Here it is!" Link exclaimed, reading his disintegrating fragment at an accelerated pace. "…_This poem is dedicated to the memory of the dearly departed members of the Royal Family. 'The rising sun will eventually set, a newborn's life will fade. From sun to moon, moon to sun … give peaceful rest to the living dead'_…and there's a song here! It's—!" The last fragment crumbled, reduced to dust and crumbs in his hands. Zelda would've given up hope then and there if it were not for the triumphant grin on Link's face. "Zelda! My ocarina! Hurry!"

Zelda tossed her fireball into the face of the approaching ReDead. With her free hands, she reached into her dress pocket, where she had unknowingly stashed Link's ocarina, and she threw it to him; he caught the instrument with one hand.

Link raised his ocarina, placed his lips onto the mouthpiece, positioned his fingers onto the proper key holes, and played. After first, nothing happened; the ReDead continued to swarm closer and closer, moments away from completely overrunning them. But after the first six notes were played, everything changed. Zelda felt a force of magic so powerful it vibrated against the air. Link's song surged from his ocarina with a steady but unchangeable rhythm. His song passed across the air like the sun and moon voyaging through the sky: Solid and unalterable. As his performance continued unhindered, a column of yellow aura radiated from Link's body. The ReDead within the light's vivacity froze, staring into its glow with their eyeless sockets. Link's musical notes continued to feed the light encircling him, making it stronger and larger. When the aura reached an unbearable level of brightness, the song ended. As it did, the pillar exploded, expanding a wall of divine energy outward. The magical wave left Zelda, Suvica, and Rail unscathed, yet when it encountered a ReDead, it atomized the human-mimicry into dust. Like a blast of sunshine banishing the darkness, the dome of light erased every single ReDead within the royal burial chamber, cleansing them out of existence.

Zelda was stunned. Rail was incredulous. Suvica whistled.

Link placed his pink ocarina back into his magic pouch and opened his eyes, looking as startled as the rest of them at the result of the song he played.

"_Restless souls wander where they don't belong. Bring them calm with the Sun's Song_," Link breathed, finishing the last of the transcription.

"My grandfather is not going to believe this when I tell him," Rail spoke softly, raising a hand and poking at the air as if he were expecting something to bite back.

"My respect for music just went up," Suvica noted, looking around at the empty burial chamber. "Ghost Bros, you're going to the bottom of my respect list."

Link chuckled. "Doesn't that mean you disrespect them?"

"Getting on my list of respect is a feat in itself." Suvica scratched his head. "The Princess's song makes thunder come down, and your song makes dead meat disappear. I'm normally not this curious, but now I really want to know the other songs the Ghost Bros discovered."

Link rolled his shoulders and stretched his legs. "Can we talk about all this outside? I don't really think I want to stay here anymore. I've had my fair share of underground exploring now."

"Seconded." Rail nodded, hefting the Hylian Shield onto his back.

"Dragons are meant to fly in the sky, not underground. You won't find me complaining about leaving," Suvica said, spreading his wings and extending his tail.

Zelda didn't say anything, for she was exhausted. Adventuring through her ancestor's burial grounds, learning about the power of songs, running from hordes of ReDead, thinking she was going to die several times over, and finally experiencing the relief of being alive was a little too much excitement for one day. She could hardly believe it all happened in the span of one morning, and that there was still an entire day ahead of them.

_I wish it were nightfall, so that I might enjoy a peaceful night's rest._ Zelda thought vainly, knowing that such a miracle could never happen.

* * *

It was nightfall.

Even with her mind and soul worn out from a hour long exploration underground, Zelda found she still had a little spirit left to be surprised when she saw the moon instead of the sun floating above them after they ascended the stairs to the surface.

They were greeted by Malon, her eyes red and puffy with her mouth covered in breadcrumbs. When Zelda stepped out off those accursed steps and back onto the Kakariko Graveyard's soil, Malon rammed into her so hard they almost fell back into the underground burial chamber.

"Zelda! I'm so happy you're alive!" Malon squeezed her in a tight hug. As soon as she saw Link and the others step out, she released Zelda and gave each of them her prized hug treatment. "Fairy Boy! Suvi! Rail! You're all alive!"

"Of course we're alive!" Suvica sputtered when Malon threw herself into his arms. "H-Hey, not too close." Then he noticed the moon. "Someone explain that. Right now!"

"Malon's happy to see us, what else?" Link answered.

"No! Not Malon! That!" Suvica used a free arm to point at the moon overhead. "We were definitely not down there for that long! So why am I looking at the moon and not the sun?"

Malon, hearing Suvica's words, got a grip on herself, and glared at him. Suvica shrunk beneath her glower. "Not that long? Don't be silly and stupid, Suvi! You were gone for _hours_! I waited, and waited, and waited! When you didn't come back at sunset, I tried to go in and find you all, but I couldn't!"

"Whoa, back up!" Rail interjected. "What do you mean you couldn't?"

Malon blew her nose before answering. "I don't know why! I tried to go in, but every time I went down I always ended coming back up! I'm going downstairs, but then I'm going upstairs! It was weird, and I couldn't get in! All I could do was wait and wait!"

The mystery thickened. How could Zelda and the others experienced less than an hour's worth of time underground while Malon was subjected to wait half a day?

Link solved the mystery before it could ripen. "It was the Sun's Song."

Malon looked past her puffy eyes. "The what song?"

"The Sun's Song. It was the magic music the Composer Brothers wrote at the bottom of the tomb. I know because I played it. Not only does the Sun's Song destroy the undead, or ReDead, but it also moves me and anyone else close by forwards through time. That's why Malon couldn't enter, because everything inside the tomb started moving on a different timeline once I started playing."

Rail took a few steps away from Link. "That's one dangerous song you've got there."

Zelda was equally as taken aback. "We secluded ourselves inside a dome of time, which moved at an accelerated rate as opposed to the normal flow of time?"

"What she said," Suvica added.

Link confirmed their suspicions. "That's exactly what happened."

"These songs are so powerful, so dangerous. I can understand why the Great Composers went to such great lengths to protect them from Ganondorf." Zelda said.

"Little missy? Ya find yar friends yet?"

Zelda hadn't noticed him until now, but there was a hunched figure standing a few feet away from them. Beneath the moon's brilliance, and after the man stepped a few paces forward, she got a better look at him. It was a man with a severely hunched back, a disfigured face with uneven eyes, a protruding jaw, several askew teeth, no hair on his head, and wrongly placed ears.

He was cute compared to the ReDead.

Suvica didn't think so. "You're ugly, even for a human. What are you?"

The man chuckled, making his deformed body twist and jerk in the most unsightly of manners. "The name's Dampe, my boy. I found yar friend here cryin to herself, so I kept her a little company and food while she waited for yar all. Now if ya done mind me saying, but did ya all happen to notice the perp that ruined this here beautiful graveyard?" Dampe gestured to the overturned graves, shattered headstones, and uprooted earth caused by Suvica when he faced the ghostly Composer Brothers.

"No idea," Suvica, the perpetrator, yawned. "If this graveyard is so precious to you, take better care of it, Ugly. Come on, I'm tired. I need to shut my eyes for a little while."

* * *

Zelda slept like the dead (a painful analogy) at Bessie's manor after a supper's meal and an extended bath. The cursed Ltula family paid them a visit, crawling through their open window at the dead of night and asking how their business with the Composer Brothers faired. She fought down the sudden urge to punch one of them as she retold their meeting in a monotone voice.

After a greatly-needed night of rest, the sun broke through the smoggy clouds overhead to signify morning, Zelda felt refreshed and invigorated. With all the problems (or most of them) of the Kakariko Village behind them, they were finally ready to begin venturing higher up Death Mountain to meet the Gorons.

The only problem was the iron gate and the Hylian guard blocking their way.

"I'll smack him around a bit," Suvica answered after gulping down the breakfast Link and Malon made for them.

"You won't lay a finger on that soldier," Zelda warned, cutting a piece of her pancake with the side of her fork and dropping it into her mouth. The pancakes truly were delectable. "And Rail, why did you take the Hylian Shield from my ancestors' tomb?"

Rail was polishing his new Hylian Shield (he was the only one besides Suvica strong enough to use it, and the dragon didn't want it). "They weren't using it, were they? And for the guard, can't we bribe him? There are lots of corrupt guards out there you know." Zelda could tell she wasn't going to enjoy much of Rail's gibe in the future.

"We can use a horse to jump over the guard and gate!" Malon suggested, hopping up and down on the bed mattress. Zelda looked around the village from the second floor window; not a horse to be seen.

Link dropped the last of his belonging into his magic pouch, watching them shrink to miniscule size as they disappeared into the leathery abyss. "I've got a better idea. Zelda, on what occasion would that guard voluntarily open the gate?"

"Well, the gate has the red eagle of Hyrule inscribed on it. That means only a member of the Royal Family, a Royal Council member, or someone with permission from the Royal Family, may pass those gates," Zelda replied.

"Perfect." Link brought out a piece of parchment and quill and passed them both to Zelda. "Now, write exactly what I tell you to."

She stared at him as he told her what to write. "Are you certain this will work?"

"Positive."

She wrote it down.

Ten minutes later, with everyone packed up, full stomached, and ready to go, they made their way towards the northern point of the Kakariko Village. They reached the red eagle gate blocking their road, requested permission to enter, and got laughed at by the standard-Hylian armored soldier.

Then Link passed the soldier the letter Zelda had written ten minutes prior.

The soldier opened the letter and read it out loud, " '_This is Link and his friends. They are under my orders to save Hyrule. From, Princess Zelda_'." The soldier stared at the letter, then at Link, then at the letter, and then back at Link. Then he burst out laughing, falling to his knees and hitting the ground with his gauntlets. They heard the guard pant the words "Princess Zelda," "hand writing," "gates," "open," and "you pass."

"See?" Rail whispered to her as the guard pushed a key into the gate with shaking fingers. "Bribable."

"Not bribable, obeying orders." Zelda said sternly.

"Whatever you say."

* * *

EDIT: Chapter 19 of the FanFiction Three Spiritual Stones is up. Sorry it took a while to post and write. Somehow, I ended up rewriting this chapter thrice before become half-satisfied with it.

EDIT: I changed the way songs effect the world. Instead of making them magical, they already are magical. They're only waiting to be discovered. (7/4/12)


	20. Chapter 20, Goron City

**Chapter 20**

**Goron City**

Malon had been awake for some time, but she intentionally kept her eyes shut and her body lifeless while deciding what to do next. Should she cry? It felt like the right thing to do, since she hadn't the slightest idea where she was or how she got here. Should she panic? That was next on the list, but she decided against it; Fairy Boy always kept his head in the game, so she decided to try that too. Should she scream for help? Nah, no need for that; one way or another, she was certain Fairy Boy or Suvi would come rescue her.

So what should she do in the mean time? She didn't want to cry, she didn't want to panic, and she didn't want to scream, so what did that leave? Malon asked herself these questions for several water drips' worth of time (someone really needed to fix that leak). After nothing came to mind, she gave up on thinking and decided to give herself a body check to make sure she was okay. She didn't bother opening her eyes, because all she'd see was nothing in the lightless room. She didn't strain herself to sit upright either, because the right side of her head was aching too much. She was lying on something really hard, rock hard. The left side of her body was numbing over as she continued to lie on the cold stone ground, and she could feel an itch on her nose but couldn't scratch it, not with her hands shackled behind her back.

So, summing it all up, Malon was locked away in what felt like a stone prison, the right side of her head throbbing, lying right-side up on a very cold prison floor with her hands bound behind her back. Now she was really curious on how she got here. She tried to think back, to scoop through her brain and find the right memory that could answer all her questions. After that idea failed, she thought back to when Fairy Boy presented Zelda's little letter to the laughing guard, giving them permission to climb the rest of the way up Death Mountain and towards Goron City.

* * *

Malon hummed in merriment as she enjoyed a free ride. After seeing what they had to climb, a steep slope composed of loose gravel and no stairs, she voiced her worries and anxieties about slipping and falling to her doom. Suvi grudgingly allowed her to ride on his shoulders, an offer she was all too eager to accept. As she climbed up Suvi's back and seated herself on his shoulders, she could feel his embarrassment as his face boiled like an old horse shoe left out in the clear view of the summer sun.

"You okay, Suvi?" she asked when his face became almost too hot to touch. "Got a fever?"

Rail managed a laugh behind Malon and Suvi, struggling to scale Death Mountain's rugged trail while weighed down by the hefty Hylian Shield on his back. "I heard idiots can't catch colds."

Suvi gnashed his teeth. "Dragons don't get sick."

"Actually, they do. I read about it," Fairy Boy said from up front, narrowly avoiding a small spark of electricity Suvi shot at him.

Malon drummed her fingers on the top of Suvi's head, sometimes running her hands through his hair to spur his embarrassment. "By the way, when do you want me to tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"How my mom died. Before we entered Denion, you told me you wanted to know, and I said I'd tell you. But then a whole bunch of exciting stuff happened and I never got a chance to. Want me to tell you now?"

Suvi puffed a small ring of smoke from his mouth. "Not exactly mountain climbing story material, is it? Besides, the only reason I wanted to know was because some pesky overgrown pigeon was bugging me about it. Heh, why should I listen to what some soon-to-be-cooked turkey has to say? You can keep your sob story to yourself."

Malon puffed her cheeks; she didn't like it when Suvi played cold. In an act of vengeance, she rubbed her cheeks against Suvi's head and wrapped her arms around his face, enjoying the sound of his rapidly beating hearts, even though his face was unmovable as the mountain beneath them.

Soon, conversation was a luxury they couldn't enjoy. Death Mountain's trail bent and turned, its topography becoming more steep and hazardous as they continued their climb. Their trail even sloped upward into a wall they had to climb, and with much difficulty. The handholds were few, and cliff face was nearly vertical. Zelda gave the wall a few tries, trying to squeeze her delicate fingers into the jagged handholds. In the end, when she was a third of the way up, she resorted to magic; she transformed into a small flock of green beads and teleported the rest of the way upward, reappearing at the top dazed and very tired. The wall presented less of a challenge to Fairy Boy, who nudged his fingers into the smallest of cracks and scaled the wall like it was a child's playground. At the top, he pulled out a rope from his all-fitting pouch, tied it to something sturdy, and dropped the end for Rail and Suvi to use. Rail accepted the help with grace, but not Suvi; he took the "dragon's-way" approach, first asking Malon for some shoulder-moving space (she slipped off his shoulders, moving onto his back while wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck) before digging his fingers into the rock wall's face so he could pull himself up one arm's length at a time. At the top, after Suvi crawled the last few inches up, Malon saw Fairy Boy and Rail engaged in a small conversation; Rail was asking if he could keep Fairy Boy's rope, and it took a little bit of persuasion for Fairy Boy to agree.

Afterwards, Death Mountain was kinder to them. The trail smoothed out into a simple line with only the faintest of slopes. Although the heat from the sun above and the magma below constantly battered their stamina, at least the walking was made easy.

"Do you think hot lava will suddenly burst out from under us?" Malon asked, watching a geyser of steam chew its way from the mountainside and reach for the sky.

Zelda shook her head, letting a few drops of her sweat flicker off her face. "Not likely. In order to prevent such a tragedy from occurring, the naturally heat resistant Gorons dug giant canals beneath the surface of Death Mountain. Thus, they were able to redirect and manage the flow of magma within. We are quite safe, I assure you."

Fairy Boy skid to a stop, drawing his sword and shield so quickly he almost knocked over the princess, who was right behind him. Suvica caught onto the urgency and dropped Malon from his back while summoning the black scales on his right arm. Watching Fairy Boy and Suvi prepare for battle, Rail slung the Hylian Shield off his shoulders and fastened it to his right arm. He struggled with its weight for a few seconds before properly raising it to his chest.

"At least I presumed we were quite safe," Zelda corrected herself after watching the three boys get into battle positions. "Link, Suvica, Rail. Whatever is the matter?"

"I hear something, and a lot of them." Fairy Boy replied.

Suvi stretched his arms, flexing his scales. "I smell something, and it reeks."

"I just presumed there was danger after watching these two," Rail shrugged.

Suvi gave Fairy Boy a scornful glance. "You should hope and pray they're undead. That way, you can blow them all up with your fancy song."

Fairy Boy twirled his sword. "Not a chance. From the sound of it, these things don't walk like the dead."

Suvi took another sniff at the air. "And they don't smell like the dead either. No, they smell more like Tektite."

"Tek-what?" Malon asked.

"Tektite, spider demons." Zelda answered, summoning a pair of fireballs in each hand. "They're hateful monsters with powerful jumps. They're particularly frightful when battled in water."

"But we're not on water, we're on a mountain." Rail pointed out, resting the base of his Hylian Shield against the trail. "That gives us the advantage, right?"

Fairy Boy's sword flashed with a blue hue as he powered it with magic. "Not when we're outnumbered. Look." Malon looked, and she saw. On the faraway crest of a low bump, perhaps an arrow-shot away, she could see something approaching them one jump at a time. She shaded her eyes with her hands, squinting to get a better look at the mysterious hopping monster. After a few more skips, she could make out some details. For a creature labeled as a spider demon, it certainly didn't have the appearance of a spider. It possessed a flat, rectangular body adorned with one bloody eye. On the corners of its square-shaped body extended four green limbs, all of which the spider demon used to hop its way towards Malon and her friends.

"It doesn't look like we're outnumbered," Malon said, a little too soon. Another Tektite appeared from the low crest, followed by another, and then another, and then a swarm. All it took were ten seconds after the first Tektite's appearance for an entire army of spider demons to appear.

"Sixty-five of them, to be exact," Fairy Boy said, fascinating Malon with his swift calculations. "But this isn't the time to be gawking. Let's dwindle down their numbers a bit." Fairy Boy drew back his magically-powered up sword and jabbed it forward, using his arrow-like Spin Attack (Spear Attack, was it?) to snipe one of the Tektites from faraway. Zelda pointed both her hands forward and launched her fireballs, taking out three Tektites. Suvica shot his favorite lightning bolt, incinerating a pair of Tektites into dust. Rail used a different long-range offensive; using the rope he requested from Fairy Boy, he lassoed one end to the Hylian Shield's handle and the other to his waist. After securing both ends, he gripped the Hylian Shield's rim with both hands, spun in three full circles, and let the metal shield fly towards the Tektites. The heavy shield smashed into one of the Tektites, reducing it into several giant mushy pieces. After turning one of the spider demons into mush, Rail gripped the rope tied to the spinning Hylian Shield and pulled; he was almost dragged forward by the heavy protector's momentum, his boots digging up gravel as he yanked the flying metal disk to a stop, but managed to gather enough strength to haul back his Hylian Shield. It swung back towards him, crashing into the trail inches from his toes. When the Hylian Shield was back in Rail's hands, he was overflowing with sweat, looking like he was at the peak of his exhaustion after taking out one Tektite, but his exhilaration at his feat was overriding his sense of weariness.

"Not bad," Fairy Boy complimented, shooting down another Tektite with his Spear Attack. "You should've done the shield throwing back inside the Royal Family's tomb."

Rail, too tired to speak, smiled.

"I still got us to the other side," Suvi growled, picking up a head-sized stone and hurling it towards a Tektite; his missed his intended target by a large margin, but since there were so many of the spider demons grouped together, he managed to hit one of them anyways.

"Yes, quite literally," Zelda sighed, picking off several of the straggling demons with her Din's Fire.

Malon was left to remain in the dark. No one talked about what occurred inside the Royal Family's Tomb, making her regret her previous decision to remain behind while the others explored the royal burial grounds.

Fairy Boy, Suvi, and Zelda were doing fine on their own, destroying the impending Tektites with (somewhat) accurate and powerful attacks. Rail pitched in his efforts with another flying Hylian Shield, but the effort it took him to throw his metal protector and pull it back was too great. He provided his assistance twice more before collapsing, but at least he was helping. Malon could only watch, wait, and pray for success while everyone but her fought to ensure their survival. She tried pitching in by picking up rocks smaller than her own hands and throwing them at the Tektites, but her pitiable projectiles bothered the spider demons no more than a stray piece of hay bothering a ranch cow. For once, Malon didn't like her lack of contribution.

As fierce as Fairy Boy, Suvi, and Zelda's attacks were, they were not enough to completely wipe out the Tektites before the spider demons bore down on them. Their numbers were reduced by half, but there were still plenty to go around by the time they reached them.

Farther up the slightly sloped trial, Fairy Boy stood protectively in front of Zelda, warding away the incoming spider demons while she supported him with fireballs. To Malon's left, Rail was pushing himself onto his feet while his face and body were layered in sweat, his arms chained down by his lack of remaining strength. Suvi was doing what he did best, going crazy on the Tektites while sowing mass confusion with his destructive prowess.

It was only a matter of time before the Tektites numbers were dwindled down to a single survive. This spider demon ignored the combatants, making a lunge for Malon, jumping high into the air as part of its preparation to body slam her. She tilted her head, watching the Tektite covered the sun and dropped towards her.

_Slam!_ _Splat!_

And then it was gone. Malon couldn't tell what just happened, but the Tektite above her was splattering against the trail in pieces. She looked to Suvi, presuming he'd torn the Tektite apart faster than the eye could see, but knew her deduction was false when she saw a look of surprise inscribed on his face. Then Suvi's nose twitched and his head jerked towards the higher up trail, past Fairy Boy and Zelda. Up the sloped trial, rolling towards them in a large avalanche of noise and stone, was a flood of tumbling boulders. The rockslide smashed through the Tektite attacking Malon, leaving the rest of them to be the next victims.

Rail used the last of his strength to burst into a sprint, pushing his way past Malon and Suvi, only stopping after Fairy Boy and Zelda were behind him and he was staring up at the mouth of the rockslide. Undaunted, he lifted his Hylian Shield and planted the end of the protector into the ground facing the plummeting boulders. He leaned his body against the Hylian Shield as a method of support, but when the first boulder crashed against the metal protector, Rail was nearly blown away. He successfully veered the first rolling stone off course, but his body lost what tension it once preserved. Fairy Boy and Zelda came to Rail's aid, pushing their shoulders against the underside of the Hylian Shield to brace it against the rest of the rockslide. Suvi hurried forth to lend his strength, but in his haste, forgot about Malon.

Malon's legs were rooted to the ground by trepidation and insecurity. She could only watch Suvi prop his hands against the Hylian Shield as one boulder after another collided into its steel surface. One of the large rocks, after making contact with the Hylian Shield, rebounded over the metal surface and headed straight for Malon. The last thing she remembered was the boulder's beady black eyes, and a rock-like fist hitting the right side of her head.

After that, there was only darkness.

* * *

_So that's what happened_, Malon recounted, her memories piecing together her recent past. It explained her bruised head and pounding headache, but it didn't shed any clearance as to why she was in a dark stone cell with her hands shackled behind her. _And since when did rocks have eyeballs?_ She wondered, remembering the boulder that stared at her while hitting her head with its fist. _And hands? Rocks have hands? Death Mountain has some really weird stones._

Uncomfortable with the growing buzzing-sensation dominating her left side, Malon wriggled herself into a seated position. She stretched out her legs, roiling as her sleeping left leg twitched and tingled. She opened her eyes to meet the expected blackness of the dungeon; there wasn't any difference whether she had her eyes opened or closed, it was all the same inside this lightless cell.

Her mind wandered to her first three options: Cry, panic, and scream. Perhaps it was because she hadn't gotten a firm grasp of her situation, but Malon didn't want to do any of her three options. Perhaps it was because being locked in a cell was a first for her, or maybe it was her faith in Fairy Boy or Suvi. Either way, she felt content and at peace.

With nothing to do, Malon resorted to entertaining herself. First, she talked to the dark space around her, asking it questions while not really expecting an answer (she would've freaked out if it did). After talking made her tongue dry, she tried standing up to see if she could guesstimate the size of her prison cell by walking around. After tripping several times and hitting her nose against the sturdy walls on more than one occasion, Malon decided against it. She tried worming her hands out of the stone cuffs restraining her hand, only to stop after they chaffed uncomfortably against her wrists. She played with a little pebble her found with her toes, kicking it until she lost it in the darkness.

Seriously bored, Malon tiptoed around her cell until her back found a wall to slump against. The itch on her nose had blessedly subsided, only to be replaced by a prickle on her left waist. Unable to think up of any other manners of self-leisure, she hummed. She performed Epona's Song, letting the tune spring about her small cell and fill her ears and heart with a feeling of longing; she missed Epona. Enjoying herself, Malon parted her lips and let her hum escape her mouth as a song. Her emotions decorated each verse, painting a portrait of blue skies and green meadows inside her mind.

"A beautiful song, Earth Softener," a loud voice mumbled. Malon's lips clamped shut as light invaded her small realm of darkness. Someone, something, had opened a stone door previously hidden from sight, speaking with a voice that reminded her of crumbling stone. Because the figure had a flaring light at its back, Malon could barely see the creature.

"Hi?" Malon said, wondering why her greeting was coming out as a question.

"Our chief wishes to speak with you, Earth Softener. Come now." The figure beckoned for her to approach. Glad to be anywhere but here, she leaned forward and skipped outside. The moment she left her petite prison, her eyes were assaulted by tremendous details.

Malon didn't know what to focus on first. Should she gawk at the giant creature that called her a fertilizer? Should she glue her eyes to the flowing lava canals? Maybe spend the rest of her days counting the plentiful wealth which flowed like water? Perhaps she should look up instead of down and use a year or two of her time to gape at the monument supported hundreds of feet above her? Malon wanted to see everything, yet she found she could not focus on anything.

_Concentration!_ She assured herself, shutting her eyes and giving her head a few good shakes. _Pretend you're Fairy Boy! Act calm! Act cool! Look at one thing at a time!_ She decided to focus first on the creature who invited her out of her stone cell.

It was unlike anything Malon had ever seen. It was several inches over seven feet tall, with a wide-oval head, two black beady eyes, and puffy large lips. Its chest and belly were massively round, its stomach protruding a few inches outward. With such a tall body, she was shocked to see such small legs and feet; they barely made up a foot or two of the creature's overall height. The next thing that astonished Malon was the arms, long and lanky. At least, at first sight, they looked lanky. After careful observation, she saw these thin arms were actually pulsed with muscles every womanizing man would envy. Its whole body was coated in lush brown skin thick enough to block a sword.

"Who are you?" Malon asked eagerly, barely about to contain the springs in her feet. First encounters, so cool!

The creature's thick lips pulled up into a smile. "My name is Groudus, Earth Softener. I am one of the many weapon smiths of Goron City. I am humbled to meet your acquaintance."

"A Goron!" Malon screamed a little too loudly, though her voice was barely audible over the clamor of the city. "You're a Goron!"

Groudus blinked his small pupil-less eyes. "Yes, I am."

"I'm in Goron City!"

"Yes, you are."

"That's so amazing!"

"Yes, I suppose that is."

Malon flashed a grin. Of course it was amazing! Feeling so buoyant she could float away, she swiftly returned her anticipating gaze to the city around her. When the details were too much to drink in at once, Malon let her mind work out the general details. She couldn't tell exactly where she was, but it was most certainly not the surface; there were only two things above her head, and those were a closed stone ceiling and a beautifully sculptured object. Malon ran her eyes across the Goron City once, picturing the general layout. All-in-all, it was like a bowl, a really, really, _really big_ bowl. The city was a busy place of ledges which evenly circled the city from top to bottom, expanding near the top and shrinking towards the bottom. Each of these ledges were populated by doors and openings leadings to homes, stores, prisons. Or underground tunnels leading to different parts of the city or elsewhere. Gorons, the creatures populating the city like hay in a barn, could only go up and down the different levels of the city by accessing the proper tunnels which navigated them to their intended destination. There was one Goron who almost made Malon's eyes pop out; he was at more than thirty-feet tall, about a fifth of the overall height of Goron City, and climbed the different stories of Goron City by stepping on the separate ledges like stairs, occasionally booming the words, "Sorry," "Pardon me," "Watching my step," and "How's it rollin, Bob?" The Big Goron saw Malon, gave her a thumbs-up and a smile, then disappeared into a large opening puncturing the side of Goron City.

"Who was that?" Malon asked, her voice thinned in excitement.

"That was Daldarus, the master smith of Goron City and my teacher." Groudus said, waving goodbye to his master. "There are many stories about how my teacher gained his great stature, but only he knows the true. Because of his great bulk, my master lives in Death Mountain's peak and not in the city. Now, shall we leave to meet our chief?"

"Not yet!" Malon pleaded, peeking over the ledge she stood on to get a better look at the city. In terms of positioning, she was near the bottom, several levels away from the very base of the city, which was also the center. She couldn't help but watch in awe as Gorons mined precious minerals and ore from different tunnels they excavated while others harvested lava into giant metal urns from channels zigzagging across the city. "What do you do with the lava? Is it how you take baths?"

"Mother earth, no! The molten rocks are meant for myself and the other smiths of Goron City," Groudus explained, placing one of his large palms on her shoulder and pulling her away from the ledge (his hand was bigger than her back). "We use the molten rock to help us smith our weapons and armor. I can tell you no more than that."

"And what's that up there?" Malon asked, leaning her head back to gaze at the stone ornament hanging from the top of the city. It was suspended in midair by three steel chains thicker than Groudus himself. These metal links attached to the ornament with equal spacing and then latched onto the top-most level of Goron City, keeping it suspended in midair. Even from this distance, greater than a hundred feet, Malon could tell there were intricately embellished designs all over the suspended stone adornment.

"That," Groudus said, letting pride and joy thicken his voice, "Is a memento to honor the memory of our Goron Hero, the very hero who slew the wicked dragon Volvagia with the mighty weapon, the Megaton Hammer!"

"So cool!" Malon cried, almost jumping off the ridge in her enthusiasm. She had to tell Suvi and the others about this later! They'd be so excited!

"Now, Earth Softener," Groudus gently grabbed Malon's head and steered her towards one of the city's many passageways. "You must meet with our chief and leader, Darunia. His temper will heat the coldest of stones, but I feel you can seal the fissures of his heart."

"Me?" Malon asked as Groudus pushed her down a passageway and into an aisle of stairs leading to the lower areas of Goron City. The many torches lined within the stairway brightened the way. "What can I do?"

"Your music is soothing to hear, Earth Softener. I believe your innocent voice may be the one thing which breaks the shell."

"I don't really get what you're saying." Malon frowned, watching her steps as the stairs continued downward. "And why do you call me Earth Softener? It makes me feel like a fertilizer."

Groudus's booming laugher made the stairway creek. "It is not just I. Many Gorons call you by this title. It is because the earth softens at your feet. Mother earth feels your earnest kindness and tenderness of heart, lightening the rocks beneath your feet to ease your journey. Thus, you are the Earth Softener."

"Oh." Malon felt like she was being complimented (sort of), so she put on a smile. "But where are my friends?"

"Friends? The Mountain, the Earthquake, and the Conquerors?"

"Um, I'm not sure who they are. More Goron nicknames?"

Groudus lowered his laugh to a deep rumble. "The Mountain is the boy of green clothing. It is because when he moves, he shifts the earth beneath him. His steps cannot go unnoticed. The Earthquake is the child who resembles the Mountain. He is the Earthquake because the earth mother quakes beneath his claws, fearing his dread and wrath. The boy with hair as red as yours and the girl with the green dress and sun-like hair, we call them the Conquerors. That is because mother earth tilts to their presence, turning so they may stand above all others."

That part, Malon was puzzled about. Fairy Boy and Suvi deserved those nicknames, since they seemed accurate enough. It was clear Groudus was talking about Zelda and Rail when he spoke of the Conquerors; she could understand why Zelda would be described as a Conqueror, but she couldn't fathom how Rail deserved that title too. She decided to let that part bug her later. "Yep, those are my friends. Where are they?"

Groudus navigated Malon past a fork in the stairs. "They are held within different cells. They fought with strength and courage benefiting their titles, especially the Earthquake. His ferocity and strength is not of a Hylian's. After we returned the Tektites to the earth mother, we dealt with them next."

"The Tektites?" Malon remembered the boulders with eyeballs. "Ah! That avalanche of rocks and boulders! That was you? You can roll up into balls and run people over?"

"It was also I who struck you unconscious. You have my apologies for my rash and undeserving actions."

"Aw, it's okay!"

"Earth Softener, I believe you can shatter the shell of our chief and leader. Please, this way, we are almost there." Groudus steered her past another parting in the stairs, leading her to the left and entering the lowest floor of Goron City. At the very bottom and center of the circular city, with so much activity and life around her, Malon felt rather small. The base of Goron City was still large, stretching with a radius of thirty feet and decorated with massive urns depicting several Goron-like emotions. There was also a patch of round flowers that were all-bud and no-stem. As Malon passed one of these odd flowers, she detected an odor unlike any other: Ashy, like burnt paper mixed with chalk. There were also Gorons on this level, all with strangely dejected looks, like they'd severely failed an important task.

"We are here, Earth Softener," Groudus whispered in Malon ears. He had brought her to the very center of the lowest level, to the heart of Goron City. Embedded into the wall before her was a stone slab with symbol of the Triforce engraved on its surface. At the base of the stone slab was a bulky wool mattress, also portraying the three legendary triangles. Leaving Malon to stay in the center of the floor, Groudus hobbled over to the door and knocked thrice. "Chief Darunia! I come bearing one of the children climbing our sacred mountain!"

Silence.

Rocks stopped smashing. Gorons stopped rolling. Lava stopped pouring. Malon looked around, realizing every last Goron in the city dropped what they were doing and were glaring downward, glaring at her. Even Big Goron Daldarus poked his head in to see what would occur next. Malon shifted from one foot to another, feeling awkward about being the center of so much attention. Usually it was Fairy Boy or Zelda doing stuff like this, not her.

From beyond the embellished stone slab, a voice emerged. "One of the children? Which?" The voice was harder than stone and colder than ice.

"Earth Softener!" Groudus replied.

The silence persisted, only to be broken as the stone slab was suddenly blasted away, shooting past Malon and entrenching itself into the wall behind her. Groudus was on his feet and in a hurry to move out of the way as the most threatening Goron ever seen stepped forth.

Malon wondered what she should've focused on first. Perhaps the Goron's hair? Unlike the other bald Gorons of the city, this Goron had hair, and plenty of it. It spread across the top of his head, rounding across his cheeks and bearding off his chin. In a way, it resembled a lion's mane, a pointy mane at that. Or maybe she should be more concerned with the Goron's muscle? His arms were as long as any other Goron's, but was ripped with so much sheer muscle Malon had to wonder who was stronger: Suvi or the mean muscle Goron? The Goron's stubby legs were equally ripped, animated by every ground-cracking step he took. On a slightly off-topic note, muscle Goron's belly was way bigger and rounder than Groudus's. At last, she decided it was the Goron's eyes and emotions she should be worried about: They were as hard and cold as onyx, and his violent feelings raged from every fiber in his body, loudly expressing his grief, frustration, depression, and loss.

With all that in consideration, Malon said the most obvious thing. "Hi?"

The muscle-bound Goron stomped towards her so quickly she almost fell onto her bottom. He stopped when his belly was an inch away from her face as he leaned over and glared down at her. "Say your name, Hylian. The earth mother may look kindly to the innocence of your soul, but such meager things mean nothing to me now! Speak now, or hold your peace within the earth's embrace!"

Malon gulped. Everything was taking on a somewhat dreamish quality, blurring over her reality and lessening the seriousness of her situation. The air itself was at a standstill, the only emotion shedding from the Gorons being fear and hesitation. Still, Suvi was a little more threatening than muscle-Goron, so Malon found she could still move her tongue.

"My name is Malon, Malon of Lon Lon Ranch."

Muscle-Goron's nostrils flared. "I am Darunia, chief, leader, and boss of the Gorons. Tell me, young Malon, your reasons for coming to my city! The Hylians have already abandoned us to our fate, so what business does as a child such as yourself have with us?"

Malon's primary instinct was to blurt out the first answer that came to mind: Fairy Boy and Zelda wanted the Spiritual Stone the Gorons kept. Before her sentence could slip off the tip of her tongue, she sucked her lips in and sealed her mouth shut. Considering the events of the early past, she didn't know if it was such a good idea. The Goron leader wasn't playing nice, not really someone you started demanded treasure from.

The wrinkles on Darunia's face thickened as she kept her silence. Malon told the Goron leader she was thinking of a satisfactory answer, and appeased his frustration. Once the appropriate answer came to her, Malon said, "We came here to help you!"

Her answer was evidently not one Darunia, or any of the Gorons within the mountain city, expected. Darunia's anger, the Gorons' hesitation, all evaporated to make room for flat-faced surprise. Malon got to see Darunia's eyes turn into perfectly circular beads and his frown melt into an empty line. For a moment, she saw a pang of amusement spark from the chief, but the Goron leader flushed aside his stray piece of merriment. "Your intentions are both noteworthy and foolish! Do you know what plagues the Gorons?"

"Nope."

"Do you know how you can help us Gorons?"

"Nope."

"Do you even know if it is within your power to save us Gorons?"

"Nope!"

"Then you have no business here, Hylian child!" Darunia roared, pounding his boulder-sized fist into the ground. The resulting tremor was felt by the entire city, and nearly knocked Malon off her feet. "I tell you this now and only now! This problem is the Gorons' problem! The Hylians had their chance to aid us, but instead of gracing us with a helpful hand, they left us to starve within the walls of our own home! You and your friends are free to leave, child, but as soon as your freedom is assured, you shall not set foot upon Death Mountain again! Do you understand?"

Malon bobbled her head. "Yep and nope!"

Her bewildering response stilled the city. Perhaps not many talked back to the Goron boss, Darunia, in such a way, because Malon found the city's uncanny silence uncomforting and awkward.

Darunia cleared his throat (the rumble reminded Malon of an avalanche) and put on his best bad-guy face. "Explain yourself, child."

Malon shuffled on her feet; standing for so long was making her knees sore. "Well, I get it when you said you wanted us gone, so I said '_yep_' to that. But when you said we weren't allowed to come back, I had to say '_nope_'."

Darunia's small eyes narrowed. "Explain."

"One of my friends doesn't like leaving people with problems alone. She'll try, try, and try, no matter how hard or how painful, to help anyone and everyone. If you make her leave without giving her a chance to help you, she'll be sad, and I don't want her to be sad."

A cracked appeared on the icing, and Malon spotted the smallest hint of a grin twitch on Darunia's lips. "You stand here, before the leader of the Gorons, without a restraining look of fear or fork of falsehood, all for the sake of your friend? Such nobility is rare these days."

Malon grinned. "I know what's scary and what's not. You're not scary. You're big, you're strong, but you're also super nice."

This amused the Goron leader more than anything else, breaking a larger smile on his huge face. "Nice? My Gorons attacked you and your friends without reservation, tossed you in our darkest dungeons, and have threatened you to leave our home without explanation. Tell me, young girl, how am I nice?"

Malon took a good look at Darunia, just to double check. Yep, she was sure Darunia was a nice person. Looking past his emotions of hostility, she could feel something greater than that: Responsibility. Darunia was, first and foremost, the leader and shield for his people. If he were several stories bigger, Malon was sure he'd be shielding his people with his own body from harm and danger. Darunia was like an egg; hard on the outside, but all soft and tender on the inside.

When Malon told Darunia her evaluation of him, he broke. Darunia bellowed with unhindered laughter, stamping his feet and slapping his belly with his expansive palms. Watching their leader smile for the first time in a long time, Malon saw pockets of hope and relief spread throughout Goron City.

After Darunia calmed down, he folded his short yet sturdy legs, took a seat in front of Malon, and made a request. "Sing for me."

Malon said an involuntary "Eh?" before asking, "Sing? Can I ask why?"

"Most certainly."

"Great! Why?"

Darunia's smile continued to shine. "I believe there are only two ways to see into the soul of another. One is through battle, for the fists and swords cannot speak their bold-faced lies in the flurry of combat! The other is music! No matter how twisted the snake's tongue may be, they cannot change the music of their souls! Music cannot lie! When a great masterpiece is played by a wolf, the song will bare its fangs, regardless of how thick the sheep-clothing! But when a song is played by one with purity as you, hearts cannot resist the temptation to leap and dance. So sing! I wish to know the true depth of your virtuousness!"

An idea occurred to Malon. "Can my friends do that to? Sing? Play music for you? That way, you can see into everyone's soul!"

"An excellent idea! Groudus!" Darunia called. Malon's friendly Goron, who had been kneeling at the mouth of the entrance to Darunia's personal chambers, hustled over to his leader. "Bring young Malon's friends here!"

"Most certainly," the Goron replied, pounding his chest. Then, in a softer voice, "I'm thankful to see your spirits fly once more, great leader."

Darunia slapped Groudus's shoulder. "I'm sorry for worrying to all."

Groudus, as he trudged by Malon, whispered, "Thank you, Earth Softener."

"You can call me Malon," she grinned. The Goron dipped his head, curled his body into a ball, and rolled away. "Wow, so that's how he does it."

"Young Malon," Darunia beckoned for Malon to step closer. "Come here." Malon did as she was told. "Turn around." Again, she obeyed, turning so her stone-shackled hands were facing the Goron leader. She almost sank to her weary legs after hearing a dull _crack_ sprout from somewhere behind her. Spinning around in a hurry, she discovered that Darunia had kindly removed the cuffs from her wrists, smashing the stone manacles with his thumb and index fingers; she hoped he didn't ask for a handshake next.

"Thanks!" Malon said happily, rubbing her free wrists as she took a seat; the ground beneath her was oddly soft, bringing no discomfort. "The floor is so soft!"

Darunia laughed, showing her his polished row of teeth.

"What's so funny?"

"I laugh not at you, but at myself, young Malon," Darunia replied, flicking a small mirthful tear from the corner of his eyes. "Your innocence, your childish curiosity, and your tempered honesty are treasures I shall forever keep close to my chest. In face of your straightforwardness, my prior aggravations were immature. I am glad I was given the privilege to speak with you. You reminded me that I am a shield for my people, not a sword. I should be alleviating the strain on my city, not forging a double-sided blade for a foe undeserving. I thank you."

Malon felt a flush in her face; it wasn't very often she was thanked by the leader of the Gorons. "Don't mention it, it was nothing!"

Darunia glanced past her shoulder. "There are yours friends."

Elated with their reunion, Malon watched with a spreading smile as Fairy Boy, Suvi, Zelda, and Rail were brought to her at the bottom floor of the Goron City, with Groudus as their guide. She threw herself into the arms of her friends, enjoying their embrace.

"You've got a gift for overreacting," Rail said as she gave him his hug. "You're acting like you haven't seen us in years."

"Are you okay?" Suvi demanded when it was his turn to get snuggled. "Were you hurt? Did they torture you? I'll tear them all to pieces!"

Fairy Boy smacked the back of Suvi's head. "Calm down, she's fine." He peered at Darunia. "Besides, it looks like Malon handled things quite nicely."

"Handled? How so?" Zelda asked, opening her arms and accepting Malon's cuddle.

She stopped rubbing cheeks with Zelda's and told Fairy Boy, "We need to hold a performance!" When he asked why, she said, "Because Darunia wants us to play him a song! It'll help us become friends!"

"Why do we have to start a band just become some rock-loving bouncy ball tells us to?" Suvica retorted, leering at the Goron leader. Thankfully, he kept his usually rude hand gestures to himself.

"But if we can gain their ears with a musical performance, then I cannot see why we should not," Zelda pointed out. "However, we shall not play any of the musical songs discovered by the Composer Brothers. There is still much we need to learn about those melodies, and I have no wish to abuse their powers to bend others to our will."

Suvica made a face. "Isn't that what they're meant for?"

Malon stepped between Zelda and Suvi before blood could be shed. "Fairy Boy! Let's play your song! You know, the song you're always practicing, the forest song! You said you learned it from a friend in the forest, and I think it's perfect for this occasion! Better yet, there's nothing magical about that music either!"

There was an odd pause from Fairy Boy, but he drew his pink ocarina from his fit-it-all pouch and stepped forward. Malon skipped alongside Fairy Boy, and together, they stood before the Goron leader.

"I'm Link of the Kokiri Village," Fairy Boy introduced himself. "This is my partner, Navi." Navi scooted her way out of his hood, bowed, and flew back inside.

"A child of the Lost Woods? Intriguing." Darunia noted.

"Can I ask why you're so interested in music?"

"Because music cannot lie. Your songs will tell me whether you are an enemy or an ally to my people."

"Some of us can't play," Fairy Boy said. Malon knew he was talking about Suvi and Rail. "Is that okay with you?"

"Then do your best to represent them," Darunia replied.

Fairy Boy nodded. "Are you going to sing along with my ocarina?" He asked Malon.

"Yep! Besides, I've heard you play that song so many times it started to stick with me," Malon said, brushing aside her hair and clearing her throat. "Whenever you're ready!"

Fairy Boy placed his lips around his ocarina's mouthpiece, and Malon took in a deep gulp of air. Timing herself to his rhythm, Malon sang as Fairy Boy played. Her previous anxiety in singing in front of others vanished, as she knew this was her chance to do something for her friends. She could never support them in battle; fighting wasn't meant for her. Instead, she could help them with this; she could help them gain the trust and love of the Gorons, something even Zelda may not have been able to achieve.

Despite any form of prior practice, Malon was perfectly in synch with Fairy Boy. Her voice trailed after the notes dancing from his ocarina, like two children cheerfully playing within the thresholds of a lush and wondrous forest. Only on one occasion did she falter, nearly tearing down their grove of music in the process. While her mouth continued to sing, her eyes wandered towards Darunia to check his response to their performance. She nearly swallowed her tongue when she witnessed a dancing Goron: Darunia was no longer patiently sitting, but rather was busting out the moves as he twisted, turned, and break-danced to Fairy Boy and Malon's song. She checked to see how the other Gorons were reacting to their disco-leader, and was stunned to find all of them reacting in a similar manner: Dancing their bodies to the limit. For such weighty creatures with round, bloated stomachs, these Gorons certainly had the moves.

As Fairy Boy ended his song and Malon lowered her melody into a waning verse, she heard more than half the city applauding for an encore.

Darunia was the first to show how invigorated he was. "Amazing! Outstanding! Brilliantly played, young Link and Malon! Such a fresh, new tune! Just like that, the depression which clouded my peak has been blown away! I've never danced with such energy and gusto!" Darunia slapped his belly thrice more before continuing. "You have my most heartfelt apologies for my prior behavior and my open mind for your future words. Please, I welcome you to my chambers. The Gorons are more than pleased to call you our friends!"

* * *

Darunia greeted his city with renewed enthusiasm, and the Gorons of the city clamored back to their duties, but with smiles on their broad faces. The leader invited Malon and her friends into his chambers, leading them into the decorated entrance where he first emerged. Being the leader of the Gorons, Malon expected to find a throne room filled with rupees and lined with gold and bronze. Thus, her high expectations were dashed in the seas of regret when she saw Darunia's living quarters was nothing more than a small (if not cozy) cave. Perhaps a little bigger than Sheba's diminutive house back at Denion, his chamber was garlanded with a stone bed in the corner, a lush rug layering the floor, and a well-carved totem in the middle-end of the chamber. The room was lit by four different torches, each in different corners of the room.

Darunia comfortably sat himself in the center of his stone bed (it had no blanket or mattress), allowing the rest of them to find a place to sit on the floor. Making themselves at home (as best as they could), they properly introduced themselves. When Zelda formerly presented herself as the Princess of Hyrule, Darunia was overjoyed. Instead of bowing down and dithering about his respect and all that, he grabbed her by the waist and playfully tossed her up and down like a newborn child.

"Ah, Princess Zelda!" He laughed as he continued to juggle the princess in the air. "Your company is a warm glow indeed! The last I saw you, you were a wee baby the size of my thumb! How you've grown! Now I know for a fact that my Sworn Brother Ceylon did not abandon us! Why else would he send his own daughter as an envoy to my great city?"

It took some time, but Zelda managed to tell Darunia otherwise. Curious, he stopped his good-humored banter and allowed her to re-take a seat so she could tell her story from the beginning. She started with the prophecy which came to her in a dream, and then told Darunia about how Fairy Boy and the others snuck into Hyrule Castle. When she spoke about how Fairy Boy "kidnapped" her, Darunia merely chuckled and quoted, "How nice it is to be young." Afterwards, she described her brief stay at Lon Lon Ranch, their prolonged confinement in Denion City, and how they overthrew Pavo's tyrannical rule. She did omit Fairy Boy's mom from the story, stating that a "powerful individual" assisted them in the rebellion. Then she briefly summarized their journey to Luxvil City, their climb up Death Mountain's stairs to the Kakariko Village (leaving out the cursed Ltula Family, Fairy Boy's past, and the Composer Brothers), and ended with their arrival at Goron City.

"I see, you have endured a great deal," Darunia said after Zelda ended her tale. "Much has happened to Hyrule during the Goron's seclusion. I never knew you were in such conflict with yourself, Princess Zelda. During my brief visit to Hyrule Castle many years ago, you were a very cheerful baby, but now I know your following smiles have been nothing more than painful charades. I will speak to my Brother Ceylon about this matter, I assure you."

Zelda smiled in return. "I thank you for your kindness, King Darunia, but I fear that so long as I do not speak for myself, my father will continue his overbearing protectiveness."

"Of course. A cub must learn to roar on its own before it begins the hunt. However, what truly bothers me is the snake Ganondorf at Brother Ceylon's side." Darunia's hands clenched into massive fists. "When the Gerudos first proposed a treaty with the Hylians, I thought nothing of it. In fact, I myself supported the decision, for I believed it would sustain the peace everyone so longed for. But when Ganondorf arrived to my city a few months ago, I knew what a terrible mistake it. He stood here, in this very room, with me. After shedding his skin, the snake showed me his venom. He told me if I did not hand over the Goron's Ruby, the Spiritual Stone of Fire, he would make sure my people suffered. Naturally, I refused. Because of my denial, Ganondorf called forth the sleeping monsters within Death Mountain. The Dodongos."

Malon leaned over to Suvi. "Didn't you say you were related to Dodongos?"

"Barely," Suvi murmured past his teeth.

"The Dodongos infested the Dodongo's Cavern, where our most nutritious rocks are formed." Darunia continued. "My Gorons and I did our best to eradicate these vile monsters, but their numbers are endless. We fought for days, yet when the tides of war did not change, we were forced to seal off the entrance to the Dodongo's Cavern and trap them inside. Although we prevented the Dodongos from overrunning Death Mountain, we inadvertently spelled our own demise. The Dodongo's Cavern holds the rocks we Gorons consume to survive; no other rock can fill our bellies the same way."

Rail interjected. "Gorons eat rocks?"

"Yes, we do. Is that so strange?"

"Not at all. Sorry for interrupting."

"The occupation of the Dodongo's Cavern was not the end to our curse, unfortunately. I'm sure you've seen our special crop throughout the city." Darunia motioned to a small plant, growing from the ground at the foot of his bed. Malon certainly recognized it; it was the round vegetable that stank of ash and burnt parchment. "That is the Bomb Flower, a plant that grows locally on Death Mountain."

Malon scurried backwards, knocking into Suvi in her haste. "B-Bomb Flower? It can explode?"

"Certainly. Why would it not?"

"Oh … no reason. Sorry about that, Suvi."

Darunia shed a grin. "Perhaps it is new to some of you. While the plants in Hyrule Field grow on water and sunshine, our Bomb Flowers thrive on heat and magma. Recently, however, the Dodongos trapped within the Dodongo's Cavern have been burrowing tunnels in order to escape from the sealed cavern. Some of them, as a result, have broken the veins of magma within Death Mountain feeding our Bomb Flowers. We have been unable to fix them, thus destroying what little Bomb Flowers we have been able to cultivate."

Malon raised her hand. "Three questions! What do you use Bomb Flowers for, why is the Dodongo's Cavern named after the Dodongos, and are there other Goron cities?"

"We harvest Bomb Flowers for the substance they create; namely, gunpowder. Hyrule's technology has advanced leaps and bounds thanks to gunpowder, leading to the development of several useful explosives, such as bombs and Bombchus."

"I've seen these '_bombs_' at work before," Suvi added. "They pack quite the punch. But I've also seen Bomb Flowers go off, and they also pack a good kick. What's the point in making bombs when Bomb Flowers work just as well?"

"It is because there is a fault in Bomb Flowers. Take this Bomb Flower, for instance," Darunia beckoned to the Bomb Flower near his bed. "Should any of you pull it free from its bud, its fuse will light, and immediately explode within five seconds." Everyone (but Suvi) backward away from the Bomb Flower; Rail pulled his Hylian Shield off his back and placed it between himself and explosive plant. Darunia laughed at their reactions. "Fear not, young ones. It is safe so long as the stem remains intact. The gunpowder from Bomb Flowers is harvested and used to create bombs, which can be lit and used at any moment. Thus, bombs are far more suitable for battle. Besides, the stem of a Bomb Flower is quite thick, and cannot be pulled with your little, if not feisty, might."

Suvi was all up for the challenge. "Want to bet on it?"

"No," Fairy Boy replied, kicking Suvi's feet from under him and face-planting him into the rug.

Darunia chuckled as he watched the two quarrel. "And now to answer your second question, young Malon. The Dodongo's Cavern earned its name because it is the grave of one of the greatest Dodongo's in Hylian and Goron history. We called it the King Dodongo, a monster so large and powerful that mountains were mere hills beneath its mighty claws. With scales harder than diamonds and teeth sharper than blades, this monster was unstoppable. Our ancestors could not kill it through combat, so they took it down with cunning. Working together, Hylians and Gorons, we lured the beast to Death Mountain's largest cavern and buried it there. For years, the King Dodongo fought to free itself, and for years, Death Mountain endured the beast's dying roars of agony. Finally, after two years of starvation, the roars ceased. With great caution, we reopened the cavern, and found the giant remains of the King Dodongo. Henceforth, the cavern has been called the Dodongo's Cavern."

Malon "wowed" at the story, clapping slightly at the amazing tale. Suvi, the mood-wrecker that he was, mumbled, "I bet it would've tasted great, roasted with a bit of salt. Forest Boy could've made a pancake out of it."

Darunia gave Suvi an odd look, but pressed on. "And yes, there are other Goron dwellings scattered throughout Death Mountain and in the mountains beyond. Goron City is the largest of them all, which is why it is our capital."

"So besides a shortage of food and a poor outcome of Bomb Flowers, have there been any other problems you've been experiencing?" Fairy Boy asked.

"Yes," Darunia nodded. "Once I realized the treachery of Ganondorf's actions, I ordered one of my fastest Gorons to send a message to Brother Ceylon, to warn him of the black snake's foul actions. However, my messenger never had the opportunity to leave Death Mountain. Posted at the Kakariko Village is a Red-Eagle Gate, which can only be opened by a member of the Royal Family, a Royal Council Member, or someone with permission from a member of the Royal Family. The Red-Eagle Gate is used on many occasions, but it holds one iron-clad rule: It must never be breached or broken without permission. To do so is an act of treason against the Royal Family."

"That's why you couldn't send a messenger, because of the Red-Eagle Gate thing?" Rail asked.

"That is correct."  
Suvi yawned. "If breaking it is off limits, why not walk around it? Come on, it only blocks one trail. I'm sure you could've sent a messenger to roll around it any day of the week."

Darunia scowled at Suvi. "The Red-Eagle Gate blocks more than just one trail, young one. Once it stands in your way, it is an uncrossable barrier that surrounds everything and anything! To take one step over its invisible boundary is still treason!"

"Before, you spoke of my father betraying you. Is it because of the Red-Eagle Gate?" Zelda asked.

"Precisely. The Red-Eagle Gate can only be issued by the King of Hyrule or by a unanimous vote from all the Royal Council members. Since those pack of wolves can't even agree on which shoe to put on first, I highly doubted they came together to set up the Red-Eagle Gate outside of Goron City. Therefore, I set the blame on Brother Ceylon. It was wrong of me to accuse my Sworn Brother so readily, but with my people hungry and the crops low, I needed someone to direct my anger upon. I should have understood sooner that this has all been part of Ganondorf's trickery, to create a rift between me and my Sworn Brother. Princess Zelda, you have my utmost apologies for my foolishness."

"There is nothing to apologize for, King Darunia," Zelda assured.

"You are too kind." Darunia laughed, slapping his belly. "Now, let us focus upon the matter at hand! I have heard your story, and although I cannot help but suspect you have left out a matter of great importance (Zelda flinched), I have come to understand your general plight. It is clear Ganondorf longs for the Triforce, protected by the Door of Time. However, he needs the Three Spiritual Stones in order to do so. That is why you have come to me, to seek out the Goron's Ruby within my care and keep it within your protection, away from Ganondorf."

"That is correct."

Darunia hummed to himself, stroking his beard. "Princess Zelda, although I understand your position, I cannot agree to your request. Ganondorf's curse is gradually destroying my people, and should I fail to present the Goron's Ruby to him, he will never free my people from his dark grasps. Should I give you the Goron's Ruby, there is no guarantee Ganondorf's curse will end. I'm sorry, but I cannot place you before my people, Princess Zelda."

Zelda, crestfallen but understanding, nodded. "I understand. Perhaps my approach was too hasty and lacked the consideration of the Gorons."

"Not at all Princess Zelda. You placed all of Hyrule before yourself, and there is no shame in that."

Then, Fairy Boy spoke. "I've got a solution."

Darunia, his small eyes gleaming with interest, turned his chin towards Fairy Boy. Zelda also relocated her gaze. "Oh? And what solution do you have in mind, young one?"

"Give and take. We'll take care of the Dodongo problem, and you can give us the Goron's Ruby as a reward."

Darunia laughed, pounding his chubby belly a few more times. "Young one, you speak of great feats with such a small body! If the Dodongos could be routed so easily, we Gorons would have found a way! Yet their numbers are endless. No matter how many we crush, another takes its place."

"That means something is creating them," Fairy Boy offered. "No matter how many there are, their numbers have to dwindle. If they don't, it means someone or something is spawning more Dodongos. We'll find how they're reproducing and end it."

Darunia laughed louder. "An absurd but likely theory! True, if the Dodongos are being spawned by some creature of black magic, if you cut off the head, the body will surely follow! But child, how do you think you can handle such a task? How can a mere boy fight his way past an endless mountain of monsters and stab their weak point?"

"I'm the son of Cross the Fallen and Lillian the Savior. That has to count for something, right?"

The room turned to ice.

Darunia's laugh was frozen on his face, but his eyes couldn't mask his bewildered shock. Zelda's head was suddenly angled down towards the ground, her fingers gripping her dress until her clothes nearly tore. Rail fell backwards onto his Hylian Shield strapped to his back and remained belly-up like a struggling turtle. Suvi merely said, "Nice timing." Malon tensed, wrapping her knees to her chest and prepared for the storm to come.

Slowly and surely, Darunia's smiling face thawed into a frown. In an even lower voice, he hissed, "You are the child of the Fiend?" Malon could feel caution and vigilance rolling off the Goron King's stressed body.

Fairy Boy remained calm and composed. "I am."

Darunia looked to Zelda; her focus remained with the rug. "Princess Zelda, were you aware of this? Is this what you were hiding from me?"

"Yes," was Zelda's solemn reply.

Darunia glare returned to Fairy Boy. "The child of the Fiend, the monster who slew our previous king, my father, and is responsible for the deaths of thousands of my people, wishes to take our most sacred treasure?"

"Dun-dun-dun," Suvi cackled, frustratingly unbothered.

The Goron King slowly rose to his feet, letting his full height shadow over Fairy Boy, who also stood straight, calmly returning the glare. Darunia held his massive hands at his hip, leaning forward to leer at Fairy Boy's face, who didn't bat an eyelid beneath the Goron King's scrutiny.

Then a grin broke across the Goron King's face. "You have your father's face and eyes, yet you have your mother's impressive demeanor."

Fairy Boy momentarily faltered. "You've met them both?"

"I've lived a long time, child of the Skyloft Family. I've seen your parents rise and fall to the tides of time and fate. I am proud to admit I was on friendly terms with your parents, and it burned my heart so to see him become the Fiend. It also shamed me to see my race act like a rancid pack of starved weasels during our rebellion against the Hylians. Had I been chief during those times, perhaps history would not have been so bleak. Bah! Listen to me ramble! My story is not your concern child of the Skylofts. But tell me this: Are you your father's spawn, or your mother's child?"

"Neither. My parents don't decide who I am, I do."

Fairy Boy's answer pleased Darunia. "Well said! I like you, kid! Very well! You claim to be able to help the Gorons? Your parents accomplished impressive feats as children many adults strain to complete today! Why should I doubt your abilities, unknown to me as they are? It's a promise! Should you help us Gorons, we will reward you! However!" Darunia adopted a stern tone. "Child of the Skyloft Family, you should not shout your lineage so freely. There are many who would praise you for your mother's efforts, and many more who would hang you for your father's villainy. Be wary of those who seek you out, Link H. Skyloft."

* * *

With nothing but free time on her hands, Malon spent the rest of the day exploring Goron City. She learned the city was located midway towards the top of Death Mountain, beneath the surface of the mountain. She also discovered this was where the majority of Hyrule's rupees were mined and shaped before introduced into the market. She desperately requested to keep a few of the rupees the Gorons mined, but they repelled her ambitions by bombarding her with complicated words like "market economy," "capital resources," and something that sounded like "Gross Domestic Products".

After being repelled by the economic Gorons, worried about stuff they called "inflation," Malon tracked down Groudus (working on a set of swords three times taller than Malon) and asked for a tour. The hard-working Goron seemed busy and a little worn-down, but was eager to comply.

"You sure I'm not bugging you?" Malon asked as he showed her a small lavafall streaming from the topmost side of the Goron City and disappearing around the mid-level. The circular structure of Goron City sometimes made Malon dizzy.

"My mind is buried beneath a rubble of tasks and my belly gnaws for a feasts of fresh rocks," Groudus replied, waving to some of his fellow Goron smiths who rolled by. "But I will always have time for you, Earth Softener. You have returned a smile to our chief, and all the Gorons here are indebted to you for that." He leaned his large frame against an iron rail surrounding the ledge, which prevented accidental free falls. "So what will you and your friends pursue now?"

Malon sat down, letting her legs slip between the rail's posts and dangle. They were very high up, only a few stories away from the top of Goron City. "Fairy Boy wants to explore the Dodongo's Cavern, where all the Dodongos are, but he's going to wait until tomorrow morning for that. Right now, everyone's resting. Suvi is snoozing somewhere, and Zelda is trying to find a map that'll lead us to the Dodongo's Cavern. Rail is doing all these muscle exercises, saying he wants to be buff enough to use his big Hylian Shield without running out of strength in a few seconds. Fairy Boy is exploring Goron City with his little fairy Navi. I don't really know where any of them are." She took a look below, trying to find Fairy Boy. Even with the advantage of height at her side, trying to find Fairy Boy in that mess of activity was harder than trying to feed Epona her daily medical herbs.

"Your friends must be very strong to believe they can stop the Dodongos which have infested our caves and mountains," Groudus noted, turning around and joining Malon in her frugal search for Fairy Boy. "Are you certain of what you're up against? Have any of you faced a Dodongo before?"

"Nope! But I'm sure they can handle it!"

"Your confidence in your friends is a sight to behold," Groudus said, slapping his stomach. "If you believe in your friends so much, then there is nothing more for me to say. I simply hope you all emerge from your ordeal alive."

"Thanks Groudus. By the way, where can I find … Groudus? Are you oaky?" Malon had to cut her sentence short, because she could tell something was wrong. Groudus's carefree features changed onto that of a warrior's. His small eyes were darting across the expansive city, searching for a perpetrator unknown. It wasn't just Groudus. All around her, the Gorons of the city ceased what they were doing and were blindly casting their eyes around their home. Something was bothering them, badly.

"Groudus!" Malon shouted the Goron's name, but it was soon lost to a new noise. She had to cover her ears as the racket of breaking stone filled the Goron City to its brim. She turned her head left and right, but found the source of the disturbance when she looked down. In the center of Goron City, on the lowest level where Darunia's living quarters were located, a crack formed. Everyone watched and waited as it widened into a fissure, deepened into a crevasse, and then split clean open.

From the depths of that unknown break, a creature emerged. It was the first time Malon laid eyes on such a beast, yet its name came to her immediately: Dodongo. With a lizard-like head armored beneath layers of jade scales and a single inward-curved horn above its nostrils, the Dodongo hauled the rest of its body from the crevasse using its two powerful front legs. Fully surfaced, it prowled the lowest level of Goron City, searching for prey to devour. She saw that the rest of the Dodongo's body was a tail, with no rear legs or feet, and was covered in bare skin instead of toughened scales. Its jaw, large enough swallow her whole, snapped twice, revealing multiple rows of teeth, with two particularly large incisors on its bottom jaw. With a rough comparison, Malon guessed the Dodongo was at least three to four times larger than a Goron.

"What are you waiting for?" Darunia roared. The Goron chief was on the floor above her. "Arm yourselves! Spear throwers, ready your weapons!" More than fifty Gorons heeded their leader's orders and grabbed their forged steel spears large enough to be toothpicks for the Goddesses. "THROW!" On their king's command, a rain of spears, each a foot in diameter and more than ten feet in length, dropped down upon the Dodongo. After the storm had settled, it resembled a green beehive instead of a mighty predator.

Malon's nerves didn't have time to feel relieved as another Dodongo came forth from the hole in the center of the city. Darunia gave the order, and another volley of oversized spears needled the bottom floor of Goron City. The second Dodongo was swiftly killed, yet another pushed aside its carcass and crawled its way into the city. The process repeated, and the third fell, only for a fourth to take its place. More spears were thrown, and the Dodongo was slain without a fuss. However, when a fifth Dodongo reared its ugly maw, someone lost their nerve.

"Foul beast of ancient's past! Die!" Malon looked in time to see a Goron grab a Bomb Flower, pull the naturally grown explosive from its bud, and toss it towards the Dodongo below, igniting its fuse.

"Fool! DON'T!" Darunia screamed, extending his hands towards the Bomb Flower as if he wished he could snuff the fuse out in midair. Hopeless, as the explosive continued to fall, detonating a few inches away from the Dodongo. The resulting explosion tore the Dodongo to shreds, but also widened the hole the Dodongos were using to invade Goron City. As the dust settled, the hole had expanded to ten times its normal size, allowing a steady stream of Dodongos to course into the city. In a matter of seconds, the entirety of Goron City's lowest level was occupied by these monsters, forcing the Gorons to retreat to higher ground. Darunia was shouting orders to all those who would listen.

And the worse had yet to come. Another tremor shook the city, and a gargantuan claw tore away at the opening staining the bottom of Goron City. Chucks of rock and Dodongos flew in every direction as the claw continued to widen the crevasse. Malon was certain she was having a nightmare as she witnessed the largest Dodongo ever force its way into Goron City.

* * *

EDIT: Chapter 20 of the FanFiction the Three Spiritual Stones. Not as long as the previous chapter, but oh well.

Told from Malon's point of view, we see how her kindness helps out Link and Zelda. The chapter was rewritten only once, the first being where Darunia was a downright scumbag. After I finished the chapter the first time and re-read it, I knew that Darunia was not this sort of character, so I immediately started from scratch and tried again. During the second re-write, I made Darunia a bit more jolly and understanding than before. That worked out better, thankfully.

Then there's the matter with the Dodongo's Cavern. I know Link's is suppose to get the bracelet thingy from Darunia, pick up a bomb flower and start a bombing some Dodongos, but since that's the script the game follows, I got bored of that and did a 180. Instead, the Dodongos are invading the Gorons, and now Link and the others have to drive them back. Perhaps it's not the smartest idea, but I'll ride that boat and see whether it sinks or not.

EDIT: Tekitites have been corrected to Tektites. Thank you for pointing out my mistake. ^_^

Unlike the previous boss fight (Gohma), the next boss fight chapter will not be told from Link's point of view. Instead, it will be told from Suvica's. Look forward to it! ^_^! Like always, thank you, review if you want, and see you again later.

EDIT: I like this chapter, because it shows how Malon, who can't fight, helps her friends regardless. (7/4/12)


	21. Chapter 21, INFERNAL DINOSAUR

**Chapter 21**

**Infernal Dinosaur**

**KING DODONGO**

Suvica hated many things. For starters, he hated weaklings with thin arms but large mouths; all talk but no walk, typical humans with egos. He hated anyone and everyone that messed with his stuff; even his old gang, the Thunder Wings, was smart enough to keep their hands to themselves when it came to his possessions. He hated cowardly humans who didn't know how to fight him face-to-face and always relied on underhanded and crafty tactics; at least Glen of Hyrule had the balls and the muscle to harm him. He hated the mere sight of his ground-ridden cousins; namely, the Dodongos, Dinolfos, and Lizalfos. His three lower relatives were a mockery to the dragon race and deserved to be wiped off the face of the earth.

But if there was absolutely one thing Suvica could not tolerate, it was this: Cretins that disturbed his sleep. He was very touchy when it came to his rest. True, he could go a week without a wink of sleep, so after resting a full night half a day ago, he should have no reason to be angry after rudely being awakened by a sudden montage of screams and roars, right?

Dead wrong. Idiots brainless enough to awaken a sleeping dragon, tired or not, didn't know the meaning of fear (excluding Forest Boy, who constantly got on Suvica's nerves). Why was he so touchy about his sleep? Well, being hunted down for several months by glory seeking humans while relentlessly being ambushed in his sleep helped to promote these negative feelings.

When Suvica didn't want to sleep, he didn't sleep. When Suvica wanted to sleep, he got his sleep. Right now, he wanted his sleep. It was hard enough to bat an eyelid in the collective noise of hammering steel, smashing rock, and rolling stones, but to make matters worse, he only managed to enjoy an hour's worth of slumber before the gobbledygook of roars and yells snapped him awake.

Suvica punched the ground. In the light-less room, he could feel the rock beneath his fist fracture into splitters. His head was muddled, his body erratic, and his eyes dry. In other words, this was not a good time to talk to him. The racket echoing from the hallway to his room, connected to Goron City, refused to cease. He punched the ground again, harder, and his head swaying as incoherent thoughts tangled about inside his brain. He couldn't tell what time it was. He barely remembered where he was. He couldn't even recall his own name until he started banging his head against the floor (the poor solid bedrock sustained more damage than his forehead). Yet there was one thing he did know: Someone was going to die for screwing with his sleep.

Not knowing who or what his target was, but well aware of what he was going to do him or them, Suvica burst out of his borrowed-cave and broke to a stop inside the main Goron City. His five-star villa was at the very top of the city's bowl-like structure, at level with a hanging stone monument suspended above the city by three thick chains attached to the perimeter of the city's inner walls. He looked down, and his anger flared.

Dodongos.

He didn't know what happened during his sleep and he didn't care. Dodongos were flooding the lowest level of Goron City, forcing the occupying Gorons to scamper off to the higher floors of Goron City. For a race that prided itself in strength, it was riotous to see them flee like bugs from a sinking ship. That good humor didn't last very long as his blackened mood deepened in intensity. Not only had his sleep been disrupted, but it had been upset by _Dodongos_.

In the center of Goron City, at the lowest level, Suvica spotted a pretty large Dodongo burrowing its way into the city, perhaps fifty or sixty times bigger than the average Dodongo. Its large body appeared to be stuck in the hole it was climbing from, but he had the general gist of its shape: Big, silver scales, large horn, green eyes as wide as a curled up Goron, and lots of big teeth. Still, being big didn't give it permission to screw with Suvica.

The Big Dodongo spat a laughable ball of fire from its mouth. Suvica watched the clumsy grease ball totter in the air and explode somewhere around the higher levels of Goron City, opposite from where he was standing. He knew Dodongos could breathe fire, but that was pathetic. His little dragon sister could do better than that, and she was still a baby. Plenty of Gorons were burned from the feeble-excuse of a fireball, and Suvica suspected a handful more died from the resulting flames.

With his wit and senses honed to the extreme by his surging need for blood and death, Suvica could see everything occurring in the Goron City. He spotted Link near the lower levels, using his magic to pierce and destroy several rows of Dodongos at once. His so-called Spear Attack was pretty powerful. A different explosion caught Suvica's attention, and he saw the Princess hurling fireballs into the tide of Dodongos from high ground. Still, only a third of her magical flames did any damage; the rest splashed against the Dodongos' protected heads. Didn't she know the Dodongo's weak spot was their tail? Useless excuse of a princess. He sniffed twice, locating Rail near the midlevel of Goron City by his scent of soil, blood, and sweat. Rail was playing Frisbee Soldier again, flinging his Hylian Shield attached with a rope and targeting the Dodongos while striking them from up high. He was making the same mistake as the Princess, hitting the heads of the Dodongos instead of their tails. Did none of these halfwits learn? At least Link was being smart, having found the Dodongo's weakness and accurately killing them off with well-aimed magic.

_Where's Malon?_ A small voice wondered past his overwhelming killing intent. Suvica shook his head, trying to drown the droplet of worry in his sea of wrath. Malon had been on his mind far too often, much more than usual. He vaguely remembered the overgrown pigeon back at Hyrule Castle talking about how he liked her, but that was absurd. How many times did he have to say it? He was a dragon, she was a human, and there was no way … his nose twitched. He could small fresh grass, strawberries, and hay; his head automatically faced the ledge opposite from where he was. He took another sniff, gratefully locating her position in the upper floors of Goron City, away from the Dodongos. If she was that high up, then she was probably fine. Maybe he should get her out of the city first and then slaughter the Dodongos to extinction afterwards? That was a good plan. He cracked his knuckles, stretched his arms, and located Malon's exact position with his nose.

His stomach turned to stone.

Malon was at the edge of the first fireball's blast radius. Part of her vibrant red hair was still smoking, and her right arm smelled of smoked flesh. Her sky blue eyes were blurred into a deep lake of despair as she leaned over a Goron and cried. That particular Goron's backside had been scorched black, probably from shielding Malon from the Big Dodongo's fireball. But Malon was still hurt, physically and emotionally.

Suvica's vision started to steam as he felt the familiar sensation of unbearable and uncontrollable rage. The last time he felt this murderous was back at Denion City, when he tore at the fake-Hylian guard stalking them with a naked blade. He glared at the Big Dodongo as it opened its mouth again, its throat flaring while it built up another ball of fire. Judging by the angle and direction of its head, Suvica could tell it was aiming for Darunia, the big boss of the Gorons, at the high levels of Goron City. Suvica couldn't begin to care for Boss Goron, but Malon was well within the supposed blast radius, and this time, she wouldn't be able to escape with a few burns.

His sleep had been interrupted, _and _it was because of Dodongos, _and _these lowly lizards were attacking Malon, who wanted no part in this war.

It was on.

The Big Dodongo spat out its second fireball, and Suvica flew. His wings and tail tore out of his back as he arrowed across Goron City, coming to a stop in front of Malon before the Big Dodongo's fireball had crossed half the distance to its intended target. He sunk his fingers into the ground, securing himself as he spread his wings as wide as they would allow. Once the Big Dodongo's fireball was passing in front of his face, he surged his wings forward while remaining rooted to his position, buffeting a wall of air against the fireball, dispelling the mass of flame.

The danger averted, Suvica pulled his fingers out of the rock floor and faced Malon, grabbing her shoulders with both hands. "Malon! Are you okay? Say something!"

Malon hiccupped, noticing she'd been saved. "S-Suvi?"

"Yeah, that's me! Come on! I'm getting you out of here!" He stepped forward to wrap Malon in his arms and fly her to safety, but she flinched when he got close. He accidentally pressed himself against the burn on her right arm, causing her to whimper. That one gasp of pain made Suvica's throat parched with an intolerable desire for blood.

Malon saw the murderous intent on his face and hid her wounded arm from view, focusing her moistened eyes on the burnt Goron at their feet. "N-No, I can't leave, I can't leave Groudus here! He needs help! He needs healing!"

"Malon, don't argue with me! I'm getting you out of here even if—!"

"Here comes another one!" a Goron shouted.

Suvica whipped his head around, glowering down as the Big Dodongo prepared another fireball. Its maw was stretched wide open, fire dancing at the end of its heavily serrated tongue. This time, it was aiming for Suvica.

The next instant, Suvica was diving towards the Big Dodongo a hundred feet below him.

"A lowlife like you … DARES TO ATTACK ME?" The Big Dodongo was mere seconds away from finishing its preparations, but Suvica wouldn't let it. His body was completely vertical, diving like a black spike. He summoned his black dragon scales on his right arm and felt his left undergo an identical transformation. Black scales burst from both limbs, coating his arms from the tip of his fingers all the way to his elbows; another part of the witch's seal had been undone, but he didn't care. There was only one thing on his mind right now, and only one desire: Death and destruction.

The Big Dodongo's mouth reached the limit, and the flames began to rise forth.

"DON'T GET COCKY!" Suvica's two scaled fists struck the tip of the Big Dodongo's mouth. With a collective force of gravity and brute dragon strength, Suvica slammed the Big Dodongo's mouth shut the exact moment it shot its fireball. The result produced a loud _boom_ as the fireball ruptured within the giant lizard's mouth, causing wisps of fire, puffs of smoke, and a cry of pain to slip past the big lizard's clenched teeth.

Suvica raised his fists for another strike, but the Big Dodongo jerked its massive head upward, shooting him into the air. That wasn't a problem; Suvica opened his wings and rebalanced himself in midair.

He snarled at the Big Dodongo's petty rebellion, intertwining his reinforced fingers and clenching his hands together so he could better hammer the Big Dodongo to death. He folded his wings and dove. The smaller Dodongos moved to protect their leader, crowding close to the Big Dodongo and opening their jaws. All together, they fired numerous jets of flame at Suvica, trying to ward him away with quantity instead of quality. If the Big Dodongo's fireball was a boulder launched by a catapult, than these streams of piss were pebbles fired from slingshots; neither would have hurt a dragon. Suvica plowed past the flames brushing his body, torching his clothes, and heating the chain around his neck, yet failing to burn his skin.

"WEAK! WEAK! WEAK!" He roared, sledge hammering the horn in the center of the Big Dodongo's head with his fists. The Big Dodongo sunk several feet back into the tunnel from which it was crawling from, and a crack formed at the base of its horn.

Suvica opened his own mouth to release a lightning bolt, feeling the electricity crackle in his throat, but a wave of Dodongos suddenly jumped into the air, aiming for him. He lashed out with his tail, smacking several of the incoming lizards back towards the ground. It wasn't enough to deflect all of them; one Dodongo managed to sink its teeth into his tail while another one clawed at his wings, ripping the membrane. Ignoring the discomfort, Suvica dispatched the nuisance chewing on his tail with a bolt of lightning and ripped the Dodongo at his wings in half with his hands. As soon as he killed those two, several more were already pouncing for him.

Suvica positioned his feet on the Big Dodongo's horn and braced himself for the coming wave, but there was one danger he was not prepared for. The Big Dodongo raised one large paw and smashed him off its head. When it struck, it felt like a mountain had stood up and sat on him; Suvica's body buckled beneath the blow, sending him flying towards the ground and crashing into a Dodongo-infested wall. Before he could recover, the Big Dodongo raised the same foot over him in an attempt to grind him into dust.

Outraged that a lower life form actually believed it could defeat him, Suvica jumped to his feet and flew straight into the Big Dodongo's colossal limb. He rammed into the bottom of the paw, jabbing his dragon-clawed-fingers into its flesh and causing a rain of thick blue blood to seep from the punctures. The Big Dodongo's roar of pain grated his ears, yet the overfed lizard didn't back down. Instead, it gathered all its might and weight to fight back, shoving him back into the solid rock floor. He braced his hands against the Big Dodongo's foot and his feet against to floor to fight back. Against the full weight of the Big Dodongo, he was dropped to one knee, almost breaking his leg and his pride. His black wings fluttered weakly as the oversized lizard relentlessly flattened him.

Somewhere above him, past the gnarling of the Dodongos, he could hear some of the battling Gorons yammer. "Look! The King Dodongo is returning Earthquake to the earth mother!"

"It was reckless of him to fight alone! He merely paid for his arrogance!"

"He fights as if the father sky presses down on him! He cannot win!"

Even in his situation, Suvica barked a laugh. "Reckless?" His muscles bulged, fighting to keep the rest of his body standing. "Arrogance?" His tail twitched as a nearby Dodongo scratched at it. "If this is the sky … THEN IT'S PRETTY DAMN LIGHT!" Summoning all of his available strength, Suvica fought against the odds and threw the Big Dodongo's bleeding foot back. Visibly stunned and off balance, Suvica shot a barrage of lightning bolts from his mouth, striking the vulnerable Big Dodongo's face in rapid succession. None of them caused the giant lizard any harm.

While the Big Dodongo struggled to regain balance, the smaller Dodongos surrounding Suvica converged on him. The first was brave and stupid enough to try and take him head on; Suvica punched the Dodongo's face so hard its head was reduced to a smashed plump. Three more attacked him from behind, easily repelled after he brushed them aside with a flap of his wings. Another succeeded in closing its teeth around Suvica's right leg, sending several nails of pain up his limb. Undeterred by a love-bite, he grabbed the Dodongo's horn, ripped it off, and shoved it into the lizard's eye. He never got a chance to yank his leg out from the dead Dodongo's slack jaw; another lizard pounced at his left wing, holding it down with its teeth and pinning it to the ground. Suvica planned to crush that lowlife's spine with a lash from his tail, but two more chomped down and held onto it before he could strike. Howling, Suvica wrenched his body in a sharp circle, throwing off the Dodongos latched onto him. Temporarily freed, he grabbed the nearest Dodongo carcass by the tail and swung it in a horizontal sweep, battering aside the green lizards rushing towards his front but leaving his back exposed. He hissed as another Dodongo crunched at his tail yet again. More pissed off than before, he turned around and grabbed the Dodongo's upper mouth with his left hand and lower jaw with his right, killing it by tearing its mouth in half, throwing the upper and lower jaw in two separate directions with a blood curling wrench.

The tides of lizards refused to relent, and Suvica fought back with equal animosity. He lost track of his actions as his body moved on its own, driven by his searing rage. Cracked Dodongo scales, ripped lizard limbs, and gushes of blue blood flew around him as Suvica threw himself onto one Dodongo after another, breaking their heads with his fists, tearing out their throats with his teeth, and ripping them apart with his hands. He was determined to eradiated them all into extinction as he bellowed in outrage.

"Suvica! Behind!"

That was Rail's voice, but Suvica didn't need to see in order to know what was coming. A shadow loomed over him as the Big Dodongo regained its balance and resumed the attack, raising its uninjured leg and swinging it down towards him. In one hasty motion, Suvica spun in a circle, slapping all the nearby Dodongos with his tail to stun them, folded his wings as close to his body as possible, and mustered all the strength in his legs to jump towards the incoming foot. He held both hands forward, keeping his fingers straight as a spear instead of balled up into fists. With his dragon nails sharper than a sword, he tore into the Big Dodongo's foot, entering the bottom, tearing his way past the fibers of flesh and muscle, and emerging from the other end. At least, he half-emerged. Everything above his waist, bathed in goblets of blue blood, had successfully impaled and broken past the Big Dodongo's paw, but his legs and tail remained stuck within the thrashing limb. Before he could pull himself free, the Big Dodongo slammed its leg and Suvica into the floor, burying him several feet down into solid stone. The damage left him dazed, but it was nothing compared to what the monstrous beast did next. Keeping its foot and Suvica inside the rock floor, it began to drag its mighty limb through the stone to dig up a deep trench, almost crushing Suvica flat with overwhelming pressure. He couldn't breathe while he was being squashed alive, his sturdy body shredded against layers of mountain granite. The Big Dodongo dragged him around half of Goron City's bottom floor before hauling him out of the upturned groove of shattered stone.

The damage was horrific. Almost all the bones in Suvica's upper body were either fractured or smashed, numbing all his limbs like molten steel. Much of his bare skin was scrapped off, and although Suvica protected his head with his dragon-scaled arms, his mouth was still filled with dust, rock, blood, and bile. His wings were bent out of shape and torn in several places, and the scales on his arms were crooked and dented. Though his body was incinerated by great pain, his anger was greater. He jerked his body forward and sunk his teeth into the back of the Big Dodongo's foot, tearing out a chuck of flesh and scales. The Big Dodongo roared, using its free paw to swipe Suvica clean out of its wound. The blow hurled him into the walls of Goron City, somewhere around the midlevel and above the heads of several surprised Gorons.

_This lizard … is tough … _Suvica groaned, his body and mind shaking. He peeled off the cratered wall and slipped to the ground, landing on all fours. His broken fists thumped against the floor, and the blaring in his ears blocking out all other sounds. He couldn't muster the strength to reopen his eyes, keeping him locked in the loser's darkness. _If only this stupid seal wasn't in my way, if only I was at full strength, if only I was a full Thunder Dragon! I could kill this thing in a heartbeat!_ Then he smirked at his own whining. _If, if, if. All these "_if_" statements coming from me … Ha! I really have gotten weak. The strong eat the weak! That's always been the law! It doesn't matter if I'm sealed away or not! Excuses don't matter in the face of death, that's always how it's been for me! I survived because I've always been stronger, and I'll keep on surviving! That Big Dodongo, no, that King Dodongo is strong, but I'm still stronger!_ Suvica shoved himself to his feet, ignoring the chain reaction of pain that mutilated his body. "I'll win, I'll win, I'LL WIN!" He bellowed, tossing his head back and roaring.

Someone punched him.

Putting all his injuries together, this one punch felt like a meteor thrown by the Goddesses, smacking him dead in the face. Forcing open his eyes, he found Link standing in front of him, his fist wet with Suvica's blood. There was disappointment filling the Forest Boy's eyes.

"Calm down and face it, you can't beat that thing alone," Link said, stepping out of Suvica's line of sight and pointing downward. The King Dodongo pulled the remaining half of its body from the tunneling hole in the ground, bringing its entire figure to light. Unlike normal Dodongos, the Infernal Dinosaur had rear legs, a row of giant spikes on its back, and one short but scale-protected tail. The King Dodongo was different from its underlings, because it had no evident weakness. Freely prowling the bottom floor of Goron City, its large bulk took up almost the whole area, and a fresh wave of hungry Dodongo gushed forth from the unplugged hole it emerged from. A few of the defending Gorons on the lower levels were armed with weapons and fought to push the Dodongos back, but their defenses were frail.

"I can beat it anytime, anywhere!" Suvica shouted back, wincing as he used his rock-torn tongue.

"No, you can't. Admit it, that thing is stronger than you."

"Nothing is stronger than me! I'm the strongest! I'm going to tear that giant lizard a new one!"

"By doing what? Charging at it like a blinded fool? You'll be overrun by Dodongos before you're able to do any serious damage. Look at them all!" The mass of lizards, which previously occupied only the lowest level the city, now covered a fifth of the lower area. The King Dodongo, seeking another adversary, used its injured front legs to climb up the ledges of the city; a fraction of Goron City's warriors fought to push the Dodongos back, swinging their big swords and spears at the advancing tide. The rest of the Gorons were taking care of the injured, preparing more weapons, or searching for ways to make themselves useful. Boss Goron Darunia was trying to bring order into the chaos engulfing his people at the top-most level, but with little success.

"So what are you suggesting we do?" Suvica asked snidely, leaning against the fractured wall to let several Gorons roll by him. "Step back? Watch the show? Escape and let the Gorons become dinner for the Dodongos? I don't give a dragon's heap about the Gorons, but I'll never run!"

"We're not going to run. We're to fight, and we're going to win."

Suvica barked with mocking laughter. "Win? You take care of a few little Dodongos with your fancy magic, and you think you can win? I'm the only one who can defeat the King Dodongo! I'm the only one with the strength, the power! If all you can do is howl at the moon, then get out of my way before you start jumping!" Suvica pushed forward, trying to shove past Link.

His efforts were rewarded with Link's fist slamming against his face. Suvica was knocked back against the wall, barely standing and eyes spinning. "Don't get conceited, Thunder Dragon." Link snarled, stretching his fingers and pulling out his sheathed sword. "I know you're strong, but in this situation your power is nothing! When someone throws a rock at you, you always respond by throwing a bigger rock! You never try to dodge, and you never try a change in tactics! That's why you can't win when you fight something with more brute force than you!" Suvica didn't bother to snap back; behind Link, the King Dodongo was preparing another one of its fireballs, and it was a special gift meant just for Suvica. Only he could stop it, and he didn't have time for Forest Boy's rambling. He redoubled his efforts to get past Link, but Forest Boy refused to yield and continued with his lecture. "You can't beat the King Dodongo alone, not with your way!"

The King Dodongo's mouth was open; it could fire at any time. "Move it, Forest Boy! Get out of my way!"

"But what makes me even angrier—!" Link shoved Suvica back, raised his sword to eye-level, and turned around. His blade flashed with brilliant orange energy before shooting a Spear Attack twice its normal size, gouging out the King Dodongo's left eye. Withdrawing, the King Dodongo misfired its ball of flames, shooting it into a herd of its own Dodongos and cremating them into ashes. Suvica was rendered speechless at Link's improvised approach, but even more dumbfound at what he said next, "—what makes me even angrier is that the dragon who I've considered my rival is in such a pitiful state! I respect your strength and determination, Suvica, I really do. You're annoying, and you anger me more times than I can count, but I know I can count on you when it matters! But now look at you! You say you want to kill me? You don't even look like you can kill Navi!"

"Hey!" an angry ring shouted from Link's hood.

"Sorry, just a figure of speech." He apologized, and then glared back at Suvica. "You want to kill me? Fine! But I'd die in shame before I let something as weak as you kill me! You think you're strong? You can barely stand! I know you value your own strength over everything else, but that's not going to cut it today! You want to win against the King Dodongo? Become better than yourself, stronger than yourself! Stop thinking with your fists, and trying using _this_—" Forest Boy jabbed a finger at Suvica's forehead, "—for a change!"

Suvica didn't know what to say. This wasn't like him; he didn't take smushy speeches or human pep talks from anyone. If someone annoyed him, he hit them. If someone insulted him, he bit them. If someone dared to take what was his, he killed them. But when someone spoke the way Link did, he didn't know what to do.

"Damn you, Forest Boy, always making things so confusing! Fine! You want to start using heads instead of brawn, I'll see what I can do! But let's get something straight!"

Behind Link, a Goron picked up a Bomb Flower and tossed it into the fray of Dodongos. The explosion that came five seconds later made everyone duck for cover, everyone but Link; he acted like he hadn't noticed the bomb. "Sure, what is it?"

"We're not friends."

"That's for sure."

"You're not going to get all buddy-buddy on me."

"No way."

"You're not going to start some sick speech where you spout nonsense about protecting friends and that dried up talk."

Link laughed. "You're not even a friend."

"We're rivals, and that's the end of it."

"Exactly. I hate you, and you hate me. You're the one who's going to kill me, and I'm the one who's going to beat you to a messed up pulp. After I take Ganondorf down, you're next. I'm going to beat you senseless, drag you in front of Pinky, and make you beg for forgiveness."

Suvica bawled in hilarity, gathering the attention of many unwanted eyes. "Rivals, eh? Sounds corny out loud. You want to beat me up, and I'm going to kill you? Simple as that? I like it!" He grasped Link's open hand with his own bloody and broken fingers. "Thanks for reminding me, Forest Boy! I'm the one who's going to kill you! Once Ganondorf is dead at your feet, I'll be there to end your life! I can't have some lowly Dodongo putting me out of commission before then!"

"Once I take Ganondorf down, I'm bringing you to your knees! Don't forget that! Until then, I better not see anyone or anything beat me to the chase!"

Suvica sneered. "Until then, you better keep your neck clean and washed! Nothing is going to kill you, not a monster, not the King Dodongo, and not even Ganondorf! I'm the one who's going to eat your heart from your chest!"

Link grinned, and Suvica smirked. Together, they turned their heads and stared down at the King Dodongo, which was being repelled by a volley of giant metal spears.

"Now then—"

"—let's get this party started!"

* * *

The party was delayed.

This was one of those times where Suvica had to say, "I hate you Forest Boy, I really do." After he was all fired up and ready for the second round with the King Dodongo, Link ruined the moment by telling him to fall back. It took Suvica ten agonizing minutes to bend his pride enough to scurry away to the higher levels of Goron City.

Boss Goron Darunia finally had his warriors organized and under control, ordering them to create metal barricades to stall the Dodongos. He also had several currents of lava redirected from the smith centers and poured onto the unsuspecting Dodongos below. As the fortifications were being made, the warrior Gorons were dressing themselves for battle, bolting heavy sets of metal armor onto their chests, arms, legs, and heads. Weapons were distributed, ranging from double-edged swords taller than the adult human to spears twice that length. A few equipped themselves with steel bows and metal arrows a normal human couldn't dream of using. The more Suvica watched the Gorons suitably dress themselves for all out war, the more his broken arms longed to rip the King Dodongo's head off.

"Come on!" He complained, his tattered right arm slung over Link's shoulders. Having Link help him walk up the inner stairs of Goron City was more painful than having a live Biri stuck up the wrong area. "I can walk, and I can fight! Let go of me already!"

Link only held onto him tighter. "Shut up and walk. You're going to be more useful to me healed than injured."

"Just what kind of plan are you plotting in that green hood of yours?"

"One than ends up with both of us seriously wounded. That's why I need you as healthy as a fig tree right now."

"Wonderful! I've lost my right to be compared with a living creature!"

Their sly exchange of gibe lasted until they reached the second-highest level of Goron City, where long rows of wounded Gorons were being cared for. Malon, the Princess, and Rail were also there, resting and having their own individual wounds and burns treated. The Princess had a bandage wrapped around her head, covering most of her hair, Malon was poking at the burns on her arm, and Rail suffered from several cuts across his whole body. The Princess, between pauses for air, was also healing the wounds of the injured Gorons with magic, causing their bloody lacerations and ugly burns to disappear beneath the pink light exuding from her hands.

Suvica found this highly offensive. "Princess!"

She looked up from her healing, looking a little pale from the effort. "What is it that you would so rudely disrupt my healing for, dragon?"

"You know healing magic?"

"You must have suffered a grave injury to your eyes, dragon, after so recklessly attacking the King Dodongo. Can you not see it without asking, or are you truly so daft?"

Suvica ignored the Princess's chilly demeanor. "Did you learn healing magic now, or did you always know?"

"I mastered the art a few minutes ago."

"Wait, a few minutes ago? Are you saying you didn't know healing magic before, but you could've learned it whenever you wanted?"

"Indeed, it appears so."

"So why did you heal me back at Denion? If you could've learned healing magic whenever you pleased, why didn't you patch me up after the witch thrashed me?"

"I enjoyed watching you suffer, lizard. You deserved it." The Princess hissed, healing her patient and receiving the revived Goron's shower of thanks. After she took ten seconds to replenish a little strength, she turned to Link and kindly asked, "Are you alright, Link?"

Suvica shouted over Link's response. "Why am I getting the cold shoulder?"

"Why do you think?" Link sighed, releasing Suvica and letting him flop to the ground, aggravating all his cuts and breaks; his wounds were too numerous and harsh for his own natural regenerative abilities to fix. "Zelda, can you heal him?"

The Princess stumbled over to Suvica, kneeling until her face hovered over his. There was a clear look of distain in her eyes. "Must I?"

"I need his help."

"Very well, then. Keep still, lizard." The Princess placed both her hands on Suvica's ruined chest and allowed her magic to work. He bared his teeth as the cracks on his bones snapped together. The pain eased away after his ribs popped back into their proper place, but then his muscles spasm as they stitched together, and his skin itched like a thousand ants as it grew back. He was pretty sure healing wasn't supposed to be this painful; he was willing to bet the Princess was purposely tormenting him. "I cannot believe you were thick enough to attack the King Dodongo and its children by yourself, without support! Do you realize your unneeded presence prevented the Gorons from continuing their long-ranged attacks in fear of striking you? Honestly, I wish one of their spears _did _pierce your hearts!"

Suvica remained deathly silent; for many reasons, the Princess was not to be trifled with at the moment (especially when he was at the mercy of her magic). At the very least, Rail answered Suvica's most pressing question: "You're acting pretty cold there, Zelda. Something wrong? You usually speak with a bit more delicacy, even to Suvica."

"Delicacy? We are being attacked by the creatures of old, the Dodongos and their legendary King!" The Princess cried, intentionally slapping Suvica's face with a full palm, causing him to see stars. "Yet when order and ranks are needed for the sake of survival, this fool rushed off on his own to spur more chaos! Lives are at stake! The fate of the Gorons depends on our actions! We cannot afford to have a dragon too busy to satisfy his own desires bring in his own method of pandemonium! Link, please promise me Suvica's aid will be worth it, or I will stuff a Din's Fire down his gullet!"

Link coughed, then covered his mouth with his hands to fight down his laughter. "Don't worry, he'll be worth it. There's something only he can do, other than wreck everything."

"Your words fail to inspire confidence, but I shall believe in you," The Princess replied. Suvica saw it only because her head was right above his, but there was a loving smile of admiration on the Princess's lips, if only for a second.

"Are you two dating?" He asked.

The Princess slapped Suvica so hard he started seeing fairies; oh wait, it was only Blue Fluffy snickering over his dazed eyes. "Aw, dragon got a boo-boo?" Suvica tried to squish Blue Fluffy with one of his healed hands, but missed.

"You're healing is complete," the Princess sighed, tumbling away from Suvica's restored body. "By the Goddesses, your injures were by far the most severe I've healed today. Your vitality astonishes me."

"Thanks," Suvica mumbled, pushing himself back up, rather amazed his broken body was mended in a matter of moments.

"Who's dating?" Rail butt in as Blue Fluffy flew back to Link's hood.

"The lizard is only trying to annoy me, that is all," the Princess sighed, blaming her reddening face on Goron City's dry air. "Now if you shall excuse me, there are others who require my attention."

"Can't they just lick their wounds and get over it?" Suvica joked, pleased to find all his prior injuries gone. He experimentally extended his wings and tail; they were remarkably intact.

The Princess shot him her most vicious glare; he actually flinched. "I know not the properties of dragon saliva, but should it have any healing capabilities, perhaps you should lick their wounds for them!"

"I'm good, thanks."

Rail started to suffer a fit of giggles. "I wouldn't let you lick me, even if you paid me a king's fortune."

Malon had the opposite reaction. "Your spit can heal wounds? That's so cool, Suvi! Can you lick my wound too?" She asked, holding out her lightly burned arm.

"L-L-Link!" Suvica stuttered, pushing Malon away, "S-So what's the plan? Y-You said you wanted me in top shape? Well here I am!"

Link made a smile so wry and curly he almost thought Forest Boy was one of those human aristocrats. "What's wrong, Suvica? Don't tell me the mighty Thunder Dragon suddenly got shy?"

"Forest Boy!"

"Young Link! Mighty Earthquake! So this is where I find you both!" Darunia boomed, stepping past his wounded brethren and hustling armored warriors. He, like his battling Gorons, was coated in armor thicker than Suvica's arms. Iron gauntlets, shoulder pads, greaves, breastplate, and a helmet with the Triforce chiseled on the front; the Boss Goron came with the whole army package.

Suvica found their armor to be heavy and burdensome; why couldn't they grow scales like him? "What do you want?"

"No need to be so cold, Mighty Earthquake!"

"The name is Suvica, get it right!"

"We Gorons only speak your name in respect, Mighty Earthquake."

"An earthquake happens because the earth is breaking a bone. Why would I want to be named after that?" Suvica demanded.

Boss Goron Darunia blinked past his iron helm. "You certainly are a strange one, Dragon Suvica."

Suvica turned back to Link. "You said you have a plan, so speak! My scales are getting rusty here!"

"I'll tell you about it, but I wish I had the strength to use those Bomb Flowers," Link said, crossing his arms. "I've tried, but their roots are harder to break than I thought, and it would help the plan a lot if I could use them freely,"

Darunia's face brightened. "That reminds me, young Link! I have a gift for you, so please accept it!" The Boss Goron's large hands rummaged inside his armor; in due time, he pulled out a band of gold. It was of simple design, with three prongs on the top and the shadowed engraving of a diamond. It was large enough to fit around Suvica's head, yet too thick to be a necklace.

"Seriously?" Suvica said, staring hungrily at the gold band. "We're about to fight a war we don't know if we can win, and you're giving us gold we might never be able to use? You've got terrible timing. But if Link doesn't want it, I'll take it."

Darunia laughed, slapping his breastplate with his armored palm. "This is no ordinary gold, Dragon Suvica! I had this made for you, Link, soon after our discussion together. My finest smiths used the last of our Heart Gold to forge this, so we cannot create any more. However, I know you shall put this to good use!"

Link opened his hands, and Darunia place the gold band into Forest Boy's palms; he almost dropped it. "What is this?"

"This is the Goron's Bracelet!"

Suvica crossed his eyes. "Dude, Boss Goron. That's a lame name."

Darunia was unsettled, but continued his explanation. "Eh-ehm. Smithed from our last supply of Heart Gold, the Goron's Bracelet possesses the innate ability to strengthen its wearer! Should you don this bracelet, you shall have the strength of the Gorons in your fists and arms!"

Suvica took another look at the "bracelet." Maybe it could be considered a bracelet to a Goron with large muscular arms like Darunia, but for humans like Link, it was more like a headband, a heavy one at that.

"Your gift is a kind one," Link said, struggling to keep the "bracelet" a lift, "But I seriously doubt I'll be able to wear it."

"Ah, fear not! This bracelet is enchanted! Here, place it on your wrist and see for yourself!" Darunia offered; Link did just that. He placed his left arm through the center of the armlet, and once it was in place, the Goron's Bracelet shrunk, diminishing in size until it fit snuggly around his wrist. "There, you see!" Darunia said proudly. "And it fits you well! And fear not, for no hungry thief can steal this treasure from you! The Goron's Bracelet is now yours and yours alone! Your enhanced strength is now a part of you, regardless if you wear the bracelet or not!"

Link waved his left arm with caution, almost as if he were afraid of his own hand. "Thanks, Darunia. This'll be a big help to me. But I won't take off the Goron's Bracelet, because it's your gift to me."

Darunia beamed. "You are your father's son. Your words are too kind."

Suvica mused to himself. "I don't know, Forest Boy. Boss Goron here could be yanking your tail. I can't tell if you're stronger or not."

"Only one way to find out," Link chuckled, raising his left hand and holding it in front of Suvica's face. He understood Forest Boy's meaning and sneered. If Link was going to challenge him, then there was no way Suvica was going to hold back. He summoned the dragon-scales on his left right hand and accepted the invitation. When their palms clasped together, the brutal arm-wrestling began. Betraying Suvica's expectations, Link initially gained the upper hand, welding his fingers into the back of Suvica's scaled hand and almost dropping him to his knees. Boss Goron Darunia hadn't lied; Forest Boy's strength had increased tenfold. Nevertheless, dragons defeated Gorons in strength, and now was no exception. Suvica fought back with every fiber of muscle in his body, standing straight and pressuring Link with an equal, if not greater, amount of power.

Right as Suvica was about to break the stalemate and turn the contest to his favor, Rail stepped forth, grabbed both their heads, and slammed them together. Something soft cushioned their skulls, but it still stung a little. "What are you idiots doing?"

"W-W-W-What do y-y-y-y-you think y-y-you're doing, R-R-Rail," Navi weakly tripped as her tongue rolled in her mouth, slipping out of Link's hood and falling into his hands. "S-S-Smashing m-m-me like t-t-that … I thought w-we were on the s-s-same side as Suvica h-h-haters."

"Oh, sorry Navi. I forgot you were in there." Rail said sheepishly. "But you two! We've got a battle to fight, and you're both playing around! Zelda would slap you two silly for wasting time like that!"

"I must also return to fight by my people's side," Darunia announced, readjusting his gauntlets. "I wish you all good fortune in battle. With the King Dodongo as my foe, I know I cannot win. But as your foe, Link and Suvica, I cannot tell the outcome. May the earth mother protect you both!" Darunia bent his short knees to his belly, wrapped his large arms around his chest, and rolled away into battle as a giant metal bowling ball.

Link drew his toothpick sword and wooden shield. "Let's go, Suvica. We've got a Dodongo to kill."

Suvica cracked his knuckles. "Think you can make some pancakes out of it once we're done?"

"That's disgusting."

"Thank you."

Navi weakly wobbled to Forest Boy's hood. "I-I-I'm with you all the way, Link. I'm not scared of any Dodongo, even if it can't be k-k-killed. I'm going to get you for this R-R-Rail."

Rail folded his hands in a prayer-like fashion. "Sorry Navi, really. Anything I can do to help?"

"With the Gorons organized and distracting the normal Dodongos, we're going to attack the King Dodongo directly," Link replied.

"About time," Suvica growled, letting sparks dance on his tongue. "Since you were talking smack about me fighting it like a fool, you probably have a smarter plan, right?"

"Plan? Yes. Smart? Not really." Link shrugged. "Suvica, you've made it clear attacking the King Dodongo from the outside won't get us very far. In that case, we just need to attack it from the inside. Zelda had the right idea."

"The Princess?" Suvica said. "What'd she say?"

"She talked about ramming a fireball down your throat, remember?"

"Oh yeah, that."

"We'll do the same." Link confirmed. "But instead of fireballs, something with a little more bang."

Suvica felt an involuntary grin tug on his lips. "A Bomb Flower. We're going to force feed that sucker a Bomb Flower!"

"As many Bomb Flowers as it takes," Link nodded. "That's the plan. There are still a few Bomb Flowers left in Goron City. The moment the King Dodongo opens its mouth, one of us needs to throw in a Bomb Flower. Simple, right?"

Rail looked down at the King Dodongo. The Infernal Dinosaur was shooting fireballs like rain, and was surrounded by a legion of Dodongos which filled half of Goron City. To make matters a little more interesting, the foreign tunnel puncturing the bottom floor continued to introduce new Dodongos into the city with no signs of stopping.

Suvica laughed. "Yep, simple!"

He jumped, invigorated by his healed body and fresh knowledge of how to put an end of the King Dodongo once and for all. Link and Rail dove after him, skydiving by his side as the three of them fell. Link attacked first, allowing his sword to hum with its normal blue energy and unleashing a Spin Attack. He stopped in midair while his Spin Attack expanded outward, striking a circular row of Dodongos scaling the walls of Goron City. He landed on the horn of the King Dodongo, ramming his blade into the ivory spike to prevent the Infernal Dinosaur from shaking him off.

Rail was next. He fit his foot onto the Hylian Shield's handle, using it as a sled to slide down the walls of Goron City. He surfed across the walls, ramming into whatever Dodongo got in his way until he jumped, soaring towards the King Dodongo and landing on its colossal back

Link jumped down from the King Dodongo's horn and rolled beside Rail. He raised his sword and stabbed it an inch into a gap between the Infernal Dinosaur's scales, barely penetrating its hide. Then, Rail lifted his Hylian Shield and hammered his sword downward, nailing the blade and burying it hilt-deep into the flesh. The King Dodongo roared in pain, spreading its mouth wide open.

Suvica seized the opportunity, locating a Bomb Flowers on a nearby ledge. He ripped the explosive from its roots, igniting an automatic fuse and beginning the five second countdown until detonation. He plummeted towards the King Dodongo with the Bomb Flowers in tow, dodging two streams of flames fired from different Dodongos. When there was a second left on the Bomb Flower, Suvica tossed the explosive into the King Dodongo's open mouth, down its tongue, and into its throat. The explosion was massive, momentarily inflating the Infernal Dinosaur's sides like a balloon and jutting masses of smoke from between its teeth and nostrils.

An eruption of cheers assaulted Suvica's ears as the Gorons witnessed the King Dodongo suffer a fatal blow. Many Dodongos turned their enormous heads to see their elder cough up smoke and blood.

"Spear throwers!" Boss Goron Darunia bellowed, somewhere between the line separating defending Gorons and invading Dodongos. "Give them cover! THROW!" A wave of giant metal spears descended from the higher levels of Goron City, sending black rain to impale the unwary Dodongos. None of the spears were directed towards the King Dodongos, probably in fear of hitting Link or Rail.

The King Dodongo, in pain but now fully aware of their winning tactic, clamped its mouth shut and convulsed its body, trying to throw Link and Rail off its back. Link grabbed his sword anchored into King Dodongo with his left hand and grabbed Rail with his right, holding both of them onto the Infernal Dinosaur as the beast bucked and brawled.

Suvica flew to the Gorons, swiped a pair of spears from two startled Gorons, and dived. Pointing both metal spears straight down, he used the weapons to impale the King Dodongo's right foot and pegged the protruding spear heads into the rock below, securing the beast into place, stopping its frantic movements. At ground level, a handful of Dodongos tried to attack Suvica with tooth and claw, but he jumped back into the air and glided above the Infernal Dinosaur.

"Link! Let go of your sword!" Suvica shouted, throwing his head back and feeling his lungs sparkle with gathering electricity. Link released the hilt of his sword and pushed Rail back as Suvica shot a pillar of lightning directly at Link's buried sword. The blade conducted his electricity and spread it throughout the King Dodongo's body, inducing a seizure of spasms; the Infernal Dinosaur refused to open its maw.

Link yanked his sword out of the King Dodongo's back and shouted a few words to Rail. Suvica was unable to hear what he said over the activity within Goron City, but Rail did; he ran up the length of the King Dodongo's spine, stopping when he was right above the Infernal Dinosaur's uninjured right eye. He swung his Hylian Shield, smashing the King Dodongo's pupil and taking away its sight. Its pain and fury ripped a howl from its mouth, giving Suvica the opening he needed to track down another Bomb Flower and hurl it in. The explosive rolled into the King Dodongo's throat and exploded, mimicking the first Bomb Flower in result and damage. The Infernal Dinosaur staggered, its shoulders slumped as its insides were being blown to pieces.

Another storm of applause almost knocked Suvica out of the air. The Dodongos, after witnessing their leader endure another fatal attack, halted their invasion against the Gorons. Instead, they pulled back and congregate towards Link and Rail. The King Dodongo remained motionless as its children clambered up its massive legs, slumped tail, and bowed head to approach and surround the two of them.

"Archers! Supporting fire!" Darunia ordered; the Boss Goron shoved his way past his warriors, trying to get his Gorons to stop cheering and start helping. "Spear throwers! Don't just stand there! THROW! Give our comrades some backup!" Steel arrows and metal spears came as a downpour of death, piercing thick Dodongo scales and penetrating vulnerable tails. Many Dodongos fell to the first volley and even more perished in the second. Their carcasses were beginning to pile into mounds, yet their reinforcements continued to surge forth from the tunnel at the bottom most level of Goron City, right beneath the King Dodongo's belly. Link was already fending off several Dodongo with his Spin Attack and Rail was defending against numerous jets of flames with his shield.

Suvica knew what he had to do. Knowing the risks and tossing them out the window, he located a stray Bomb Flower, plucked it, and flew for the tunnel. He had to avoid two misfired arrows and four poorly thrown spears, but managed fly below the King Dodongo and dive into the tunnel with the Bomb Flower wrapped against his chest. For one second, darkness was all he saw, and snapping Dodongo teeth was all he heard. Then the Bomb Flower detonated. The underground channel brimming with Dodongos was illuminated by an initial flash, and then wiped out by the following explosion. It blasted Suvica backwards, pressing a wall of air against his wings and flinging him out of the collapsing tunnel. His ears buzzed from the aftermath, but he watched in triumph as the tunnel caved in on itself to seal away all further back up. The Gorons were probably cheering their heads off again, but the noise was lost to the blaring screech which remained in his ears.

Suvica stayed dazed a moment too long; precariously struggling to stay aloft with his strained wings, a Dodongo below him jumped up and chomped on his dangling tail, dragging him back down to the ground. His back and wings slammed into the ground hard, and before he could say "My-Daddy's-A-Barnacle" a mountain of Dodongos was pilling up on him. They were randomly scratching and biting at him and at each other, cutting open his clothes and skin, poking open gashes in his arm, and clawing at his wings.

Link's Disk Attack cleaved through the mound, lessening the burden on Suvica's body and allowing him to free himself. He threw off the remaining Dodongos bearing down on him, punching two in the face, snapping the spines of four more with his tail, and shocking three to death with his lightning. A Dodongo scaling the Infernal Dinosaur's leg bound off and tried to flatten Suvica in a body slam; he stepped to the side, let the Dodongo crash into the ground, and then finished it off with several merciless heel stomps to its skull.

"Dragon Suvica! Take these!" Darunia shouted from above. Three giant blades came spinning towards him; Suvica caught one with each hand and the third with his tail; they were all double-sided steel swords more than eight feet in length, weighing more than ninety pounds each.

Suvica went to work with his new toys; each swing from his new giant swords fell one Dodongo, and the blade wielded by his tail covered his back from cowardly surprise attacks. When a Dodongo spat a stream of fire at Suvica, he let the flames splash against the blood-ridden steel swords and then sliced the attacking Dodongo in half with the heated blade. He got careless with the sword in his tail, letting it dangle for a second too long and allowing a Dodongo to snap the blade in two with its teeth.

With one sword down, the remaining Dodongos around Suvica converged all at once. He had to borrow a technique from Link's book, holding his remaining two swords parallel to the ground and spinning in a wide circle. Although there was no magic involved in his spinning attack, he did manage to kill five Dodongos in one sweep while warding off the rest. After coming to halt, Suvica threw one sword at the nearest Dodongo and the other into the air above the King Dodongo's head. He flew after it, successfully grabbing the hilt in midair and pointing the tip of the blade at the King Dodongo's back. He aimed his giant weapon at the small sword wound inflicted by Link and dove. Link, Rail, and even the Dodongos scurried aside as Suvica plunged all eight feet of sharpened steel into the King Dodongo. The Infernal Dinosaur arched its back, but clenched its jagged teeth even tighter.

Suvica, fuming at the beast's persistence, pulled against his sword's protruding hilt to yank the blade out, but Link and Rail were right beside him; both of them were gripping the sword's hilt, and neither of them was pulling.

"PUSH!" Link ordered as he and Rail shoved. Suvica, understanding what Forest Boy was intending, joined in, digging his feet into the King Dodongo's back and throwing his might and weight into the buried sword. Inch by inch, the massive blade crawled forward. The Dodongos scampering about the King Dodongo's back realized what the three of them were up to, but were too slow to stop them. After another inch, the three of them were sprinting forward, carving a trench of flesh into the King Dodongo's back. The Infernal Dinosaur could not withstand the new abuse, opening its mouth and letting a wail of torture reverberate from its ragged throat.

Suvica took off, spreading his scratched up wings and flying in front of the King Dodongo's wide open mouth. A Goron threw a Bomb Flower to Suvica, but his aim was almost as terrible as Suvica's. The explosive flew past the tips of Suvica's fingers, over the King Dodongo's head, and headed straight for Link and Rail. Before he could chase down the fleeing Bomb Flower, Link noticed the incoming explosive and punched it once it was within his range. The explosive darted back towards Suvica, who was still positioned in front of the King Dodongo's open jaws. He quickly lashed out with his tail, knocking the Bomb Flower into the King Dodongo's mouth before the Infernal Dinosaur had a chance to close it. The third explosion brought the King Dodongo onto its stomach, with barely a whisper of life remaining.

This time, the cheers and praises of the Gorons were so deafening Suvica was certain Death Mountain was shaking. Link and Rail slid down the barely moving sides of the King Dodongo, and Suvica folded his wings to meet with them on ground level. The surviving Dodongos, now only numbering in the low thirties, ignored the three of them as they crowded around the front of the King Dodongo, making pitiful wailing noises to mourn for the fallen Infernal Dinosaur.

But it was a short lived victory. Suvica, Link, and Rail watched the King Dodongo feast on the smaller lizards to survive, consuming their flesh for vitality. The Dodongos tried to flee for their lives, but the King Dodongo scooped all of them into its ravaging jaws, using them as a final source of energy.

With all the Dodongos digesting in its traitorous stomach, the King Dodongo brought itself back onto all fours and roared; this one was filled with the dying will of destruction. The King Dodongo pulled its spear-pegged foot free from the ground and sent a raging fireball towards Suvica, Link, and Rail. Suvica grabbed the two of them by their collars and jumped, straining his wings to take flight. It was a struggle, but Suvica managed to fly the two of them above the fireball and out of danger before dropping them onto higher ground (He could only carry one person while flying? Screw that! Today was the day where limitations were burdens).

"I thought that thing was dying!" Rail exclaimed, watching the Gorons futilely throw their spears and shoot their arrows at the Infernal Dinosaur; their projectiles bounced off its hardened hide. "Three Bomb Flowers! Three! How can it still have so much strength?"

"It's a last stand," Suvica replied, grudgingly giving the King Dodongo some credit for its resilience. "It knows it's going to die, so it ate the rest of the Dodongos as food so that it'll have enough strength to bring down all of Goron City with it."

"Then we need to take it down before that happens!" Link declared, right as the King Dodongo blindly barreled towards them. Suvica grabbed the two of them again and dodged, feeling the muscles in his wings strain against the overburdening flight load. He dropped them onto the next ledge up, panting at the effort it took to save them both. "Suvica! Fly around the city and see if you can find anymore Bomb Flowers! We're going to use every last one to finish off the King Dodongo for good! Rail! The two of us will keep the King Dodongo busy until then!"

There was no room for argument as Link and Rail dashed away, heading for higher grounds. Suvica concentrated the last of his will power and strength into his wings, twitching as the strain threatened to break him. He took off despite the pain, jamming his teeth past every iron-rod of agony his wings gave off with each flap. The King Dodongo was in a state of frenzy, randomly thrashing its body while colliding into the walls of Goron City. All the while, it kept its mouth sealed. That one fireball from before was the last time it parted its teeth. The Infernal Dinosaur knew what would happen if it opened its mouth, even for a moment, and would not risk that again.

One problem at a time! For now, Suvica needed to find and locate more Bomb Flowers. He circled the Goron City several times, carefully leering at the top and bottom most levels. The good news was that he found three Bomb Flowers near the mid-section of Goron City, growing from a stray ridge. The bad news was that these were the last three Bomb Flowers in Goron City; if these three were wasted, they'd lose their last chance to save the city.

Suvica, despite all the pain from past and present injuries, smiled. Look at him, bearing all this pain to save a race he could care less about. He landed at the tiny ridge, stumbling as his wings buckled. He stood there, with three Bomb Flowers at his feet, yet with no way to put any of them to good use. He didn't want Link's advice or his smart-talking words of wisdom; Forest Boy had done enough, and Suvica had long passed his limit for following someone else's orders. Now he was going to finish this fight his way, with his methods. If the King Dodongo refused to open his ugly mug, then Suvica would go with the next best option. He grabbed one Bomb Flower in each hand and wrapped his tail around the third, plucking them all simultaneously. As the five second countdown began, Suvica flew upward, towards the roof of Goron City.

He soared above the stone monument suspended above the city, supported by the three thick chains each latched to equidistant corners of Goron City. Using his hands and tail, Suvica threw the three Bomb Flowers three different directions, each aimed for the tips of the three chains keeping the large stone monument in the air. As the three Bomb Flowers approached their faraway targets (and Suvica marveled at his miraculously good aim) he collapsed onto the head of the stone monument.

_I don't know what Goron this stone slab is honoring, but I'm not apologizing for what I'm about to do now!_ Suvica thought as the three separate Bomb Flowers exploded, destroying the three links keeping the monument afloat. With nothing to keep it in the air, the two-ton slab of decorated stone fell towards the ground, straight for the unaware King Dodongo below. The stone meteor crashed against the Infernal Dinosaur's back with mountain-splitting force, rupturing everyone's ears in a thunderous crash. The stone shrine shattered into a million fragments while splintering the King Dodongo's armored hide and spine. The beast crumpled, its mouth stretching open wider than ever before. There was no roar of pain or howl of agony, only a silent expression of the unendurable suffering wrought by Suvica's attack.

Yet even then, it refused to die. Even now, as Suvica slowly glided down towards the King Dodongo with his powerless wings, he could see the Infernal Dinosaur flailing its forelegs while quivering its massive head from shock. The last of the Bomb Flowers had been used, and in spite of Suvica's creative method of attack, the King Dodongo continued to cling to life.

"SUVICA!" Link's shout wiped away every stray though lingering in Suvica's head. He looked down to see Link leaping from the ledge from where he stood, with his sword and shield abandoned in Rail's arms. Knowing Forest Boy couldn't save himself with a Spin Attack without his sword, Suvica dipped downward, grabbing Link's shoulders before he hit the ground with a splat.

"What do you think you're doing?" Suvica demanded.

"We're finishing this!" Link snarled. "Fly into the King Dodongo's mouth! We're ending this, right here, right now!"

Suvica didn't have time to protest or extract a reason from Link; the two of them were already gliding for the King Dodongo's open mouth. His wings were locked into place, barely functioning after all the abuse he put them through. They couldn't change course; all they could do glide past its rows of teeth and soar over its tattered tongue. As the King Dodongo's wet throat constricted around them, Suvica looked back down at Link to see the Forest Boy holding his hands out in front of him, inches apart from each other.

Hovering between his hands was a Fountain Fairy.

A squall of questions suddenly gushed forth in Suvica's mind, but none of those mattered now, because what Link did next proved you could never anticipate anything he did.

The Fountain Fairy transformed into a sphere of red magic, coated in transparent diamond of blue. As they flew deeper into the King Dodongo's body, Link shouting a one phrase:

"DIN'S FIRE!"

* * *

EDIT: Chapter 21 of the FanFiction Three Spiritual Stones is out. I think it's been a small while since my last update. Sorry about that.

**ADDED 5/13/11:** Hi! Sorry to say, but there will be no updates for a long while. I broke my arm and a few fingers on the other doing something very stupid. Needless to say, typing has become an issue. I can only type by pressing one button at a time with my pinky, and writing stories that way hurts even more than the breaks. Sorry.

EDIT: Wow, it's been more than a year? I almost feel bad. Either way, I'm back. The King Dodongo finally makes an appearance! Woot! And then he dies, poor sap. Thank you for reading. (7/4/12)


	22. Chapter 22, Resolve

**Chapter 22**

**Resolve**

Rail watch Link and Suvica dive headlong into the inviting maw of the King Dodongo, crying out in horror as the monster's teeth closed around them. He didn't know what those two were planning, nor could he think of a suitable explanation; his mind was numbed in dread as he witnessed his two friends become fodder for the ancient monster. All around him, he could hear the woeful moans of the Gorons as they saw their two heroes get devoured. At the corner of their dismayed cries, he could discern Zelda and Malon's horrified sobs.

And then it happened.

The King Dodongo roiled in inscrutable torment as ruby-red flames began to erupt from random sections of its body, like leaks in an old water bag. Both its gouged eyes became geysers of crimson fire, indiscriminate scales gave way to jets of flames, and an inferno tore open the King Dodongo's orifice. Its intact silver scales glowed with a hint of cheery-scarlet as something, someone, burned the monster from the inside out.

_BOOM!_

All of a sudden, the flames flickering from the King Dodongo's body coalesced in the center of its stomach and exploded. The monster gave out one last death shriek as an unbearable dome of heat expanded from its body, considerably raising the temperature in all of Goron City. Rail had to duck behind his Hylian Shield to protect himself from the heat wave, gritting his teeth as his metal shield grew blistering hot in his grasp. When the mysterious flames died away, he threw aside his scalding shield with burnt hands and looked back down.

The King Dodongo, the unstoppable beast of old, was nothing more than a hulk of sizzling black flesh. Although most of its head remained whole, the rest of its body was nothing more than an indescribable lump of overcooked meat.

Rail didn't know what just happened, but he felt a more pressing demand weigh down his heart: What happened to Link and Suvica? If that inexplicable source of fire could do _that_ to the King Dodongo, he didn't want to imagine what it did to Link (not to mention he owed Navi a small favor for his prior actions).

Fear made his heart race, and dread brought silence to his ears. Knowing he couldn't bear to wait and ponder his friend's unknown fate, Rail kicked his right foot into the handle of his still-hot Hylian Shield and used it to surf down the near-vertical walls of Goron City. Before, this playful stunt brought an adrenaline rush to his brain, but now all he could do was fear for the worst. He jarred his teeth as his Hylian Shield came to abrupt stop at the bottom floor, jolting his body and sprawling him into several Dodongo carcasses (which were burnt black from the resulting explosion). He ignored the pain, kicking aside the ashy husks and stumbling over to the King Dodongo's corpse, ripping into what was left of its body with his hands.

"Link! Navi! Suvica!" He cried, tearing away handfuls of ash and meat. He didn't know how he was going to find them by digging into the King Dodongo's stomach like this, but he couldn't sit still and do nothing. There was a flash of green light at the corner of his eyes; Zelda and Malon teleported to his side and joined his futile efforts to excavate their friends, scooping out pieces of the King Dodongo's roasted skin with their hands while shouting, "Link!" and "Suvi!".

The Gorons had turned to statues. Perhaps it was from of the shock of the King Dodongo's death, or their unbearable joy in their victory against an impossible monster. Either way, not one mountain dweller moved an inch as they watched Rail, Zelda, and Malon desperately search for their friends.

"What are you doing?" Rail screamed, feeling tension bloat his stomach and bile clog his throat. "Help us! Help us find Link!" None of the Gorons moved. Link risked his life to take down the King Dodongo, saving the Goron race. He may have fought for the retrieval of the Spiritual Stone of Fire, but how could anyone ignore a feat as extraordinary as this? Grinding his teeth in frustration, Rail refocused all his attention on digging into the King Dodongo, choking down tears as he prayed for his friend's safety.

_RIP!_

Rail jumped aside as a massive chuck of the Infernal Dinosaur's meat was ripped off by the King of the Gorons, Darunia. The big boss Goron had shed his battle armor and was painted with numerous scratches and mild burns, but his glare was as stern and determined as ever.

"You heard the child!" Darunia bellowed, turning to his people and moving them into action with his words of authority. "Aid him! Find our saviors! MOVE!" All at once, Gorons came rolling to assist them in droves, avalanching down the slopes of their city and landing all around the corpse of the King Dodongo. Using rugged hands, giant weapons, and massive mallets, the Gorons tore into the remains of the King Dodongo. Rail, renewing his hope in finding his friends alive, redoubled his efforts as he ignored his blistering hands and clawed at the King Dodongo's meat.

For an endless sixty seconds, he continued to scoop out chucks of the Infernal Dinosaur's charred flesh, ignoring the burning sensation that came when he plunged his bare fingers into the smoking meat. He didn't care if he lost his hands in the process; he was going to find Link, Navi, and Suvica. He owed them all too much to let them die now.

Then a pillar of lightning suddenly shot out from the King Dodongo's back, forcing everyone to step away in surprise as pieces of the beast's meat, bones, and scales rained down on them. Rail shielded his eyes with his hands, and after the downpour ceased, he looked up to feel ten years of his life fly away in sheer relief.

Suvica had tore his way out of the King Dodongo, and stood atop of the cooked carcass with Link slung over his shoulders. His wings were a tattered mess, and his tail was bent in too many crooked ways, but his smeared face of delight was too profound to ignore. With Link still in his arms, the Thunder Dragon threw back his head and roared, filling all of Goron City with his bellowing scream of triumph. The Gorons didn't shrink away from the dragon's victory cry; instead, they added their own booming cheers to his, redoubling the echoing noise threatening to bring down the city.

After expending what was left of his strength in screaming, Suvica fell. Both he and Link tumbled down the sides of the King Dodongo's corpse, rolling towards the ground. Darunia caught Link and another Goron grabbed Suvica before the two of them hit the stone floor. The cheering never stopped, but Rail was already running towards his friends. The two Gorons laid Link and Suvica on the ground to rest; they'd definitely seen better days. Link's green tunic and hood were impossibly intact and unburned despite the mysterious explosion, yet were smeared in blue Dodongo blood. Small cuts ranged across his body, and a nasty looking burn covered his right leg, but otherwise, he was okay.

Suvica was definitely not "okay." Unlike Link, Suvica had the appearance of a foolish bloke who waltzed into the middle of a firestorm. His black hair was exhaling wisps of smoke, almost all his clothes were burned away, and his chain necklace was still red with residue heat. His wings were torn into strips, his tail was bent in the wrong direction, and his skin swelled with a painful red.

Despite all their wounds, the two were smiling.

"Are you two okay?" Rail demanded the moment he shoved his way past the Goron King and stood over the two of them.

"Forest … Boy," Suvica coughed, ignoring Rail's desperate inquiry. "You … _cough_ … alive?"

"Somewhat," Link panted, brushing ash from his forehead.

"Good, can't have you dying on me so soon," the dragon cackled.

"Likewise."

"But _damn_," Suvica snickered, wheezing out a small gust of sparks. "I still can't count the number of tricks up your sleeves. Since when did you use fire magic?"

Link winced from an unknown injury, but said, "Since now." Then he noticed Rail standing over them. "Hi Rail, how's it going?"

Rail let a feeble chuckle escape from him. "Good, now that I know you're alive. Is Navi okay?" The blue fairy rolled from the hem of Link's green-blue hood, waving "hello" with her wings. Miraculously, she looked uninjured.

"What about me? Aren't you glad to see I'm alive?" Suvica demanded.

"Not really," Rail joked.

Zelda and Malon made their way past the circle Gorons surrounding them; their distraught faces brightened considerably.

Suvica also looked pleased. "There's the Princess! How about a little healing magic for—?"

"Link!" Zelda cried, stepping on Suvica's face (he gave off a muffled "GAUFF!"as she did) and sitting next to Link. "You're alive! By the Goddesses, you're alive!"

Link chuckled, more to Suvica's expression than Zelda's reaction. "I'm alive."

"Fhuat bout me?" Suvica snapped; he bit his tongue when his face had been stepped on.

Malon kneeled next to him, drying a few early tears on her dress. "Don't worry Suvi, I'm really happy you're still alive. Want me to lick your wounds for you?"

The pinkish skin on Suvica's face burned red, so he tiled his head to look away.

Darunia bumbled forward, pushing aside Rail and Malon to behold the two little heroes. "Link! Dragon Suvica! It warms my heart to see you two again!" The Goron King slapped his protruding belly. "Although my soul weeps for the injured, my heart dances to know that this feral monster shall torment us no more! We must celebrate our victory and honor our dead! But first, let us find you two medical aid!"

* * *

Rail decided, after careful consideration, that a celebration with the Gorons was not a merriment humans could attend. Sure, they partied like there was no tomorrow, banging rock-on tune from their drums and shooting fireworks into the air while displaying feats of inhuman strength. However, it would've been much more enjoyable without the stone-on-a-bone meals and lava-grog drinks; Rail couldn't eat or drink anything the Goron made without breaking all the teeth in his mouth or burning a hole in his stomach. Not to mention their party "games" involved bending steel bars with their teeth, seeing how many knives they could digest, and "Pin the Spear in the Zora."

To everyone's surprise, none of the Gorons died during the battle. Many suffered life-threatening burns and mortal injuries from savage bites caused by the Dodongos, but all of them had been saved by Zelda and her healing magic. Thus, no graves were buried and no symphonies were played for the dead, intensifying the mood of the already merry atmosphere. Goron City was still an abysmal wreak; the smith shop canals of lava were broken, much of the bottom floor was in an absolute state of disrepair, and much of the city's ledges were crumbling due to the King Dodongo's rampage. Many Gorons were despairing over the stone monument that used to hang above the city, saying it was some sort of shrine honoring a Goron Hero, but since it was used to help slay the Infernal Dinosaur, no one mourned its passing for long. The undamaged sections of Goron City were now crowded with Gorons eating and drinking to their stomachs' content, playing games until they almost killed themselves, and praising Rail and the others (mostly Link, Suvica, and Zelda) for their efforts in slaying the King Dodongo, whose skull now hung from the ceiling in place of the stone monument Suvica destroyed. It was creepy, having a colossal Dodongo skull staring down at them, but Rail did his best to ignore it.

He and his friends were enjoying themselves on the bottom floor and center of Goron City. The large tunnel the King Dodongo used to burrow its way into the city was filled up, and much of the debris and rumble was swept aside to make room for giant stone chairs and tables. They all sat at a long table set up in the middle of the city, where King Darunia sat at the head. Food was being piled up by the dozen, but as Rail mentioned before, it was nothing any _sane_ human could safely digest (which was the reason why Suvica was eating everything with such gusto). Thankfully, Link brought out some food from his magic pouch and passed it out for everyone to enjoy, including the Kokiri delicacy, the pancake. While they ate, talked, and laughed with the Goron King, they also watched the festivities occurring all around them.

Link and Suvica were bandaged from head to toe, and although Zelda did everything within her power to ease their injuries, she'd used too much of her magic healing the wounded Gorons during the battle against the King Dodongo. Link told her not to worry about it, but Rail still saw her casting the occasional worried glance towards him. While the two heroes sat opposite from each other, in the seats closest to Darunia, Rail sat between Link and Zelda, while Malon was sitting beside Suvica. Everyone was gorging their bellies and curiosity.

"HA HA!" Darunia laughed so loudly that his voice smashed across the roaring festivities in the city. "You really are the son of Cross and Lillian, Link!" The King Goron bellowed, slapping his wide hands against the stone table, sending much of their food flying about. "Never have I seen such courage, guts, and determination! And that magic! HA! Outstanding! Brilliant! I've never met a lad such as you!"

"Thanks," Link said, squirming in the bandages mummifying him. "Still, I couldn't have done it without my friends."

"Damn straight!" Suvica laughed, standing in his chair despite the numerous bandages restraining his body; several of them ripped. "Do you see us? We blew that sucker a new one! Serves it right for trying to mess with me!"

"As I recall, you were doing an excellent job … getting beaten around," Zelda said with a sly smile. "I believe you only started to make yourself useful the moment Link helped put your head on straight. If anyone deserves credit for this victory, it is him."

"Huh?" The lighting newt scowled, getting in Zelda's face. "Did you see me, Princess? I smashed a damn mountain on the Big Dodongo's back! Ha! I didn't see Forest Boy do anything like that!"

"He blew up the King Dodongo from the inside with magic," Rail pointed out, barely containing his glee as he watched Suvica struggle to come up with a suitable retort.

"Bah! Who cares! Magic is cheating! By the way, Boss Goron," Suvica looked to Darunia, who was enjoying a fresh serving of Dodongo Cavern rocks. "That huge rock I dropped, why was it there to begin with?"

Darunia chugged a stone mug of lava-grog before answering. "It was the shrine we built in dedication to our Goron Hero, the one who slew the evil dragon Volvagia! It must have been divine fate which guided your actions today, Dragon Suvica, for you helped our great ancestor strike down yet another beast! Cheers!"

Suvica looked like he'd ingested a live Peahat Larvae without chewing as he turned to the rest of them. "Wait a sec … that thing I dropped … it was the shrine for the Goron who slew Volvagia?"

Rail didn't know why, but Link started to crack up. "I think I recall a certain _someone_ saying they were going to defile the Goron Hero's shrine when we got here. Who was that again?"

"Whoa, whoa!" Suvica shouted as Darunia passed both of them a confused glance. "I did defile it! I broke it into a hundred pieces and more!"

"But I remember you said you _specifically_ wanted to—"

"Shut it!" The lightning newt snapped, glancing at the King Goron as if he were gauging his chances of coming out of a fist-fight with Darunia alive in his current condition. "Besides! What's that got to do with anything?"

"Don't you remember?" Link laughed, taking a draught from his own cup of milk. "We have a bet going on, or did you forget?"

From the way Suvica paled, he didn't. Rail, rather in the dark about this "bet" business, asked, "Wait up, what'd I miss? What sort of deal are we talking about?"

"It something Suvica and I agree on back in Hyrule Market," Link snickered at Suvica's white expression (or maybe it was the numerous bandages, either one). "If he's ever wrong about three things, I get to take a scale from his wings. Right now, he's down by one, meaning he's only got two chances left."

Rail couldn't help but burst into a fit of giggle, leaning back into his chair and kicking at the underside of the table with his feet. He'd only been traveling with Suvica for a short while, but he saw the way the dragon ogled over his scales; it was the same way a merchant babied his diamonds.

"S-So what?" Suvica stammered, placing one foot on the table and leering down at Link. "I've still got two chances left, and it's going to stay that way! Have I said anything that's turned out to be false?"

"You were lying about Pavo killing Noble Arthicus," Zelda said, taking extreme pleasure in Suvica's flustered appearance. "At the very least, you _believed_ you were lying about it in order to torment me. Does that not count?"

"NO! In the end, it was the truth, wasn't it? Even his witch mother—" Suvica jabbed a finger at Link, "—said Pavo killed Arthicus! I might have lied, but it turned out to be the truth in the end!"

"Safe!" Malon cheered, as if she were watching a game of Hylian baseball.

"What about when the two of us were dancing with the undead while Malon and Zelda were sleeping?" Link added. "You said you were going to—" He looked at Darunia to make sure the Goron King was too busy eating to hear him, "—piss on the Goron Hero's grave. Instead, you dropped it on the King Dodongo. You were wrong about that."

"T-T-That doesn't count!" Suvica strongly protested. "Yeah, I said I'd take a piss on his grave, but what I dropped on the Big Dodongo was _not_ the grave! It was his shrine!" Then the dragon looked to Darunia with an almost pleading expression (sending Rail pounding his fists on the table, laughing). "Isn't it?"

"Hmm?" Darunia was busy picking his large teeth with a toothpick carved from a Dodongo's bone. "Yes, it is. The shrine Dragon Suvica used to wound the King Dodongo is not our hero's grave, merely a shrine made in his honor."

"YES!" The newt roared, punching the air, happy to the right.

"Darunia?" Malon called, glancing up from her plate of food. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Certainly!"

"I can tell you _really_ don't like Volvagia the dragon, so how come you're okay with Suvi, who's also a dragon?"

The Goron King boomed merrily. "Do not fret! Volvagia's evil actions are his and his alone. I would never condemn an entire race for the faults of one mad dragon! Besides, Dragon Suvica helped save my city and my people, so I bear him no ill will!"

"Mad dragon?" Suvica hissed, more pissed off than Rail had ever seen. "You dare mock—?"

Link kicked the underside of the table while Suvica was still standing on it, rattling it and the dragon, who clumsily fell back into his chair before he could do anything rash. Link always knew what to do in order to keep the lightning newt on a leash.

Darunia chuckled at Suvica's awkward display, passing off the dragon's killing intent as a child's tantrum. "Speaking of bearing no ill will, I must apologize to you, Link."

"Me?" Link said past a mouthful of pancake. "What for?"

"I harshly judged you the moment you told me who your parents were," Darunia said solemnly, wearing an expression of great shame. "When you told me you were the spawn of Cross the Fallen, I felt my undeserved rage boil towards your existence. You came to help my people, yet I slandered your name in my mind. I struggled to decide whether to crush you in my hands or not." Rail gagged on his water, and Zelda and Malon had a similar reaction; he never knew Link was so close to death even before the Dodongo invasion. "Yet here you are now, sitting at my table while we talk as friends. I judged you before I knew your true character, even if I did not say so out loud. I am unworthy of your help. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you." The Goron King didn't get up from his chair, but bowed his head all the same.

Rail dropped his mouth open so wide the rest of his water dribbled down his chin. It was one thing to help a monarch save his people, but another matter all together to have that very same king bow his head to another. Rail stared at Link, feverishly wondering what was passing through the forest child's mind.

Link gave Darunia's muscular shoulder a light punch. "There's no need to bow. I helped you because I wanted to, nothing more. Even if you wanted to kill me, I knew you were a good guy at heart, which is why I wanted to prove you could trust me as well."

Darunia raised his head, beaming with pure pride. "Your truly are a child of the Skyloft family, the most noble family in all of Hyrule. It was wrong of me to judge you for your father's crimes, so henceforth, you shall have my eternal gratitude!"

"Oh yeah, about my father's crimes," Link added, returning the Goron King's grin. "You know he's innocent, right?"

Darunia blanked. Zelda coughed a little into her napkin, trying to look unsurprised. Suvica was suddenly all ears. Malon stared at Link with such vehement anticipation her eyes almost popped out. Rail tried to look calm, but inside, his heart was hammering away like the Goron drums in the city. He remembered Link saying the same thing before, after they fended off the cursed Ltula family; he said his father was innocent, that he wasn't the Fiend everyone believed him to be. Link failed to explain himself then, but now Rail felt the similar pounding anticipation he'd experienced before.

"Link," Darunia breathed, placing both his hands on the table. "I know you wish to see your father in a different light, but there is no denying his guilt. The Fiend's actions, your father's actions, are an irrefutable fact. Do you have proof that would make me believe otherwise?"

"I have a different version of the same story," he offered.

"Indeed? Tell me, _who_ told you this version which you so readily believed?"

"My mom, Lillian H. Skyloft."

Now the Goron King was visibly swept away into a torrent of disbelief. His beady black eyes stretched wider than ever before, and his hair stood so high on end they must've grown another inch or two. While Suvica and Malon mirrored expressions of surprise, Zelda was intensely focused on her plate, while Navi muttered something which sounded like: "Better than saying he heard it from a mysterious forest fairy."

"Lillian … Lillian Skyloft … is alive?" Darunia choked, barely able speak past his trembling chin. "I-Impossible! She hasn't been seen for twelve years! Link, I know you mean well, but your tale grows ever more—!"

"It's true," Zelda cut in, staring directly into the Goron King's eyes. "All of us here have met the Grieving Widow, the Tear of the Moon. She's alive, King Darunia, alive and well."

Darunia had to do a deep breathing exercise before he was sufficiently calm enough to speak without a stutter or pause. "The Savior of the Realm, and the wife of the Fiend … alive. After today's battle, I thought nothing could surprise me, yet you constantly catch me unaware, child of the Skyloft family."

"He does it a lot," Suvica grumbled.

"Then tell me," Darunia said in all seriousness. "Tell me the words of Lillian H. Skyloft. She is the only witness to the Fiend's rampage, the only one who knows what truly happened. If you speak the truth, then your story may change a great deal about what we believe is true."

So Link began, telling everyone about Ganondorf's evil artifact, the Mirror of Dusk, and how it created an evil version of Cross, a Dark Cross, the real Fiend which terrorized Hyrule. When he ended with the part about his father sacrificing himself to hold down Dark Cross while his mother used the Master Sword to stab them both, Rail and Malon were holding back tears. Darunia, on the other hand, was bawling his eyes out, streaming out a waterfall of tears which was creating a puddle on the floor, causing everyone to stand on their chairs to avoid getting their feet wet.

When he'd sufficiently calmed down, he looked to Link with a new light in his eyes. "If what you say is true, it puts a great burden in my chest to ease. I knew your parents well, so when Cross became the Fiend, I thought I lost the man who was once my closest friend. Admittedly, I believed you were lying to cover the crimes of your father, but when you spoke of Cross's self-sacrifice to save the ones he loved so dearly, I knew you were telling the truth; that fool could never abandon those who mattered dearly to him." Darunia sniffled away a few more tears, and then boomed out laughing. "Ah, look at me and my age weary tear ducts! This is not a time for sorrow, it is a moment for celebration! Bring in the food and drinks! Link, you say you were raised in the Lost Woods? Incredible! And Suvica is a dragon with a human body? Crazy! You _must _tell me more!"

* * *

The sky wasn't visible within Goron City, but Rail presumed that night had arrived. The Gorons partied until they passed out, sprawled all across the city with half-eaten food in their mouths and almost-empty cups of lava-grog in their hands. The city slept in darkness, as every candle, torch, and lantern was douse for the night. The only source of light came from the slowly smoldering channels of lava spread throughout the city. Rail and his friends were sleeping on their dinner table on the bottom floor of Goron City, with the plates, cups, and food replaced by blankets and pillows. As the city slept, only Rail remained wide awake, suffering from violent mood swings as he stared into the King Dodongo's skull above him.

His prior excitement vanished, his adrenaline was quelled, and he returned to being a normal fifteen-year-old child. Normal children his age were usually helping their parents tend to their farms, making new friends, visiting popular cities of Hyrule, or searching for girlfriends. The manifesto of a normal life didn't include battling giant monsters and fighting for the sake of Hyrule's future. Images of their battle blurred in Rail's head, forcing him to remember all the moments where death was just a snap away. He could've died if he hadn't dodged the Dodongo biting for his neck. He could've died if he hadn't blocked the jet of fire aimed directly at him. He could've died at any second while trembling on the back of a monster large enough to flatten cities just by walking through them.

He was terrified.

He knew why he was here: To repay Link and Zelda for helping him liberate Denion City and bringing Pavo to justice. His new adventure left him little time to stop and think about what he was doing, but now that he was reflecting his actions, he was overwhelmed by past and current events.

Where to start? He was traveling with the child of Cross the Fallen and Lillian the Savior! How could he forget their stories? He vividly remembered, as a child, his mother telling him bedtime stories about the Couple of Tragedy. He remembered his friends getting scolded by their parents, telling them that if they didn't behave the ghost of the Fiend would come to them in their sleeps and whisk them away. Every ghost or horror story Rail heard had the Fiend's name, adding to the overall terror. Then there was Lillian the Savior. She was the role model of all the girls in Hyrule, regardless of age or race. Not a day went by where Rail failed to hear Lillian's name. Young girls always spoke of becoming like Lillian the Savior, reenacting some of her greatest feats as a way to pass time. The elderly women would speak of the Savior like she was a treasured daughter, someone they could be eternally proud of.

Now Rail was traveling with the child of those two legends. Merely thinking about the legends of his parents made Link's existence surreal.

Sleeping next to the child of legend was Zelda, the Princess of Destiny, and Dreamer of Prophecies. He had a member of royalty sleeping soundly a few feet from him, her head resting on Link's chest. She was the princess of urban myth, a child so reclusive that no one knew what she looked like until a week ago. Her name was always spoken with reverence and mystery. If Rail reached out, she could poke that very myth's nose.

Suvica was snoring behind Rail, a dragon of legend whose very existence was in question. There were plenty of stories about dragons, about how they joined forces with the Gerudos years back to attack Hyrule. Their sudden disappearance and lack of sightings made people subject their reality to suspicion. Just a few years back, there were stories of a young black dragon terrorizing several cities and villages of Hyrule, but that creature disappeared as well, vanishing without a trace. Many accused it of being a practical, if not severe, prank by mercenaries and bandits. Rail recalled playing "Slay the Dragon" when he was a kid, where he acted as the knight in shining armor and a friend squealed in order to sound like a dragon. He chuckled; although sealed away in a human body, there was no doubting Suvica's true origin. There was a dragon snoring right behind him, a monster with the strength to kill adults with one hand. Better yet, Rail had insulted that same dragon on multiple occasions; what was wrong with him?

At the very least, Malon was normal (Rail hoped). She was sleeping with her arms around the dragon's neck, with nary a fear in the world.

His infamous travel companions spoke of the most legendary things, Goddesses, magic, children of the Lost Woods, the Triforce, and everything else Rail once believed sacred, like they were everyday occurrences.

He thought back to the battle with the Dodongos, and his mind wandered towards their weapons. Link used a sword which never seemed to rust or chip regardless of what it cut, his wooden shield could withstand Suvica's strongest punches, and his magic was something to be feared. Zelda's wide variety of magic made her vicious as an enemy and reliable as an ally. Suvica was a dragon; that spoke for itself. What did Rail have? A nicely decorated slab of metal labeled as a Hylian Shield. Could he survive the certain battles to come with only a protector? How could Malon travel with her companions with such ease while knowing they were worlds apart?

Rail felt so out of place, inside a world he didn't belong. He spoke big about wanting to repay his debts to Link and Zelda, yet how could he do that when he was so much more inferior to them? The more he thought about it, the more his head hurt, hampering his ability to sleep. Resigning himself to his unknown destiny, Rail curled up and tried to get some shut eye; he could worry about his questionable future in the morning. Suvica was still snoring loudly behind him, Malon was murmuring in her sleep, and Zelda was drooling peacefully on Link's bandaged chest. With all his companions asleep, Rail did his best to follow in suit.

Link moved. Rail peeked with one eye to see the child of legend scoot out from under Zelda's head, poking at the small dot of drool on his chest. He gave the princess a playful sigh before getting to his feet, jumping off the table, and walking away. Zelda stirred the moment Link disappeared; not knowing why yet doing so anyway, Rail pretended to sleep while keeping a close eye on her. She wearily leaned onto her knees, rubbed her eyes, and looked around. Instead, she became alert when she discovered Link disappeared.

"Link?" She called out softly, considerately careful not to awaken Malon or Suvica. She stood up and took a good long look around Goron City; she must've seen something, because her eyes lit up as she darted out of Rail's vision. He waited until her footsteps reached the limits of his hearing before sitting up, eyes open. Zelda was heading for one of the passageways leading to the upper levels of Goron City. Rail got to his feet, tripping on his Hylian Shield as he stood. Without thinking, he grabbed his protector, slung it onto his back, and dashed after Zelda.

After chasing the princess for ten dizzying minutes through the numerous city passageways, Rail arrived at the top of Goron City. He chased after Zelda as she exited the city, careful not to catch her attention. He emerged to see the moonlit night of Death Mountain, standing on a wide mountain pathway covered in flecks of gravel. As always, the air itself was heated to a warm broil by the active volcano, whose top glowed like a red flare against the night sky. His path split into two directions: One led downward, where he could see the Kakariko Village as a dot in the distance; the other zigzagged towards the summit of Death Mountain, which was where Link and Zelda were headed. He found them easily thanks to the light Navi gave off, making them a blue spot against the darkness coloring the mountain.

Rail considered following them, as he was curious to know where Link was headed in the dead of night. Then again, he was tried. Only the Goddesses could know where Link was headed and how long he'd take. If Rail didn't go to sleep now, he surmised he'd have to wait the following night for a decent rest.

Curiosity got the better of him. Rail gave himself time for his eyes to adjust to the dark, allowing him to better stride down the trail Link and Zelda had taken. He sulked in the shadows while steadily getting close enough to put their conversation within his hearing range.

_Since when were you such a stalker?_ A small voice demanded inside Rail's head. He screwed his lips together; after definitively pointing out the differences between Link and Zelda to himself, he found it difficult to casually approach them and ask, "What's up?"

"What's up?" Rail almost jumped out of his skin as Link spoke, calming down when he realized Link was speaking to Zelda.

"Nothing much," she replied in earnest. "I awoke and found that you had disappeared. I was both worried and curious, so when I saw Navi's light, I decided to follow. Where are you going?"

"To the summit of Death Mountain. I didn't want to have to drag everyone with me for a small personal matter, so I thought I'd go alone," Link replied, helping her navigate around a boulder acting as an obstacle in their path.

"What business do you have there?"

"She invited me," he said, taking off his hood to reveal the pink Fountain Fairy resting in his hair. Rail remembered that particular Fountain Fairy; it appeared out of nowhere the moment they started climbing Death Mountain to reach the Gorons. While Rail, Link, Navi, and Zelda were aware of its existence, they kept the Fountain Fairy a secret from Suvica and Malon. For starters, Link deeply exaggerated the point that the dragon was to know nothing about the Fountain Fairy because of his lack of respect towards fairy life. Thus, they kept Malon in the dark as well, because she had a bad habit of blurting everything to Suvica.

"She's beautiful," Zelda said, stroking the sleeping Fountain Fairy's glowing skin; Rail was pretty sure the pink fairy purred. "Is she the same fairy you rescued from Suvica during your stay at Oron City?"

"Who, Pinky? No, she's back at her Fairy Fountain near Hyrule Castle. This fairy belongs to the Fairy Fountain on top of Death Mountain. I guess I never told you this, but the Great Fairy at Hyrule Castle told me that if I ever thought my powers were insufficient, I should seek out her sisters. This Fountain Fairy's name is Arma, and she said she sensed my presence the moment we arrived at Death Mountain. It's why she came to me, saying the Great Fairy here had a gift for me. I thought it'd be rude to refuse, so here I am, heading for the Fairy Fountain on the summit."

"She looks rather tired," Zelda noted, watching Fountain Fairy Arma sleep.

"No doubt. After all, she helped me cast a Din's Fire when the King Dodongo swallowed me and Suvica. It's thanks to Arma's efforts that I managed to finish off the King Dodongo," Link explained. Rail perched his ears up as he stealthily trailed Link and Zelda, staying outside Navi's orb of light.

Zelda was surprised. "Arma's efforts? It's as I thought! When you were swallowed by the King Dodongo, you cast an Inherited Goddess spell!"

"A what?"

"When you cast the spell you used to defeat the King Dodongo, did you say anything before the spell was activated?"

Link nodded. "Yeah, the words just came to me. I said '_Din's Fire_' and then fire started coming out of my hands. It kind of freaked me out, to be honest."

The princess was looking at Link like he was an object of sheer fascination. "Link, you are an incredible person. You cast an Inherited Goddess Spell with the aid of a Fountain Fairy? I'm beginning to think there is no limit to what you can do."

"Wait, back up a bit," Link pleaded, raising his hands as a show of his confusion. "What's an Inherited Goddess Spell? I remember you talked about it before, during your first night at Lon Lon Ranch after escaping from Hyrule Castle. You talked about Inherited Goddess Spells and Original Spells. No one knew what you were talking about, but you didn't explain yourself."

"Yes, I was rather shy back then." Rail was sure Zelda was blushing.

"Shy is an understatement. We couldn't get you to say anything without clamping up," Navi giggled, giving off a little bell-like ring.

"So can you talk about it now?" Link asked, brushing aside the blue fairy's teasing. "What are Inherited Goddess Spells, and how are they different from Original Spells?"

"It's fairly straightforward, really. An Original Spell uses your innate magical abilities to construct a magi-system which automatically siphons your powers into an arcane mold that redirects and channels your magic into your desired formed. On the other hand, an Inherited Goddess Spell is a divine archetype known as a hereditary spell which resides or lingers within objects with enchantments or mages of profound skill, binding the celestial constitution with a link of fascinating magi-binds and runic fetters that allow the divine to be passed from one generation to another. Simple, right?"

Rail felt like all his years in school were for naught. No doubt Link was equally confused, as he said, "Wait … what?"

"It's like this," Navi clarified. "An Original Spell is basically a mess of magic used to suit a basic instinctual need. Take your Spin Attack, for example. All you do is concentrate your magic into your sword and let it rip, tearing down anything in your path. You don't need any prior instructions or teachings because it comes naturally to you. However, because you don't refine your powers to suit a specific need or desire, using only raw magic, all it can do is destroy. However, another magician would be unable to copy your Spin Attack, because it's an Original Spell you invented yourself. While using your Spin Attack is easy for you, it'll be largely difficult for others. It's like asking a painter to cook up a feast for a king, it just doesn't work.

"However, an Inherited Goddess Spell can be done by anyone with magic powers. Casting a Goddess Spell accomplishes a certain effect, although the results would vary. Inherited Spells speak for themselves: They're _inherited_, passed from one mage or entity of magic to another. A veteran mage can teach a novice magic user how to cast an Inherited Goddess Spell one of three ways: (1) Teach them the basic requirements of the spell and let them work out the rest on their own, (2) Imprint the knowledge and know-how of the Goddess Spell onto a pre-prepared magical item like an enchanted scroll or tablet so it can be learned without direct mentoring, or (3) Solidify the inherited spelled into a crystallized form, allowing anyone to use the spell so long as they have magic and the crystal. Link, when you used Din's Fire, you did so with the third option. Arma crystallized herself into the spell, allowing you to channel your own magic into her body to cast the spell."

"Oh," Link said, while Rail remained largely confused; all this magic business was giving him a migraine. "No wonder it was so easy, since I used the easiest option."

"Well, not exactly," Navi chuckled nervously. "The third option is the most dangerous. Barely anyone uses the third option, because finding someone who can actually harness the power of a crystallized spell and use it proficiently is rare. Many who tried usually have the crystal backfire on them, either blowing them to pieces or turning them into vegetables."

Link was startled at that. "Wait, you mean I could've become a pumpkin?"

"Well, not exactly. A hollow pumpkin, think of it like that."

"That's … weird. Well, who cares? It all worked out in the end," Link chuckled, once again demonstrating his bottomless courage. Only he could accomplish a feat only one in a million could succeed in without becoming a pumpkin and laugh at the consequences. "But how come my Din's Fire looked different from yours, Zelda? Mine blew up like a hundred Bomb Flowers, while yours is a controlled fireball you can throw around."

"It's as Navi said before," Zelda said, holding up one hand and summoning a ball of fire the size of a rupee, dispersing it a few seconds later. "Inherited Goddess Spells accomplish a certain effect, but with varying results. For instance, casting Din's Fire will _always_ result in fire, but the form will vary from person to person. When I cast the spell, I use the fire as a projectile I can throw, while your Din's Fire emerges as an … eruption."

"Not the safest way to use a spell," Link admitted. "When I killed the King Dodongo, I could've seriously hurt Suvica. The only reason he's okay is because he's a dragon, so he's naturally fire proof." He stared into his hands, sighing as if he were disappointed in them. "As always, my magic is something that can harm my friends and enemies."

"It doesn't have to be that way," Zelda assured him. "Although it would be extremely difficult for many, I'm sure can change your Din's Fire to better suit your needs. Instead of an explosion, perhaps you can change it into a blade of flames or an arrow of fire."

"You think I can?"

The princess smiled at him. "Normally, I would say no. But you are always the exception. It's the same with your Spin Attack. Remember when you used it while we were fleeing from Hyrule Castle and you nearly hit Suvica? Almost immediately after that, you reformed it to better suit your needs, coming up with the Disk Attack. Then when I was kidnapped by the Ltula Family, you modified it again into the Spear Attack with no prior practice. Many magicians and mages need years to modify their magic, while you did so in seconds. Your potential is staggering. I have no doubt you will master Din's Fire in no time."

"Thanks, that makes me feel better."

"It's the least I can do as a friend."

The two of them laughed and smiled together, and Rail got the sneaking suspicion he was watching a couple on their honeymoon; he really needed to turn back or make his presence known, because stalking them just didn't feel right.

Then Link asked. "What about you, Zelda? Now that I've gotten a better idea how magic works, how do you learn your Inherited Spells? You learned Farore's Wind and your healing magic … what's it called?"

"Nayru's Touch."

"Right, Nayru's Touch, in a matter of minutes. How'd you do that? Did my mom teach them to you when we were at Denion, or did you use option two or three?"

"If I had to say, it'd be option four," the princess said sheepishly. "I … do not follow the norm when it comes to magic. For me, who was born with magic, using my abilities is no different from breathing. When I need to learn a new spell at my leisure, I … I instinctually _know_ the Inherited Spell's name and how it works, and casting it is just as easy. I cannot explain where my knowledge comes from, but it has helped me on many occasions."

"Well, that settles it," Navi giggled. "Link's a genius at combat, Malon's a prodigy at horse riding, and Princess Zelda is gifted in the ways of magic."

"And Suvica is talented at making others angry," Link joked, inciting a laugh from his fairy and the princess.

Then, in a sudden change of topic, Zelda said, "Link, I must talk to you about your parents."

"Okay, what's up?"

"When we spoke with King Darunia, you revealed your lineage to him without hesitation."

"I did. It helped, didn't it?"

"Yes, it did, and I am glad no harm befell upon you as a result. But I implore you, just as King Darunia warned you, to not reveal your parentage so readily, especially the Zoras. Should the Zoras learn your secret, I fear for the absolute worst."

"How come?" Link pressed.

Zelda struggled with each word, often staring at the star specked sky as if to reassure herself she was doing the right thing. "Darunia was a friend to your parents, and holds little grudges against your father for being blamed as the Fiend. In fact, now that you've told him about Dark Cross, I believe his friendship with your father has strengthened. The Zoras are different. Dark Cross slew the previous Zora Queen and your father bears the burden of the crime. The Zoras are like water; calm during times of peace yet vicious in a storm. They loved their Queen, and would pay any price to claim vengeance in her name. I fear they will misplace their anger upon you, and after tormenting you to the worst possibly treatment, they will fulfill the Legacy of the Cross."

"Break alliance with Hyrule and start a war, right?" Link finished.

"I know it sounds unfair, to be judged for what you have not done, but anger and hatred blinds everyone. I fear the Spiritual Stone of Water will be far harder to obtain than the Spiritual Stone of Fire," Zelda said, tripping slightly on a loose stone beneath her feet.

Link kicked at the stray pebble she stumbled on. "Thanks for warning me, I'll do my best to be careful."

Zelda nodded, and then asked, "Tell me more about yourself."

"Where'd that suddenly come from?"

"I wish to know more about you. I know what type of person you are from your words and actions, and I know what sort of burdens you carry from your lineage. What I do not know, however, is what kind of boy you were before all this happened," she made a vague gesture at everything in general. "If I'm prying, then you need not answer."

Link's laugh bounced off Death Mountain. "Let me see. Before all this started, I lived a pretty normal life."

It was Zelda's turn to laugh, softy. "I believe your '_normal_' life greatly differs from what I may consider normal."

Rail couldn't see Link's face, but he was sure he was smiling. "Every day, I woke up knowing today would be a beautiful day. The Kokiri Village is a wonderful place. Our homes are grown from the trees themselves, and our food never ran out. The grass is always green, and we're never too cold or too warm. What I did during the day usually depended on the different friends I met with. Sometimes I would have to stop Branda and Appi from fighting with Twiggs and Oran. Other times I'd visit Jaspin and Karl and we'd talk about stories the Great Deku Tree told us. Dentri and Hapi were the funniest of my friends, always inventing new ways to make food taste worse or better. There's … also Mido and his fairy Varl. Mido has always disliked me, trying to separate me from the rest of the village by calling me different. Turns out he was right: I am different. I'm not a Kokiri child grown by the Great Deku Tree. But that doesn't mean I care for my village any less."

"I have another question. Should we successfully finish our quest, what will you do next? Let us assume all the Spiritual Stones have been gathered, and Ganondorf has been overthrown and defeated, the threat of the Gerudos averted. What will you do afterwards?"

"Return to the Kokiri Village," Link said without doubt or hesitation. "No matter whom I meet or how far I travel, the Kokiri Village will always be my home. I'll go there with my mom, introduce her to the friends I made, and learn more about the parents I never had. Nothing will change that. What about you? Will you go back to Hyrule Castle?"

"I … I don't know. I truly do not wish to return."

Her reply had Rail dropping his jaw; the Princess of Hyrule didn't want to return to her castle? Madness! Link was also surprised, but not as much. "Why? I thought you wanted to become a better ruler to help your people."

"Help my people? Most certainly. A better ruler? I do not know if I wish to return to such a world, to reclaim my title. You may look fondly back at your home, but I fear I cannot do the same. Hyrule Castle holds nothing but unpleasant memories. The happiest moments of my life have been those which I spent with you. Should I return to Hyrule Castle, I will be subjugated to tighter security, endless patrol checks, and ceaseless bickering. What is worse is that I will be trapped in a world of politics and power, where other Noble families try to push their sons onto me so they can take the title as King of Hyrule. I know I can return to Hyrule Castle as a changed princess, yet I do not know how those changes will help me in the face of the Royal Council and their families. Link, I do not wish to return to Hyrule Castle, not ever. If I could spend the rest of my years traveling with you, I would be content."

Rail's silent footsteps became heavier as he listened to the princess who wished to be a princess no more. For some reason or the other, he felt like he was listening in on a serious conversation which could alter the future of Hyrule forever.

"But if you abandon the throne, who will become the next King or Queen?"

Zelda shrugged. "I could send Rail. I'm sure he would make a fine leader. His demonstration of leadership during the Denion Revolt was most inspirational. He would be a fine King."

Rail laughed as quietly as he could manage. Him? Become the King of Hyrule? The idea was more ludicrous than Zelda discarding her royalty. Besides, he didn't want any claim to the throne, not with rotten Nobles hanging over his head all day long.

"Does he have any chance in becoming the next King of Hyrule?"

"He is a descendent of King Halden, first King of Hyrule, and my distant cousin. Although he is a member of Lost Royalty, he is still a member of the Royal Family. If he should step forward, he would have a stronger claim to the throne than I."

Rail stopped laughing.

Rail tripped.

Rail hit the rocky trail face first. There was no pain, only mind numbing shock as Zelda revealed a truth he could not have possibly imagined. His abrupt stumble cast aside his cloak of discretion, alerting Link and Zelda to his presence. He scrambled back to his feet and tried to look as nonchalant as possible, but he surmised it would've been an impossible task with his head beaded with sweat and his limbs trembling like crazy.

"W-W-W-W-W-W-What's up?" Rail stuttered.

"Link! Why did you not inform me Rail was following us?" Zelda cried, patting Rail's shoulders to wipe the gravel from his tunic.

"I didn't think it'd matter!" Link said in his defense. "I didn't know why he was following us to being with, or why he wasn't coming forward to greet us! So I just let him be!"

Rail's distant cousin grabbed his cheeks and yanked them hard, trying to use pain to bring him out of his stupor. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry I never told you before, but I feared for your reaction. Please speak!"

For a moment, Rail's mind was being crushed by the oppressive information Zelda dropped on him. He didn't want to move, breath, or live. How was he supposed to accept such a ludicrous claim as this? Him? Royalty? They might as well as crowning flying pigs for what it was worth. For a terse moment, he thought shock would overcome him, shattering his mind. But then he saw Link, remembering how devastated the boy of the forest was when he was told about his father, and recall how quickly he gathered himself together in order not to worry anyone else. All at once, the tension in Rail's gut eased; if Link could accept he was the son of Cross the Fallen and Lillian the Savior, then Rail being royalty was no big deal either.

"I'm fine! Seriously, I'm fine!" Rail assured his little cousin (Seriously? The Princess of Hyrule was his cousin? No wonder calling her "Princess" Zelda felt so weird). "It's nothing. I'm a member of the Royal Family? No big deal!"

Zelda leered into his eyes, and for a moment, he wondered if she could catch a glimpse of his soul. "You … are sure?"

Rail rustled her hair, like how he used to treat his own little sister (the feeling was nostalgic). "I'm perfectly fine. Besides, you _definitely _don't want me to be King of Hyrule. The first thing I'd do is execute all the corrupt Noble families I can find."

Link and Navi laughed along with his (somewhat serious) joke, and Zelda's anxiety waned away. "I'm so sorry for not telling you sooner."

"If you'd told me sooner, I might've gone insane. Nah, right now was the perfect moment. Don't fret over it. But what makes you think I'm your cousin? How can you be sure I'm actually a member of Hyrule's Royal Family?"

"King Halden himself told me. He goes by the name Griffin these days, and he has been acting as your grandfather for many years," Zelda replied.

Rail decided to stop talking all together. The first shocking surprise was more than enough, and the second was doing little to stabilize his fluctuating emotions. Not trusting his mouth to hide his feelings, he nodded twice, accepting her answer as if she had told a weather forecasting. If he got out of his debt to Link and Zelda alive, he'd head straight back to Denion, track down his wayward grandfather, and interrogate the old man until they both had white beards.

With that settled, Link led the way, nimbly striding up Death Mountain's curving pathway. Zelda was quick to follow, leaving Rail beneath to catch up. The two avoided any further conversations, probably a gesture meant for Rail's sake; he wished they wouldn't. Their polite attempt to grant him some silence only strengthened the awkwardness of the situation.

Rail dipped his head back and expelled a sigh, which had Zelda hastily demanding to know whether he was okay or not. He repelled her with plenty of assurance at his well-being, although his tongue roiled at the lie. How was he supposed to be okay? Learn such a major secret and walking away while whistling a pleasant tune was no different than letting a Bomb Flower explode in his face and claiming he was fine. He wasn't Suvica, for the Goddesses' sake! Nevertheless, the more he thought about, the calmer he grew when he realized his status was utterly irrelevant to the task at hand; knowing he wouldn't have to start shouting his royal title anytime soon, he kept his eyes on the stars, only dropping his gaze to reassert their surrounds and pathway; Death Mountain's peak didn't appear to be getting any closer. He continued to stargaze until he mistakenly took Navi for the moon.

His mind became occupied. Now that he stopped to think about it, he knew little about Link, but even less about his fairy. It was easy to miss, and to easier to forget, Navi's existence. After all, she was small and rarely spoke directly to Rail. It was mostly Link who did the talking. Knowing he would feel better with his mind preoccupied, he sparked up a conversation.

"Navi, I still owe you for squishing you between Link and Suvica's heads," he said. His gaze intensified in interest as Navi's blue body transformed into a light-colored brown.

"Yes, you still do," the fairy replied, her pixie wings fluttering at a frantic pace, as if to express her irritation. "So how do you plan to make it up to me?"

"Your wish is my command," Rail said with an exaggerated bow; hard to do when walking on unstable terrain.

Navi's brown color was swiftly replaced with a sly yellow light. "Aw, that's so cute of you. But you really need to be careful what you wish for." Rail made a mental note of that; the mere tone of Navi's voice was frightening him with undeclared possibilities. "I'll let you off the hook for now, but if I snag you again …" The fairy let her assertion hang, like a guillotine over its victim.

At the very least, he was relieved to have her forgiveness, so Rail pushed forth with his curiosity. "There's a lot I don't know about you. Forest fairies are characters from fairy tales, so to actually meet one is a real treat. Can I ask you some questions?"

"Nope."

Her instant denial shot down Rail's enthusiasm, fast. "Why not?"

"Because I've got secrets."

"So then tell me something that's not a secret," Rail continued, eager to gleam some measure of better understanding about the fairy. "There must be loads about you that you can share!"

A few paces ahead, Link chuckled. "Navi barely tells me anything. I look forward to your interview." He spoke as if he knew Rail couldn't possibly unearth a secret or two.

"How about this?" Navi offered, bobbling lightly in the air like a dance. "You can ask the question, and I'll either reject it or accept it. How's that?"

"Better than nothing," Rail replied eagerly, rubbing his palms together. "Tell me, how were you born?"

"Rejected!"

He had to stop and think before rediscovering his perplexed voice. "What? Why? Is the birth of a forest fairy really that big of a secret?"

"Nope, but my birth is!" Navi snickered, drawing a halo around Link's hood. "Normal forest fairies are sung to life by the Great Deku Tree, created from a part of a Kokiri's soul! I hope that answers your question!" Her reply only left him with more questions, something the fairy was enjoying.

Undeterred, Rail pressed on. "How old are you?"

"Rejected! Never ask a lady about her age!"

He seriously disliked that rule; it transcended every species imaginable. "You said you're not a normal forest fairy. Can you explain?"

"Rejected!"

"What makes you different from normal forest fairies?"

"Rejected!"

"Can you tell me _anything_ about yourself?"

"Rejected!"

"Can you stop saying '_rejected_'?"

"Rejected!"

"Can I say how much you're annoying me right now?"

"Rejected!"

"Can you poop?"

"Rejec … wait, WHAT?"

Rail buckled over, not bothering to withhold his pressuring laughter. Although it was the very first question he wanted to ask Navi before, he refrained from doing so because it sounded impolite. Now that he was feeling a great amount of angst sway his head, he couldn't resist the sweet temptation. Navi tried dive-bombing him with a collection of body-blows, but Rail was enjoying himself too much to feel any pain. When he calmed down enough to form another question, he was promptly ignored by the fuming fairy.

"That was rather rude of you to ask," Zelda noted, although she too seemed to fight a growing urge show her mirth.

"Nice comeback," Link said otherwise, flashing Rail a thumbs-up, a sign he proudly returned. Though it ended on a sour note, Rail felt rather refreshed after his one-sided questionnaire with the fairy.

However, the torment on his body had yet to begin. With the peak of Death Mountain looking to be a mile's distance away in total, Rail felt a rumble shake the mountain under his feet. He swayed his body to stay in balance, while Zelda leaned against Link to avoid falling over. The shaking was stirring up dread within Rail's chest, since he knew a rumbling volcano could only signify one thing.

"Oh, things have gotten a little interesting," Link noted, taking a peek at the sky. Rail followed his eyes, towards the summit of the mountain, and felt his soul abandon his body. The night had transformed into a red haze as chucks of molten rock and streams of lava lit up the sky. Needless to say, much of the blazing boulders were hurtling right for them.

"You've got to be kidding me," Rail moaned, feeling his knees knock as the rain of fire descended upon them. Seriously, where was Suvica when you needed him?

Link had the opposite reaction. "Onward!" He laughed, dashing up the trial and directly towards the exploding summit. If Rail wanted to turn back, now was his only chance. However, after watching his younger cousin boldly chase after the fearless boy of the forest, he knew it would be wrong of him to turn tail now (being the older sibling sucked).

Despite leaving his sword and shield back at Goron City, Link handled their obstacle course with ease. He leapt aside falling rocks of fire, jumped across small rivers of lava, and danced around miniature avalanches caused by the descending boulders. All the while, he laughed like he was having the time of his life. At least Zelda had the decency to show a little fear as they ran up an active volcano. While Link used his agility, she put her magic to use. She formed barriers of blue light to deflect incoming missiles, and transformed herself into green flecks of light to teleport across the streams of fire. Both of them continued unhindered, steadily gaining farther ahead of Rail as he lagged behind.

Rail was tripping over his shoes to avoid the molten projectiles while flinching away from the scorching trails of lava. His breathing came in sharp gasps while his body was shackled by the ridiculously heavy Hylian Shield on his back. Why did he have to bring the cumbersome thing? As he watched Link and Zelda nimbly make their way towards the summit while he fell behind, he couldn't help but feel that life wasn't fair. Look at him, a teenage boy fighting for his life to follow a pair of children, easily accomplishing tasks he would've labeled as impossible. They were both blessed with skills and abilities Rail could only dream of, flaunting them in his face as he struggled to do half of what they did. At such a depressing prospect, he couldn't help but question his goal. He wanted to help them, but what could he do that they couldn't? He couldn't be as brave as Link, he wasn't as smart as Zelda, he'd never be stronger than Suvica, and he didn't have Malon's kindness and heart. If he turned back, if he left now, would anything change? No, these four could continue with their quest to stop Ganondorf with or without him. In fact, he might be nothing more than a burden in the end. They had their own destinies, and Rail was stuck with his own fate.

NO!

Rail laughed. He laughed at his weak character, demoralized spirit, and pathetic excuses. Fate? Destiny? Fate was the excuse people used when they couldn't fulfill their destiny! Rail said he came to help Link and Zelda, but now he knew the truth: That was a lie. He didn't come here to help Link stop Ganondorf, nor did he want to aid Zelda with saving Hyrule. He came here for himself, to see the world as they saw it, to know the dangers they faced, and to be become a man he could look back and be proud of. Link had courage, Zelda had wisdom, Suvica had strength, and Malon had kindness. Rail … he had resolve. Right now, everything was a test. If he wanted to stand beside his friends, the least he could do was climb a volcano.

With a defiant roar, he ignored his flagging stamina, secured his Hylian Shield to his right arm, and ran towards the Goron-sized boulder of flame falling right for him. Instead of moving aside and dodging, he braced his Hylian Shield in front of him and took the mini-meteor head on. The burning boulder smashing into his metal protector, jarring his arms and consuming so much of his strength he nearly black out. But all that was beside the point: He blocked it. He, a fifteen year old wannabe warrior, blocked a volcanic rock. Using his elation to fuel his body in place of his stamina, Rail surged forward. He sprinted past Zelda, who watched him rush ahead with a little gasp. He caught up to Link, exchanging a wide grin with the unstoppable child.

Together, the three of them forced their way towards the summit.

* * *

Rail collapsed, barely breathing, unmoving, and hardly conscious, yet ecstatic all the same. He'd done it. Despite every falling rock of fire, despite each river of molten lava, he used nothing more than his sheer fortitude to scale Death Mountain while keeping in pace with Link and Zelda, who caught up to him a few seconds later.

Right now, he felt like dying. Oh wait, that's probably not a good thing. He tried moving his fingers, but they were bars of lead. His chest stopped moving, because breathing became too painful to bear. Not even his eyelid would move, with one half open and the other closed. Well, this certainly wasn't the way he planned on leaving the world.

Then he gasped as a wave of refreshing coolness surged into his body, like he'd been dunked into an ice cold lake. He jolted to his feet, surprised to find fresh energy invigorating his body. At first, he thought his resilience brought about a convenient source of strength, and was very crestfallen to see it was Zelda who used her magic to restore a fraction of his stamina with a spell.

"Really now," she panted, exhausting from the run up and spell she cast to save his life. "Was there really any need for you to be so reckless?"

"Reckless?" Rail said, feeling offended. "I was only trying to keep pace with the two of you!"

"By catching every rock that fell towards you with your shield? By finding the most hazardous detours imaginable? By surfing on a wave of lava with your Hylian Shield? By meaninglessly scaling a wall while an avalanche was breaking it apart?"

Rail's mind hit pause; did he really do all that? "Oh … well, you know …"

"No, I don't know," Zelda fumed, sitting down and rubbing the aches in her knees. "And no, I don't wish to know, either! Honestly, you're almost as bad as Suvica!"

He knew his little cousin was insulting him, but couldn't help but take it as a praise; after all, how often is someone compared to a dragon? "At least we all got here safely, right? The summit of Death Mountain! So, where to next?"

"Rail?" Link spoke up.

"What's up?"

"Exactly," he said, pointing directly up. Rail followed Link's finger and groaned. They weren't at the summit, but at the base of a vertical wall more than a hundred meters in height. "Up there is the summit. Anyone ready for a little climb?"

"Anytime!" Rail roared, while in his head he thought, _Yeah, today is definitely the day I die_. At the very least, the wall was dotted with a plentiful number of handholds; the only problem was the overall distance and Rail's current supply of energy. "Well, like my dad used to say: '_What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger_'."

"Or cripples you for life," Zelda added.

Rail sighed, heavily; the princess was definitely a pessimist. "So, are you going to teleport to the top?"

"No. I'm well aware of my own limits, and the distance is too great. I could transport myself a fraction of the way up, but once I'm hanging for dear life, my concentration could waver, and my spell could go awry. Perhaps it will be best if I remain down here."

"Nope, you're coming with," Link interjected, bending his knees and facing his back towards Zelda. "Get on, I'll carry you up."

"Are you sure? I'm most certainly not saying I'm heavy," Zelda added swiftly. "However, as we can all see, the climb is a long one. Will your strength hold?"

Link replied by holding up the Goron's Bracelet on his left wrist. Of course, he had the ornament forged from Heart Gold, meaning his strength was equivalent to that of a Goron's. Zelda placed her faith in Link, hoping onto his back and wrapping her arms around his neck. When she was securely in place, Link latched into the wall and climbed with jaw-dropping dexterity.

"Whoa, wait up!" Rail called, belting his Hylian Shield onto his back and furiously pulling himself up, grasping the handholds and beginning his climb up. Compared to blocking flaming rocks and skipping over canals of fire, their rock climb was much more straightforward. All Rail had to do was breathe while concentrating on his hands and feet. Naturally, his arms started to burn after the first minute, and then scream in pain after the following five. Rail ignored it all, focusing his eyes on the prize at hand: The summit. Link was far ahead of him, but he didn't let it bother him. He'd catch up to Link, figuratively and literally, in due time. Right now, he needed to take things one step at a time. While his climb progressed without incident, three-fourths of the way up his arms betrayed him, refusing to move another inch without rest. Link saw his predicament and climbed back down to Rail's level, kindly offering him some assistance.

_Baby steps_, Rail told himself as Link carried Zelda _and_ him the rest of the way up (while Zelda clung to Link's back, Rail was hanging onto his belt). Regardless of his inability to complete the climb on his own, he felt a decent amount of satisfaction over what he'd accomplished. To himself, he swore there'd be a day when he climbed Death Mountain on his own.

Although Link's Goron Bracelet gave him the strength of a Goron, it didn't include their endurance. Considering the injuries he sustained from the Dodongo invasion, it was astonishing he was still moving at all. He was already sweating from carrying Zelda, and when he added Rail's burden to his body, Link was fighting hard to make it to the top. Rail absolutely admired Link's undefeatable persistence as he watched the boy pant, sweat, and struggle with each follow handhold. In due time, Link was victorious, as he toppled onto Death Mountain's summit.

Zelda slipped off his back and Rail released his grip from Link's belt as the boy collapsed, back against the ground and chest heaving. While Rail should've given his thanks for Link's help, he was in rapture by the sight he saw. He was gazing at all of Hyrule from the top of the world. The endless sky of stars, the wide fields of Hyrule, the faraway castle … it was too amazing.

Arma the Fountain Fairy started acting up, jiggling happily after noticing they'd reached the summit. She directed their attention to two tunnels burrowing into the mountain. Out of the two passageways, the one on the right ventured towards the central manga-filled chamber of Death Mountain, while the other wandered into a mysterious darkness Rail couldn't see through.

"The Fairy Fountain," Link breathed, wincing as his injuries stung his body. "You two ready to meet the Great Fairy of Death Mountain?"

Zelda gulped nervous, straightening her ruffled hair. Rail breathed in and out, trying to act cool and collected. Arma led the way, flying into the tunnel with her stubby little wings, and the rest of them followed.

After wandering twenty steps in utter darkness, Rail beheld a sight unlike any other. He had no doubt they were in another world, because a sight as beautiful as this couldn't possibly exist in Hyrule. They entered a chamber with no boundaries, no wall or sky to see and speak of. Small flickers of fire cascaded upon them like a light rain, yet when they touched Rail's body, there was no discomfort. Instead, he felt as though the mystic flames were burning away his fatigue, easing the weariness from his body and replenishing his strength. The tessellated crimson floor glowed with every hue of red imaginable, while a foundation of simplistic splendor rippled a few yards ahead of them. The liquid crystal pooling inside the fountain sloshed with an aura of color, rippling from the center and expanding outwards.

"It's so … so …" Zelda was at a loss for words.

"No doubt," Rail mumbled, unable to find any word in the Hylian language suitable enough to capture the Fairy Fountain's exquisiteness.

Arma chimed a few more sounds to Link, who oddly understood every bit of nonsense the Fountain Fairy was saying. After that, it dived into the center of the fountain without disturbing the water's natural flow. For a few heart-racing seconds, nothing happened. Then she appeared, over thirty feet tall and every bit as gorgeous as the legends described: the Great Fairy. She adorned her body with scanty bits of ivory clothing, causing Rail to look away with a blush. When he tried focusing on her face, he saw her features were ceaselessly shifting to become prettier and prettier. For a moment, he thought he recognized his childhood crush, then Zelda's face, before the Great Fairy's features settled on what looked like an adult version of Malon. Rail didn't know how Zelda and Link saw the Great Fairy, but he was sure they all witnessed something different. Whatever they saw, Zelda remained spellbound while Link greeted the mythical Great Fairy with a friendly wave.

"Welcome, young ones. I am Hylexa, the Great Fairy of Magic," the Great Fairy said in such a soothing voice Rail was yearning to hear more. "You have come a great distance to visit me, and I am humbled by your presence. Greetings, Princess Zelda. Hello, Rail Grand." When her eyes met Link's, it was clear who she adored the most. "Thank you for coming, Link H. Skyloft, child of the Lost Woods, and Candidate of the Goddesses."

"I'm glad to be here," Link said with a light bow.

"I have heard much about you from my sister, Dinara. She has told me of your kindness and immeasurable talent. As thanks for saving my sister, I shall bless you with three treasures. Please, accept them with my thanks." The Great Fairy Hylexa raised three fingers to her lips and blew Link a kiss. As she did, three triangular crystals materialized above him. Though they each bore identical shapes, their contents differed. One was brimming with red flames, the second hummed with a green glow, and the third contained a blue sphere. Link reached for the three gems, but it wasn't necessary; the three crystals flew towards him and sunk into his chest, disappearing into his body.

At first, Rail believed the Great Fairy had done something to Link as he doubled over in pain. Zelda rushed to his side, but was pushed back by a buffet of air when Great Fairy Hylexa shooed her away.

"These are my gifts to you, Link," Hylexa continued. "They are the three most basic yet fundamental Goddess Spells. Din's Fire." Link's body burst in flames as he was suspended in midair, and Rail cried out his name in dread before realizing the fires were causing his body no harm. "Farore's Wind." The fires died out as a torrent of emerald wind gushed from Link, surrounding him in a hurricane of magic. "Nayru's Love." The gale of wind literally froze, condensing into blue shards before shattering into millions of pieces, scattering in every direction. "I hope these abilities serve you well," Hylexa ended as Link floated to the ground.

Link was flustered at what transpired, clutching his chest as if he could feel the three crystallized spells thrumming inside him. Oddly, despite being burned alive, whipped by a hurricane, and frozen solid, Link came out better than before; his wide range of injuries were healed, and his bandages peeled from his body like dust. While Rail would've been pissed at the Great Fairy for randomly turning him into a bonfire, making him pass massive gas, and then transform him into an ice cube generator, Link merely grinned and said, "A little warning would've been nice."

Hylexa smiled; it was so beautiful to see Rail completely forgot his prior shock. "Life is a surprise. You can never know what'll happen next. All you can do is smile at your reflection in the river of time as the waves wash you by. Now, for your friends."

Rail flinched. Did he and Zelda have a chance in being blessed with magical powers others could only dream of? He stood at attention, his legs ridged and arms glued to his side. "Y-Yes?"

"You must be happy to be friends with such a wonderful child. For your willingness to brave Death Mountain's harsh terrain, I shall restore your vitality."

This was ridiculously anticlimactic and one of the last things on his mind, but Rail decided to act grateful and pretend like he was glad to accept. The rain of flares glistening around them congregated around him and Zelda. While the individual restorative flames burned away a fragment of his fatigue, when they gathered into a large cocoon and smothered his body, he felt his strength and stamina return to a hundred percent. He watched Zelda undergo a similar process, blanketed by the Great Fairy's mystic fire and emerged refreshed.

"Thank you for your generosity," Zelda said with a deep bow, her complexion practically shining with renewed vigor.

"Yeah, thanks," Rail said before muttering, "It's not like I was expecting magical powers or spells, or anything a bit more than a stamina drink."

"Goodbye, children of Hyrule. Dinara and I have two other sisters who would gladly give you their blessing, little Link. I hope your journey ends in success." Great Fairy Hylexa rose into the sky-less air and dove into her fountain without causing a ripple.

Rail experimentally moved his body, surprised to find that other than his weariness, his injuries sustained during the Dodongo invasion were also fully healed. Perhaps he should've expressed a little more gratitude; Hylexa was, after all, a figure of myths and legends. This was probably the first and last time he'd ever meet another Great Fairy face to face.

_I've still got a lot to learn, physically and mentally_, he internally sighed.

With their task complete, Link lead the way back outside to the summit of Death Mountain. Zelda was giving the Fairy Fountain one last glance to commit the place to memory, and Rail did the same. He had a feeling he could enter this chamber again in the future, but without Link, he would find nothing more than an empty cave.

Outside, with the night at its darkest, Rail was subjugated to yet another surprise. Waiting for them was a giant owl, with a cloak of brown feathers and a face which was constantly turning upside-down right-side-up. Normally, Rail might've jumped off the summit in surprise at such a creature, but after seeing the King Dodongo, he felt like no monster in all of Hyrule could surprise him now. Nonetheless, he drew his Hylian Shield in preparation for a fight.

Link stopped him, holding out one hand in front of his face. "No need for that, this guy's a friend."

Rail cautiously lowered his shield, and then remembered. "Suvica was talking about a big pigeon before, right? Is this …?"

"The very same," Link affirmed, approaching the massive owl. "How's it going, Owl Kae?"

Owl Kae, if that was his name, hooted as a means of laughter. "Very well, I thank you. I see you've already met with the second Great Fairy of Hyrule, Hylexa." The large predator of the night turned to Rail and Zelda. "Ah, Princess Zelda and Rail Grand (How did everyone know his last name? He hadn't used it for years!). When I met you outside Hyrule Castle, Link, I did not think you'd be escorting the Princess of Hyrule from the premises."

"Thinks happened," Link shrugged.

"Excuse me," Zelda spoke in. "Although Link refers to you as '_Owl Kae_,' I cannot help but feel you are someone of great importance. Pardon me for prying, but what is your name?"

"Hoot! Hoot! Hoot! I am naught but a humble servant of the light, Princess Zelda.

"So what're you doing here?" Link asked. "Last I time I saw you, it was outside Hyrule Castle, warning me about the castle guards and the Gerudo intruders. Is there something wrong right now?"

"Hoot, hoot! Must there be peril in order for me to visit the Goddess's favorite candidate? No, today I've come to grant you a favor. You have braved the summit of Death Mountain, so I shall be your ride down."

Rail leaned over the cliff-face to see the long climb down. Without a doubt, receiving a lift would be an enormous blessing. "You sure about this? Don't get me wrong! I'd love a ride down! But carrying the three of us all together could be a burden."

Owl Kae gave Rail a crooked smile with its beak. "Why must I carry you all down at once when doing so one by one would be so much smoother?"

Now Rail felt like an idiot, so he refrained from saying anything while Link grabbed the giant owl's legs and flew back down to Goron City. Owl Kae came back for Zelda a few minutes later, and for Rail a short time after that.

As Owl Kae hovered over Rail, who grabbed the bird's thin yet sturdy legs, he asked, "Are you smart?"

If the big bird was surprised at the sudden question, he didn't let it show. "I like to believe I possess a fair sum of knowledge."

"What do you think my destiny is?"

"Will my answer change your opinion, regardless?"

Rail grinned as his feet were picked off the ground as Owl Kae took off. "No, it wouldn't."

As the wind rushed by his face as Owl Kae circled Death Mountain and descended for the entrance to Goron City, he thought he heard the bird whisper, "I'm sorry."

* * *

The following morning, every Goron on the mountain was awake to bid Rail and the others farewell. They were on the trailing pathway leading back down to the Kakariko Village, sweating beneath the morning sun. Link and Darunia stood face to face, with Rail and the others behind the forest child while the Gorons stood behind their leader, cheering when the two shook hands. While Link's tunic was magically repaired thanks to the Great Fairy, Suvica wasn't as lucky. His clothes were still burned because of Link's Din's Fire, leaving his chest bare and his pants barely holding together (he used his chain-necklace as a belt). Because the Gorons had no human-sized clothes, they gave Suvica a black cloak which covered all of his body except for his head.

"Thank you, Link, for everything you and your friends have done for us," Darunia said with a wide grin. "Consider yourselves to be friends of the Gorons for generations to come! Through your endeavors, we Gorons shall be able to feast on the delicious rocks in the Dodongo's Cavern until our stomachs explode!"

"As if you weren't fat enough," Suvica scoffed, stifling a yawn.

"Now!" Darunia continued, oblivious to the lightning newt's grumbling. "Since you have upheld your part of the bargain, I shall do the same! Behold, the Goron's greatest treasure, the Goron's Ruby!" The Goron King thrust his arms into the air, and the space between his hands flashed with an iridescent crimson color. After the light died down, a ruby of unparallel splendor was hovering in Darunia's hands. The oval-shaped ruby was a little larger than Rail's fist, and shone with the fires rivaling Death Mountain's magma. There was a symmetrical gold band surrounding the gem, magnifying its value a thousand-fold.

"The Spiritual Stone of Fire, at last," Zelda breathed as the Goron King graciously handed the priceless ruby to Link.

"It's so pretty," Malon agreed, unable to take her eyes off the gem.

"Damn, Forest Boy gets all the good stuff," Suvica spat.

"Still, it's two down, one to go," Rail said, invigorated and crestfallen at their progress. He'd barely been with his new friends for a few days, yet they were already so close to obtaining all three Spiritual Stones. _No, I can't relax my guard!_ He ordered, slapping his cheeks to refocus himself. Gathering the three Spiritual Stones was only the beginning: Their ultimate goal was bringing down Ganondorf, which would not be an easy feat.

Link pocketed the Goron's Ruby in his magic pouch. "Thanks Darunia. After I take Ganondorf down, and you managed to get rid of the Red-Eagle Gate, you should come visit me in the Kokiri Village at the Lost Woods. My friends would be excited to see you."

Darunia erupted in laughter while Navi hissed at Link to stop inviting strangers to the sacred paradise. "I shall hold you to that, Link, eternal friend of the Gorons! For today forth, you shall be my Sworn Brother!"

Rail had no idea what that meant, but Zelda gasped so loudly he knew it had to mean something important.

"Sworn Brother?" Link repeated. "You also called Ceylon, the King of Hyrule, your Sworn Brother. What's it mean?"

"It means we share a bond forged by combat, tempered by victory, and reinforced through friendship! You may consider me your brother, your family, and I shall do the same, Brother!" Darunia held out a fist, waiting for Link to return the gesture.

Apparently, family meant a lot to Link as his face softened to a grateful smile. "Brother," he replied, bumping fists with the Goron King. "If you ever need another giant lizard taken care of, you know who to ask."

"HA HA! You bet!" Darunia roared in pleasure, patting Link on the head. While it was a kind sign of friendship, the Goron King's massive palms crashed into Link's head with the power of an avalanche, smashing him into the ground and out of consciousness.

"Whoa, whoa! What the heck do you think you're doing?" Suvica demanded, rushing up to Link's crumbled body and leering up at the Goron King. "You picking a fight? Huh?"

Before anyone could stop him, Darunia opened his arms arm and bellowed, "You are all saviors of the Gorons, and thus, you are all my Sworn Brothers and Sisters! Come here!" The Goron King's arms wrapped around Suvica before the lightning newt could react, binding him in a muscular hug. Rail, Zelda, and Malon cringed as they heard Suvica's bones snap and break within Darunia's harder-than-steel arms. When he released Suvica, the dragon hit the ground with his mouth foaming.

"In the Goddess's name, this is so not good," Zelda murmured as Darunia's cheerful eyes locked onto the rest of them.

"Fairy Boy … S-Suvi," Malon whimpered, taking a step back and bumping into Rail, who was also slowly retreating. No good; the Gorons of Death Mountain had surrounded them, their arms wide open for a death-hug as they all chanted:

"Brother!"

"Brother!"

"Sister!"

"Brother!"

"Sister!"

"Sister!"

"Sister!"

"BROTHER!"

"SISTER!"

"We need to run," Rail said unnecessarily, watching the swamp of Gorons close in around them. For some reason, seeing these happy Gorons swarm towards them, asking for hugs, was more terrifying than a hundred King Dodongos. "Zelda, can your teleportation magic get us, Link and Suvica included, all out of here?"

"I-I-I don't know, I've never transported so many people."

"What about in the face of death itself?"

"T-Then I'll do my best! Farore's Wind!"

* * *

EDIT: Chapter 22, here for anyone's enjoyment. The story was told from Rail's point of view to show how an ordinary boy feels around extraordinary people, and what he decides to do in spite of it all.

In an additional note, the other 21 chapter before this one have been rewritten and revised, changing a few major points in the story along the way. You can still continue reading without rereading the other chapters and still understand what's going on, so don't fret. Thank you for everyone who reads this story.

HylianWarrior


	23. Chapter 23, Spawn of the Fiend

**Chapter 23**

**Spawn of the Fiend**

Link groaned as his eyes fluttered open, giving light to an utterly foreign environment. He was inside a small, cylindrical room with a vertical beam of wood slowly rotating in the center. Morning light was shining in from several windows circling the stone-stacked walls above him. From the shadows which darkened and brightened the room in frequent intervals, Link knew where he was: The windmill in the Kakariko Village, but how did he get here?

He tried to stand up, but was crippled when a surging throb branded itself onto his forehead. Waiting six seconds for the pain to abate, Link stood slowly, tenderly balancing himself on his unsteady feet. When using his eyes was too painful, he relied on his ears to pick up any threatening anomalies he should be concerned about. Besides the steady creaking and groans of the windmill's inner mechanisms, he detected a faint hint of music underlying the general noise.

"Your friend is awake! How amazing, with that ache!"

Link did his best to squint past his eyes to focus on a stranger huddled against the opposite wall of the windmill. He was a peculiar fellow, dressed in a tattered blue shirt with raggedy cobalt pants without any shoes. His head was bald, and his chin was growing a little stub of brown hair. But what really made him stand out was his freakishly permanent squinty-eye smile and the musical instrument in his hands. Link couldn't begin to find a name to describe it; while the man was cranking a small box in his hands, the musical notes flowed into a pipe connecting to a larger box fastened to his back. From there, his flawless performance echoed out of his backpack via the phonograph tube circling on top of it.

"Who … are you?" Link murmured, grasping his forehead with one hand while bracing the other against the wall. Even when Suvica punched his head really hard, it never hurt this much.

"Guru-Guru is my name, music is what I tame!" the man rhymed while ceaselessly cranking his bizarre instrument.

"How'd I get here?"

"Ask your friends! Your confusion they shall cleanse!" Guru-Guru refused to move his hands from his instrument, so he started beckoning his head at the spot to Link's left. His friends were slumped on the floor beside him; Zelda was out cold, and Suvica was unconscious with a froth of electric foam gurgling from his mouth. Rail was kneeling next to Zelda, breathing so hard Link was afraid he might hyperventilate and pass out. Only Malon was wide awake, pacing back and forth with frantic steps. When she saw Link was awake, her panicky face broke in relief as she tackled him with a hug, rattling his already-dizzy brain and nearly causing him to pass out.

"Fairy Boy! You're awake! You're awake!" She sobbed, refusing to release him as her arms strangled his neck.

"M-M-Malon! C-C-C-Can't—!"

"We're in trouble!" Malon cried, blissfully untangling her arms and letting a deeply needed whoosh of air enter Link's lungs. "Things are really bad Fairy Boy, _really_ bad!"

"S-Slow down!" Link coughed, massaging his neck as Malon got off him. "Start from the beginning! What happened? How'd we end up here?"

"We were running … again," Malon said mournfully. "Running from happy Gorons who wanted to hug us to death. Don't you remember?"

Link gingerly shook his head; the last thing he recalled was Darunia's enormous hand descending on his head, smacking him like a falling sky. Then he remembered his hood's favorite occupant and whipped it off in a hurry, shouting, "Navi!"

If he felt bad, his fairy partner was definitely feeling worse. As he took off his hood and plopped the fairy into his hands, he saw her arms and legs were splayed out like a string-less puppet, while her eyes were rolled up into her head. Although he knew Darunia meant well, he was never going near that Goron again.

Malon peeked over his shoulder and spotted his knocked out partner, gasping, "Oh, poor Navi! I forgot she was in there!"

"Malon, how'd we get away? What happened to everyone?"

"Well, Suvi got a hug from King Darunia, and I think he broke every bone in Suvi's body. The other Gorons wanted to give us hugs as well, and after what happened to Suvi, no one was really willing. That's why Zelda used her magic to teleport us all to the Kakariko Village."

Link's eyebrows rose in alarm. "She teleported _all_ of us? She's only transported one people before along with herself, so suddenly transporting all of us with her magic is a huge risk! The difficulty increases exponentially with each person she tries to bring along!"

Malon nodded soberly. "I think that's why she fainted and wouldn't wake up when her spell was done and we were in the village. But that's not the worst part. Fairy Boy, we're in a lot of trouble!"

"How much trouble? As much as the Dodongo Invasion?"

"Em … no, maybe?" Malon shrugged. "But that's not the point! The moment Zelda fainted, Hylian soldiers barged into the Kakariko Village! I had to drag you, Suvi, and Zelda somewhere safe while Rail held them all off! Fairy Boy, their leader is Glen the Courageous! He followed us from Denion and he's here now!"

At the mention of Hyrule's strongest knight, Link's senses sharpened until the pain in his head was almost blinding. "How'd he find us?"

"I don't know, but he's here now! Fairy Boy, what are we going to do?"

Link ordered his racing heart to settle down as he assessed the situation. He still had all his equipment with him, along with a new arsenal of spells which he could use to his advantage. However, haphazardly casting his new Din's Fire could burn down the Kakariko Village, and he never used Farore's Wind or Nayru's Love before. Additionally, the throbbing in his head was not going to get better any week soon, so his condition was severely hampered. Glen, on the other hand, would be thirsting for victory. His defeat at Hyrule Market would shed all his pretenses of mercy; Link knew if he engaged Glen in combat, the Royal Knight would hold nothing back. To make matters worse, Suvica was out of commission, Zelda was barely alive, and Rail had already done everything in his power to stall Glen and his knights while Malon dragged them all to the Kakariko windmill. Things were not looking good.

He shoved one hand into the Pouch and did an inventory check. Excluding the week's worth of food, spare clothes, empty bottles, and blankets, he had his Fairy Slingshot with thirty-three deku seeds, four deku sticks, and two deku nuts. None of these had enough "bang" to blow aside a wary Hylian soldier.

Then his fingers wrapped around something heavy, and Link pulled his hand out of the Pouch in surprise. He nearly dropped the object: A bomb. It was a handheld explosive, small enough for his fingers to wrap snuggly around its spherical blue surface. The fuse was short, probably giving him a three-second countdown if it was lit.

Link had absolutely no recollection of stashing a bomb in his Pouch.

"Malon … what is this doing here?" He asked, cautiously holding the bomb away from his body.

"Oh, that?" Malon said, utterly unsurprised at the explosive. "Remember when you, Zelda, and Rail came back late last night and slept in? Well, Suvi really liked the Bomb Flowers the Gorons were growing, because they helped beat the King Dodongo, so he asked Darunia if he could keep a few. That's when a shipment of bombs came in from a neighboring Goron village. They were supposed to be used to drive away the Dodongos, but since you and Suvi already took care of them, Darunia gave most of the bombs to Suvi as a present. Since he couldn't carry them all in his hands, he … kind of took your magic pouch and put them in there instead."

Link slowly placed the bomb back in the Pouch, hoping it wouldn't spontaneously go off. "Exactly how many bombs did Suvica take?"

"Um … around twenty?"

Link wanted to break a few more of the lizard's bones for placing such dangerous objects in his Pouch without warning him, but he doubted Darunia left any for him. Instead, he tried to think of a way to put these unexpected gifts to good use. His mind could only conjure up images of the Kakariko Village being leveled in a series of explosions, which would do little to better his notoriety.

His concerns were mirrored by Guru-Guru's outburst; the odd musician had seen the bomb and was rhyming in outrage. Even his mask of kindness was skewed into a visor of rage. "You dare burn down my village? You're worst than bandits and their pillage! Dastardly fiend! Your soul must be cleaned!"

"Calm down, I don't want to harm this village," Link assured the annoying performer. Zelda was fond of Impa's village, so he wasn't going to burn it to the ground trying to escape.

"Do I have your word, you little curd?"

"You have my word."

Guru-Guru's face transformed back into an unnaturally smiley expression. "Oh then, says the wise men. Thank you for your hospitality without any brutality!"

Link had to ask. "Do you _always_ make your words rhyme?"

"Rhyming is the magic of words, letting them fly like little birds!"

"Right, sorry I asked." Turning away from the avid music devotee, Link headed for the windmill's door, wanting to see for himself exactly how bad the situation was.

It was bad. The moment he opened the door a fraction and took a glance outside, he knew escaping was going to be a problem. Because the windmill was located at the far end of the Kakariko, he could see the rest of the village with ease. Hylian soldiers were kicking in unopened doors and interrogating everyone they came across, from the youngest of children to the most ancient of elders. There was a squadron turning Bessie's manor inside-out, kicking out the occupants to leave no stone unturned. Several soldiers were raiding the bar, interrogating the few inhabitants in the hope that their loose tongues would divulge vital information. Several squads were patrolling the village in orderly intervals, barely leaving a single patch of the village unattended. The remaining soldiers were guarding the Red-Eagle Gate to the Goron City, watching the pathway to the Kakariko Graveyard, and barricading the village's entrance, completely isolating the Kakariko from the rest of Hyrule. Hyrule's strongest knight, Glen, was standing on the village's well, his back turned to the windmill, while shouting orders to his men. His golden armor was stained with dirt and grime from days of ceaseless searching, but Link knew the knight's determination was as strong as ever. To think only yesterday, Link and his friends were partying in Goron City, and now they were stuck in a life threatening situation with no discernable way out because a mountain full of Gorons wanted a hug. Life really knew how to catch them off guard. Link closed his eyes and focused his concentration onto his ears, empowering their acuteness and catching Glen's words past the scrambling confusion of the village.

"Report!" He heard Glen bark.

"Yes sir! We've searched the bar, inn, and several houses, yet there has been no sign of the kidnappers or Princess Zelda!"

"Mercenary! I thought you said you tracked them down to the Kakariko Village! Were you lying to us?"

Link took a peek; Glen was shouting at a man who clearly wasn't a soldier of Hyrule. Instead of the standard Hylian uniform, the man enduring Glen's shouting wore a sleeveless gray tunic and long pants, with leather shoulder padding to support the large sword on his back. The double-sided blade, from its tip to the hilt, was as tall as the man himself, with the words, "Silver Moon" inscribed on the flat side of the steel. The mercenary's short pale-brown hair trembled over his scarred face as he shook from annoyance.

"I told you everything I know, royal dog!" The man shouted, crossing his rugged arms. "The Silver Moon guild was hired to find and kill a brat dressed in green! The reward is two-hundred rupees! How was I supposed to know he was the same runt who kidnapped the Princess of Hyrule? I tracked them down to here, and then you dogs followed me! So yes, they're all here, unless you grunts got lazy and let them slip by your fingers!"

"Sir," Glen's subordinate spoke up. "This mercenary—" he said the word as if it caused a bad taste in his mouth, "—is telling the truth. We have confirmed reports that Princess Zelda was last seen in this village. Witnessed say they say the Princess transport herself and her kidnappers into the village using her divine powers, yet suddenly collapsed soon afterwards, moments before we arrived. If that red-haired boy hadn't held us back for so long, the Princess would already be in our protection. They're still in the village, and we will find them!"

Glen nodded appreciatively. "Those louts must have forced the Princess to expend her precious magic for their own selfish causes, thus the reason for her collapse. We must rescue her, no matter the cost!"

"Yes sir!" The soldier saluted, but then hesitated to ask. "But are they really … kidnappers?"

"What do you mean?"

"My lord, I was one of the men you took with you to Denion. I heard the stories the people told, about how Princess Zelda risked her body and life to liberate the city from the corrupt dirt bag who ruled it with such villainy. According to them, the kidnappers _helped_ our princess save the city. I'm … I'm confused, that's all. If they stole Princess Zelda for ransom, why would they assist her in saving Denion? It doesn't make any sense!"

"No, it does not," Glen said, and for a moment, his stature sagged as he murmured. "None of it does."

"My lord, we have to tell the men!"

"Tell them what?"

"Lord Glen, many of our fellow brother in arms here are reinforcements we received _after _leaving Denion. They were not there when—" the soldier eyed the mercenary to make sure he wasn't listening in, "—when _she_ showed herself. If what she said was true, then the one who kidnapped Princess Zelda, the one we're hunting, is her—!"

"Enough," Glen pleaded, "Please, enough. Soldier, I know this is confusing, and I know none of it makes sense. Why would Impa, the caretaker of Princess Zelda, willing allow the princess to be kidnapped? Why did the princess burn down Hyrule Market's drawbridge and let herself be abducted? Was she forced to do so, or was it by her own will? Why have her kidnappers not demanded any ransom? Why did they help her save Denion City? Why are they here, at the Kakariko Village, where they cannot possibly escape if cornered? None of it makes any sense."

"Lord Glen, I can only ask _you_ this question, for any other commanding officer would have my head on a spear for my disobedience. May I speak?"

"Freely."

"Sir, when I heard Princess Zelda was kidnapped, I was overjoyed to know I would be part of the team which would bring her back. Yet after seeing the people of Denion and meeting a living legend, I cannot help but question our goal! Princess Zelda is not acting like a prisoner, but rather, an accomplice! What if she wanted to leave the castle? What if she _wants_ to be with these … kidnappers? Lord Glen … are we doing the right thing?" When Glen did not respond, the soldier hastily got on his knees in apology. "Forgive me, my lord! I spoke rashly and out of line! I shall punish myself as a means of redemption for my insolence!"

"You shall do no such thing!" Glen barked. "Soldier, the freedom of speech is one of the many gifts the Goddesses bestowed upon us. Speaking your mind should never be a crime, and the fact that there are Nobles who _actively _oppress this Goddess-given right sickens me. You are well within your right to question our motives."

"Thank you, my lord!" The soldier said in gratitude, his face beaming ("Dog," the mercenary spat), "I am honored to serve under you!"

"The honor should be mine," Glen said. "If you are confused about our motives, then there is one way to receive an answer: Rescue Princess Zelda. She is our future Queen and we are her loyal servants. She will give us the answers we seek to this mystery. Until then, we concentrate on finding her. If you manage to engage her kidnappers, subdue but do not kill them unless absolutely necessary."

"Yes sir! I shall relay the message at once!"

"Good, and soldier?" Glen said before his subordinate could run off. "What of the … other matter we spoke of."

"Ah, yes. After securing the traitorous Nobles in Denion, we searched the city, but _she _had already disappeared. I've sent men to find her, but …"

"Call them back at once."

"A-Are you sure, my lord? Do you not wish to find her?"

"She taught me everything I know, yet my skills still pale in comparison. Believe me, if she does not wish to be found, then tracking her down shall be impossible. I will not waste our men's time in a futile search effort. Send the birds, telling them to regroup with us at once."

"Yes sir!"

As the soldier marched away to fulfill his assigned duties, the mercenary looked up to Glen and asked, "You dogs are purposely keeping me in the dark, aren't you? Who's this '_she_' you keep talking about? Your runaway wife?"

"It's none of your concern, mercenary," Glen growled, saying the word as if it were an insult.

"Aw, come on! I've told you everything I know because you royal mutts kept shoving expensive toilet paper into my hands, saying it ordered me to do my duty as a '_citizen of Hyrule_' to assist you blokes! So let's have a little give-and-return! Who's this hag you dogs keep talking about? A runaway slave or a little entertainment you guys keep for the road?"

Link knew exactly who Glen and the soldier had been talking about, and his stomach boiled as the mercenary slandered his mother's name.

"I'll say it again," Glen hissed. "It's none of your concern. The only thing you mercenaries care about is your next paycheck, so keep your nose out of my business."

"You know, for a moment I thought you dogs were talking about Lillian the Savior," the mercenary continued, ignoring Glen's threats. Link's hand on the windmill door handle tightened while Glen's shoulders tensed. "After all, there isn't a toddler in Hyrule who doesn't know about the fabulous Glen and his wonderful master, Lillian Skyloft the Wise! Ha! Sounds ridiculous out loud! Lillian the Savior, living in Denion? Moblin balls, it doesn't make a lick of sense! The good-for-nothing hag couldn't keep her own husband in line, so what right does she have to keep on living? They say the useless witch killed her little baby and took her own life after slaughtering her husband, and who am I to object the truth! Good riddance, I say! As if Hyrule needs a washed up legend walking around!"

Link so was infuriated by the mercenary's disparaging words he was fighting to stop himself from bursting out of hiding and striking the babbling pest with a fully charged Disk Attack. Unfortunately for him, Glen was closer. Before the mercenary could blink, Glen stepped down from the well, his gilded sword drawn from the scabbard on his waist, and paused a centimeter from the mercenary's neck, who ceased his insults as the golden blade touched his skin.

"Speak badly of my master one more time," Glen growled with venom lacing his words. "One more foul word, one more disrespectful peep, and I shall bury your head in the Kakariko Graveyard and leave your body for the undead to feast on."

"Y-You dare challenge me?" The mercenary shouted, stepping away from Glen's sword and pulling out his too-big blade with both hands. "Well, good for me! I've always wanted to see what sort of pampered knight Glen the Courageous was, and here's my perfect chance! Prepare to be defeat by Glanog of the Silver Moon guild!" Glanog the mercenary struggled to lift his overly-large sword with both hands before swinging it down at Glen's head. Instead of meeting the mercenary's blade with his own, Glen swung his sword at the handle of Glanog's weapon, striking the area less than in inch from the mercenary's fingers. The resulting blow jarred Glanog's fingers, sending his sword harmlessly flying from his grasp while Glen grabbed the mercenary's face with his free left hand, picking him off his feet, and then slamming his head into the ground.

"Pitiful," Glen scowled, pinning the mercenary down while raising his gilded sword for the killing blow.

Before he could finish him off, Glanog screamed, "Wait! I give up, I give up!"

"That's not what I want to hear!"

"I-I'm sorry for insulting your master! I'm sorry for insulting the Savior!"

Glen roughly kicked the mercenary back onto his feet before sheathing his blade, letting the defeated Glanog hobble towards his weapon in shame. The soldiers who witnessed Glanog's failed attempt to defeat Glen rushed to their leader's side while pointing their weapons at the surrounded mercenary.

"Lord Glen, are you unhurt?" One of them asked, his spear locked onto the mercenary's heart as Glanog weakly strapped his sword onto his back. "Please grant us permission to whip some manners into this cur!"

"You will do no such thing," Glen said, leaning against the edge of the well. "He's punishment is not the reason why we're here. Resume searching for Princess Zelda, and leave no door unchecked!"

"Yes sir!" The soldiers said in unison, marching away in formation while shooting Glanog despicable glares.

For a while, the humiliated mercenary could only rub his sore hands in silence. Then he asked, "What's so special about this kid, anyways?"

Glen did not turn to look at Glanog. "What do you mean?"

"At least tell me _something_! I've been a mercenary for thirteen years. My trade has helped me pick up a few tricks here and there. I can tell you're obsessed with this kid, the one who kidnapped your precious princess. Heck, I'd be interested in him too. After all, he did the impossible and stole the Princess of Hyrule right out from under all your noses. Whoa, no offense!" Glanog hurriedly said as Glen glared at him. "If there wasn't such a tempting bounty on his head, I'd be doing everything possible to recruit that kid into my guild. Goddess knows we could use some actual talent. But you're not interested in him just because he kidnapped the Princess of Hyrule. No, there are a dozen more reason why you're pursing this kid. Can't you spill a few?"

Glen laughed gruffly. "You want one reason? He defeated me in combat."

That surprised the mercenary. "Whoa, wait! A little brat defeated _you_? Okay, so I might've been underestimating you a minute ago, but now I've seen you in action! How'd a kid beat _you_?"

"I underestimated him because he was a child, and he used that to his advantage. He caught me unaware and defeated me with his magic. That is all."

The mercenary's mouth was in the shape of an "O." "This brat steals the Princess of Hyrule and defeats Glen the Courageous? Okay, screw the bounty, I'm definitely bringing him into my guild."

"You will not," Glen growled. "He is a criminal responsible for the princess's abduction … and the child who defeated me. I learned from my mistake; I will not underestimate him again. After I defeat him in single combat, the only way he's leaving here is in shackles, even if he is … no, never mind. You men!" Glen barked to his soldiers. "Have you found them yet?"

"No sir! However, there are only a few unsearched areas left, my lord! It is only a matter of time!"

"Where have we not searched yet?"

"Sir! The mansion of the deceased Ltula Family, the Kakariko Graveyard, and the windmill, sir!"

"Search them all one by one!" Glen ordered. "And do so with numbers and caution! Our perpetrators cannot be taken lightly! They have the appearance of children, but their abilities are that of demons! Subdue them if you can, but do not hesitate to kill if you must!"

"YES SIR!" was the resounding response.

Link quietly closed the windmill door, flinching as the ache in his head stabbed him. He found it rather humorous these hardened soldiers hadn't checked the two "cursed" areas of the village (the graveyard and the Ltula family mansion), but now it was merely a matter of time before they were storming the windmill. He needed an exit strategy, and fast.

"How are things outside, Fairy Boy?" Malon asked nervously, rubbing her hands together and hopping on the tips of her toes.

"Not that good," Link sighed, discarding one plan of escape after another in his head. "I'd say we've got five minutes tops before the soldiers start knocking on the door."

"Zelda is still unconscious and Suvi's bones are still mending! We can't leave them behind, but we can't run while carrying them!"

"What about Rail?" Link asked. Rail was sitting down with his back against the wall and his Hylian Shield on the floor; his breathing had mellowed, but he was still in no condition to fight. Rail tried to give Link a thumbs-up, but couldn't lift his arms without them shaking violently.

"He held off fifty Hylian soldiers _and_ Glen for ten minutes in order for me to drag you, Zelda, and Suvi to the windmill! Then he had to use what was left to his strength to escape!" Malon explained. "He needs to rest!"

"Then that leaves you and me."

Malon gulped, but still said, "I-I'll do anything you ask me to do, Fairy Boy! Whatever you need, I'll help!"

The door opened.

Link spun around and pulled out his Kokiri Sword while Malon jumped in front of their unconscious companions to shield them with her body. While he'd been expecting a swarm of Hylian soldiers to barge in, he never thought he'd see _this_ kid again; he nearly dropped his sword when he saw the boy with babyish cheeks, blond hair, and a mole between his nose and upper lip, walk in.

"What're _you_ doing here?" Link demanded as Lavin closed the windmill door behind him.

"Do you know him, Fairy Boy?" Malon asked, arms outstretched to keep Zelda, Suvica, and Rail from view.

When the habitual liar saw them, he cried, "Ah! It's you!" Link tensed, readjusting his grip on his weapon, wincing to the burning sensation in his head, as he prepared to knock Lavin out; it was only natural the simplest of boys would know him as the criminal who kidnapped the Princess of Hyrule by now. "You're the arrogant kid who talked to Master Glen back at Hyrule Market! What're you doing here, peasant?"

Link almost dropped his sword, again. "Huh? Wait … you … you don't know who I am?"

"Ha! As if I'd know the name of some peasant from a rural village I could care less about!" Lavin laughed, flaunting his new cape by twirling in a slow circle, showing off the picture of the Triforce and red eagle it portrayed. "Did you forget who I am? I am Lavin, Hero of Hyrule and Future Husband of Princess Zelda!" Malon dropped her jaw, but Link knew better than to trust anything Lavin said.

He sheathed his sword and rubbed his head as the dull pain hammered at his mind. "What're you doing here, Lavin? Last time I met you was in Hyrule Market, so why are you in the Kakariko Village?"

"Psh! As expected of a peasant! You know nothing!"

"Then please, enlighten me," Link sighed, wondering why he was wasting time with his fool when he had minutes to spare before the real threat knocked down the windmill's doors.

"Did you not hear? The Princess of Hyrule was kidnapped by bandits ever so vile! The King of Hyrule himself, along with Master Glen, tasked me with the worthy mission of rescuing her! That is why I, Lavin the Ultimate Tracker, followed her here to the Kakariko Village!"

"You followed the mercenary that's with Glen to this village, right?"

"L-L-L-Lies!" Lavin stuttered so badly he nearly bit his tongue off. "I arrived here months before Master Glen did, all in search for Princess Zelda!"

"Zelda wasn't kidnapped months ago, it's been weeks," Link pointed out.

"Exactly! Shows you how brilliant I really am! I came to rescue the Princess even before she was kidnapped! How genius am I?"

Link slapped his face with his palm, immediately regretting the pain stemming from his forehead. He tried to be patient, as he had back at Hyrule Market, but considering the pressing situation at hand and his agonizing headache, he was on short supply of patience. "Zelda isn't here, now shoo, leave."

"Cretin! You dare tell the mighty Lavin what to do? My genius tracking skills tell me Princess Zelda is in this very room! My senses never lie! Why, after she was kidnapped from Hyrule Castle, I followed her to Denion City, where I took part in the glorious revolt against the Nobles!"

Link tensed. "You what?"

"Peasant, must I repeat myself every time? I said I was there, at Denion, fighting alongside Princess Zelda as she fought against the corrupt and the vile! Where have you been all your life?" Lavin smirked.

Now Link was on high alert. It didn't matter what sort of idiot Lavin was; there wasn't a single soul in all of Denion who didn't know what Zelda looked like after the revolt, so if Lavin was in the same city at the same time, he'd be able to recognize the unconscious girl behind them. Link gave Malon a wordless message carried by his stare, which she understood with ease as she made sure she stood between Lavin's line of sight and Zelda.

Lavin noticed their silent exchange, and craned his head about to see who Malon was shielding. "Wait a second … I think I remember that face," he said as he caught a brief glimpse of Zelda's face. "Yes, I'm sure of it! I'm sure of it!"

There was no more room for hesitation. Link motioned for his Kokiri Sword, ready to slam its rounded hilt into the back of Lavin's head.

"That's Saria!" Lavin burst out while pointing at Zelda, causing Link's hand to slip away from his sword and smack the back of his head.

"Who?" Link demanded.

"Saria, the arrogant girl who thought she could show me up back at Denion! She thought she was so much smarter than me, but I showed her! During the revolt, while I rode by Princess Zelda's side as her knight of valor, I saw Saria cowering in a corner, crying for her mother!"

Slowly but surely, things started to make sense to Link. "You were at Denion, but you never took part in the revolt, did you?"

Lavin's eyes widened in horror. "S-S-S-S-S-S-Surely y-y-you jest! I am Lavin, the First Disciple of Glen the Courageous and Veteran of City Revolts! It's only natural I would've been riding at Princess Zelda's side while she threw herself into the flurry of combat!"

"If you were at her side, how come you had to track her down to the Kakariko Village?" Link asked, pointing out the flaw in the fabricated story.

"T-T-T-T-That—!"

"You don't even know what the Princess of Hyrule looks like, do you?"

"L-L-L-L-L-Lies! I am the Future Husband of Princess Zelda! She invited me to her chambers when she still lived in Hyrule Castle! She is the fairest maiden in all of Hyrule, leaving rainbows and fairies wherever she walks!"

Link was seriously at the end of his rope, but he held onto his last line of patience like his life depended on it. "Lavin, can you see any rainbows or fairies in this room?"

"Of course not! Rainbows and fairies in a windmill in some rundown village? Preposterous! This is why peasants shall be peasants!"

"Then obviously Zelda hasn't been here, has she?"

Lavin paused, his arrogant face thankfully blank. "Oh … I … I see."

"So she's obviously not here, right?" Link continued.

"Y-Y-You are c-correct, peasant."

"So there's no reason for you to be here, right?"

"W-Well … yes," Lavin mumbled. "If the beautiful Princess of Hyrule is not here, then I, her knight in shining armor, have no reason to stay. Good point, peasant. I should be leaving." The habitual liar finally turned around and headed for the door, and Link sighed in relief.

"What was that about?" Malon whispered as Lavin wrapped his hand around the door handle.

"Don't know, don't care," Link murmured.

"But wait!" Lavin abruptly cheered, dancing back to Link with a new spring in his steps. "There is one more thing about me you MUST know, peasant! If you had been in Denion City, you would be in awe of me! Did you know that Lillian Skyloft, the Savior of Hyrule, was within the city walls?"

"So?" Link groaned, unable to take anymore.

"Then bow before me as I tell you my greatest secret! The truth is, Lillian the Savior is my mother, and I am the legendary child born from the Couple of—!"

_SLAM!_

Link's fist was in Lavin's face before he knew what he was doing, smashing in perpetual liar's nose and sending him flying across the room and into the wall next to Guru-Guru, who said, "Violence is bad, it'll make your parents sad!"

"By the Great Deku Tree's name, that felt good!" Link gasped as he watched the knocked-out Lavin slump to the floor, his nose bleeding and one of his front tooth knocked out. He seriously wondered why he hadn't punched Lavin sooner. Regardless, the pest was out cold, and he'd wasted precious minutes listening to his pointless rambling. Link took a peek out the door to see they had two minutes before the soldiers dropped by to say hi.

"Guru-Guru! What's this windmill for? Is there another way out?"

"Don't you know? This windmill isn't for show!" Guru-Guru laughed as he cranked his instrument. "Many years ago, in this village, no water flowed! So a well was dug, but trouble came with the jug! Water kept on flowing, and if not stopped, people would be rowing! So a windmill was made, and down the well water stayed! The windmill keeps the water level steady, so the water will always be ready! If the windmill spins too slow, all the water will overflow! But if it spins to fast, there will be no water to last!"

While Link was a bit annoyed Guru-Guru persisted to speak in rhymes, he was amazed the musician could come up with them so easily. "In other words, nothing in this windmill can help me and my friends escape from the soldiers, right?"

"If you did something bad, then let the shackles be clad!"

"Thanks," Link sighed. One more minute left. In the end, their escape hinged upon how many soldiers he could take out. If he was in perfect condition, and Glen wasn't here to lead his troops, he was fairly certain victory was his to claim. However, the burning sensation behind his eyes refused to relent, dampening his concentration, thus impeded his ability to fight in top form and cast magic with clarity. Plus, there was no way Glen was going to make things easy on him.

"L-Link."

"Zelda! You're awake!"

Link tore around, leaping to Zelda's side, whose head was resting in Malon's lap. "Zelda! Are you okay?"

She smiled weakly; her face was pale and her forehead burned with a fever. "Farore's Wind … carried … too many. Almost … couldn't … do it. Amazed … your mother … transported … us all. She … really is … incredible."

"Save your strength," Link said softly, doing his best to appear calm, like the situation was all under control. "We've got a few soldiers, along with Glen, coming after us. Escaping is going to be risky, but I'll get us out of here."

Zelda wheezed as her breathing grew heavier; simply staying conscious was straining her mind. He never knew overusing magic could result in such pain. "Link … your … head."

He didn't have a mirror, but Link was fairly certain his forehead was a black and purple blob. "Don't worry about me, just rest. When you wake up, we'll be miles from Death Mountain."

"Your … head," she mumbled weakly, lifting one hand with tedious effort and holding over his injury. "I'll … heal it."

"Don't!" Link ordered; he could hear the soldiers outside approaching the windmill, barely half a minute away. "There's a lot I don't get about magic, but I know you're in no condition to cast any spells! Save your energy! I'm fine!" His traitorous wound flared up at the worst moment, forcing him to betray a wince of pain.

Zelda smiled. "Liar … Nayru's … Touch …" She activated her spell before Link could stop her, watching her pink magic rush from her shivering hand and brush across his bruise. In a matter of seconds, the pain receded until nothing was left, but Zelda looked like she'd lost all the blood in her body. "Re … mem … ber. Fire … burns … Wind … moves … Love … pro … tects." She fainted, her hand dropping and her eyes closing. Her breathing was so shallow Link feared she'd die at a moment's notice.

"Zelda? Zelda!" Malon squealed, gently shaking Zelda's shoulders to awaken her. "Oh my Goddess, oh my Goddess! She's—!"

"—not dead," Link finshed before Malon could get any funny ideas. She was breathing, but only barely. Zelda's condition wasn't going to get any better with rest; she needed magical medical help. For a blinding moment, he remembered what the Great Deku Tree said about living on a sprinkle of magic, about how it was killing him. Zelda wasn't like the Great Deku Tree; she didn't live on magic to survive, but clearly expending her last reserves to heal Link was taking a toll.

He considered surrendering. Zelda's life was in danger, and for the most ridiculous of reasons (running from a Goron's hug … of all the stupid things). He couldn't go to the Gorons for help; even if he broke down the Red-Eagle Gate and begged for their help, they were a race who excelled in physical strength, not magical might. They'd be just as helpless as him when it came to healing Zelda. If he surrendered now, gave himself to Glen and his soldiers, they could take care of Zelda. But if he did, he'd never see her again, and she'd be forever trapped within the confines of Hyrule Castle.

Even if it meant risking Zelda's life, Link refused to give her up. She clearly expressed how much she detested her old life, and he would never betray her by sending her back. Not only that, but when Zelda said she would've been content traveling with him for the rest of her life, Link felt the same way. He never said it out loud, but Zelda meant too much to him now. Traveling with her, helping her overcome her inhibitions, and becoming closer friends, clogged up too much of his heart. Zelda was like Saria, in how she became in inseparable part of his life which he couldn't give up. Watching Zelda smile, laugh, and enjoy herself were things which made Link's chest feel light. He abandoned Saria back at the Kokiri Village, and he left his mother at Denion without turning back. He wasn't going to make the same mistake three times.

"Sorry Zelda," Link chuckled to himself, pressing a hand on her sweating forehead. "I know surrendering you to Glen would be the fastest way for you to get better, but I'm just too selfish to let you go."

The windmill's door behind him opened, and Link could hear the armored feet of the soldiers step inside. He ripped the Kokiri Sword from its scabbard and charged it with a blue burst of magic, firing a Disk Attack directly into the four men blocking the doorway. His magic crashed into them while tearing open a large hole in the side of the windmill, obliterating the door and replacing it with a gaping wound. As the four victims and chunks of debris scattered about the Kakariko Village, he heard all the inhabitants, villagers and soldiers alike, go deathly quiet.

"Rail," Link said, strapping on his Deku Shield. "Think you can live through one more fight for today?"

Rail laughed, shoving himself to his feet and equipping his Hylian Shield. "Do what you have to do. No one will lay a finger on Malon, Zelda, or Suvica."

"Thanks, also—" Link took off his hood and scooped out his unconscious fairy partner, gently handing her to Rail. "Look after her too."

"Leave it to me."

Link stepped outside, ignoring the outbreak of insulting rhymes from Guru-Guru and walking past the crumbling hole in the windmill. He stood on the higher plane of land the windmill was built on, glaring down at the rest of the village. The interrogated villagers were frozen in a mixture of surprise and fear, while the soldiers gaped with open mouths.

Only Glen was undeterred.

"Link!" He roared, drawing his gilded sword and pointing it at him. "You have been charged with the crime of kidnapping the Princess of Hyrule from Hyrule Castle while holding her against her will and forcing her to use her divine powers for your own benefit! Surrender now and your punishment shall be lightened! Resist, and I cannot guarantee your safety!"

"That's my line," Link growled, his voice low yet audible to the entire village. A concoction of frustration, pride, and impatience bubbled within his stomach, forcing him to shout, "Get in my way and I'll crush you ALL!" His scream rebounded off the homes and stores, causing many to flinch at his unrelenting tone.

"I totally like this kid," mercenary Glanog chuckled. "He's totally joining the Silver Moon."

"Why do you resist our justice?" Glen shouted back. "You kidnapped the Princess of Hyrule! If you know what's right, you shall return her without question!"

"Zelda's sick," Link shot back, causing the soldiers to pale in horror at the implications of his words. "She needs a doctor, and I'm going to get her to one. Get out of my way."

"Then return her to us so she can receive treatment!"

"Never."

"Why?"

"Because Zelda hates her home, Hyrule Castle," Link replied, forcing a majority of the soldiers to gasp in shock while the rest cursed at him for being a heretic. "She doesn't want to go back, so I won't let her. She's coming with me. If you want her back, take her!"

"Men! Take him out!" Glen ordered. While the two of them had been talking, four soldiers crept up the sloped pathway leading to the windmill on Link's left, and three more were tiptoeing towards him from the right. Upon hearing their commander's orders, the seven men charged, their blades shining under the sun.

Link didn't let them get close, unleashing a blue Spin Attack and blasting all seven soldiers away the moment they were in range. The men barreled backwards, crashing into windows or smashing against the walls of neighboring houses; none of them were getting up anytime soon.

At his clear display of magic, pandemonium broke out. Villagers scrambled to find cover in their homes while soldiers panicked, fidgeting in their armor while debating their chances of running away.

Glen put them back in their place. "DO NOT DESPAIR! He may have magic, but he is but a child! His powers are limited! Remember your training against enemies who wield magic! Their arcane abilities are forever limited and tied to their physical stamina! If he casts too many spells, he will self-destruct! STAY STRONG!" The Courageous really was a natural leader; his assurances stiffened the spines of his men as they stood their ground, slowly drawing their swords and shield.

Link preferred it this way. With all the attention focused upon him, he didn't have to worry about any of these men slipping behind him and attacking Rail and Malon, who were protecting Zelda and Suvica. He jumped down the seven foot drop, standing on the plane of land even with the Glen and his soldiers. He walked around the village's well, lightly swinging his sword as he watched the soldiers' eyes follow his every move. He only stopped until he was standing several feet in front of Glen, with Glanog the mercenary beside him.

"So, do I have to beat you all to leave?" Link asked, enjoying the small nervous fidgets from the soldiers as he spoke.

"Yes," Glen scowled, hefting his gilded sword in his right hand while donning his golden shield with his left; its design was similar to Rail's Hylian Shield. "Even if you defeat me, my men will not stop until every last one of them falls!"

"Hold up," Glanog said, taking a few steps towards Link. "Give me a moment to talk to the kid, will you?"

"Know your place, mercenary!" Glen growled, pointing his sword at the back of Glanog's head. "Your job here is done! Leave!"

"On the contrary, my job has only just begun," the mercenary snickered, approaching Link until the two of them were five feet away from each other. Up close, Link saw the mercenary was twice his height. "Kid, I've got a proposal for you."

"Which would be?" Link asked, letting his blue magic flare in his blade.

"Whoa, whoa! Time out!" Glanog said, raising his hands in a carefree sign of surrender. "You know you've got quite the bounty on your head."

"I heard, two hundred rupees, right?"

Glanog dropped his friendly pretense. "How'd you know?"

"I heard you talking about it with Glen," Link replied, readjusting his grip on his Kokiri Sword. "I've got good ears."

"Really good ears," the mercenary praised. "You kidnap the Princess of Hyrule, defeat Glen the Courageous, show off your pretty awesome magic, and now you tell me you've got super hearing as well? Ha! It's almost too good to be true! Kid, join me. Join the Silver Moon guild."

"What do you think you're doing?" Glen snarled, but Glanog ignored him.

"Admit it kid, no matter how good you are, you're still a brat. Beating all these soldiers and the King's favorite royal dog to boot? Don't delude yourself. However, with my help, you might stand a chance. Besides, if you hand over the princess you've got stashed away to my boss, he'll reward you handsomely."  
Link didn't bother to suppress his grin. "Your help? I saw Glen beat you in two seconds. What can you do?" His words made a ripple of laughter emerge from the soldiers surrounding him; even Glen cracked a grin.

Glanog, showing a momentary flash of anger, hid it with a time-practice mask of business. "Show some respect to your elders, boy. You beat Glen because he underestimated you, but I'm a different story. You see this sword?" He flaunted his massive weapon on his back. "It's called a Dragon Slayer, because it's so huge it can chop off a dragon's head with one swing. I can cleave a brat like you in half with one sweep from this baby. You still think you can beat me?"

To that, Link laughed, breaking the mercenary's mask to show his confused and flustered expression. "I'm well acquainted with a dragon, and he would've called your sword the Back Scratcher. Learn how to brag properly before talking big." This time, the soldiers burst out laughing, and Glen spared Link a wide grin; it was obvious they did not like Glanog.

The embarrassed mercenary's face burned with red anger as he drew his sword with both hands. "It's a shame kid, you would've made a great spy for my guild. Right now, you pissed off the wrong man. Don't bother butting in, royal dog," Glanog shot the words to Glen. "This bounty is mine. If I can't enlist your skills, kid, I'll settle for your bounty. Sorry Mr. Courageous, but your prey belongs to me now!"

Glen's response was to laugh along. "I'll be waiting."

"Waiting for what?" Glanog snarled.

"Waiting for you to lose. Do you really believe you can defeat the boy who beat me, whether I underestimated him or not? Good luck."

Glanog finally snapped beneath the weight of everyone's insult, stabbing his Back Scratcher into the air and swinging it down at Link's head. In the past, Link would've had no choice but to dodge the heavy blow, but with the strength of the Goron's infused in his limbs, he lifted his Deku Shield and knocked the giant sword aside with ease, embedding it into the grass beside him. The soldiers were stunned silent, and Glanog's eyes were wide enough to see the red veins pounding in his retinas. Glen was unsurprised, as if he'd expected nothing less.

The mercenary howled, pulling out his Back Scratcher and horizontally swinging his heavy weapon at Link's waist in an attempt to cleave him in two. Link slashed his magic-powered Kokiri Sword down on the blade, breaking it in two with magic and might. The top-half of Glanog's Back Scratcher dropped into the well, while the mercenary withdrew the bottom half of his destroyed weapon with a face of hopeless disbelief.

"Let me tell you something," Link said, empowering his Kokiri Sword so it flared blue. "Honestly, I liked your idea. Teaming up with you would've improved my chances of getting away with my friends, but you did two things I'll never forgive. First, you say I '_stashed_' Zelda away? Zelda is my FRIEND! I'd never let the likes of you near her! And second, you insulted my MOM!" The blue magic surrounding his sword burst into orange flames as it tripled in power. "What made you think I'd EVER accept your help?"

"Y-Y-Y-Your mom?"

"I'm the son of Cross H. Skyloft the Fiend and Lillian H. Skyloft the Savior! And you pissed me off!" Link drew back his burning blade and fired an extra large Spear Attack, striking Glanog directly in the chest and shooting him so far back he crossed the entire village before smashing into a house and coming to a stop.

If the soldiers were surprised by Link's Goron-like strength, then their emotions wrought by his declaration of parentage couldn't be described. Several dropped their weapons as their bodies shook so badly they wet themselves. Others gaped at him in reverence, falling to their knees and almost bowing. A vast majority took several steps away from him, as if they thought it was foolhardy to try and fight him.

"L-L-Lord Glen!" One of the soldiers choked, looking to their commander for assurance. "I-I-It's not true, is it? Tell us it's not true!"

"It's true," Glen said solemnly, like his worst fears had been brought to light. "His name is Link H. Skyloft, last son of the Skyloft family, the spawn of the Fiend, and the son of the Savior. It is beyond the shadow of doubt." More than half of the soldiers sobbed in despair or reprieve, while the rest were too stunned or terrified to move. Link didn't realize how much of an impact his heritage would have until now.

"Please, son of the Skyloft family!" This soldier was the one who was talking to Glen about the morality of their pursuit. "Why are you doing this? Why did you kidnap Princess Zelda? You are the son of Hyrule's greatest warriors! Although your father was a demon, you mother—!"

Link stopped the man's words with a blue, powered down, Disk Attack, digging a trench of dirt right beside the soldier. "Don't insult my dad."

The soldier stumbled off his feet and onto his butt, unable to produce anymore words through his clattering teeth.

"Your defense for your father is strong," Glen said, stepping forward; Link quickly diverted all his attention to the enemy at hand. "Does this confirm my fears? Does this mean you are the spawn of the Fiend, and not the child of Hyrule's Savior?"

"Stop calling my dad a Fiend," Link growled; these men knew nothing but the lies Ganondorf created through Dark Cross, and hearing them disrespect his father, who was a true hero to the end, burned him.

"So it's true," Glen sighed, like the information pained him. "Your actions and crimes towards Hyrule and our princess prove you will follow in the footsteps of the Fiend. Although it pains me greatly, I cannot allow you to live, Link Skyloft."

"Pains you? Why should it matter to you? Because my mom was your teacher?" Link shot back as the two of them started to circle each other.

"Because I loved her."

"I didn't need to know that."

"Not like _that_!" Glen said in his defense. "I knew how much your mother cared for your father, even before I became her disciple. Their love was pure, unlike the false bickering of romance other Noble families threw at each other. Your mother told me how to be brave, to never shrink in the face of a challenge, to always walk forward despite the mountains in my way! I always dreamed of becoming a Royal Hylian Knight in the service of the King, yet I knew the stories the people told about us! I know the people believe the ranks of the Royal Hylian Knights are filled with Noble cowards and weaklings, and they're right! I was afraid to become like that, a spoiled brat who used rupees instead of valor to protect the kingdom. But your mother, my master, changed that! She showed me how to be strong, to show how wrong the people can be by proving myself through my actions! It is how she rose to claim the title of the Wise, and it is how I became the Courageous! So when I heard she was having a child, I was overjoyed! I thought one day I would find myself riding side by side with my master's son, facing the threats and dangers against Hyrule together as Royal Hylian Knights! Your villainy only taints my master's name!"

Link stifled a yawn. Sure, it was great to see how respected his mother was, but there was a time and a place for these kinds of things. "I'm not here to listen to your life's story. Get out of my way, or I'll make you move."

Glen scowled, and Link saw there were unshed tears in his eyes. "You are indeed the Fiend's dark spawn, here to bring another age of darkness to Hyrule! I have no choice. I shall protect my master's name by slaying you!"

Their battle began.

The two lunged at each other, their swords clashing in a test of power. While Link's strength was enhanced due to the Goron's Bracelet, Glen still matched each and every one of his blows. Hyrule's greatest knight couldn't rival Link in terms of raw power, but compensated with skill and technique. He bent his legs and twisted his waist, putting his weight behind each of his attacks to match Link's. Their shield skills were also put to the test; while Link intercepted and knocked aside Glen's sword as frequently as possible, Glen used his shield to nullify all of Link's slashes, for he couldn't break its golden surface.

When a frontal attack failed to gain Link any leverage, he resorted to using his small body's advantage of speed, jump away, ducking, and rolling beneath Glen's attacks while countering at the same time. As Glen tried to lop off his head, Link rolled between the knight's legs and slashed at his ankles; his sword was blocked to by the thick golden greaves. He also feint a retreat, running towards the nearest home and forcing Glen to pursue him. When Glen tried to stab the back of Link's neck, Link ran up the building's wall and back flipped over the knight's head, causing Glen to jab his sword into the home's wooden frame. As Link soared overhead, he sliced at Glen's neck, but the relentless knight ripped open a deep groove in the building as he sliced his sword through the wood and swung at Link. Their blades met, and Link, being in midair, was pushed away, landing on his back and rolling to his feet.

Glen brought up his shield and charged while Link fired off a blue Disk Attack. His projectile crashed against Glen's shield, causing his steps to falter, but he couldn't stop the knight's rush. Glen rammed his shield into Link, who protected himself with his own wooden protector. As they clashed, Glen's weight overpowered Link, shoving him back and pushing him against the well, where Glen slashed downward to slice Link's head in two. Link knelt down, letting the golden sword strike the stone well, pausing the blade an inch above his head. He lunged, jabbing his Kokiri Sword at the center of Glen's armored chest, but was pushed away when the knight raised his knee and struck him in the face. Link tumbled back cringing, staggered as Glen slashed at his chest to carve out his heart. He avoided the attack by leaning back, but still felt the tip of Glen's blade dip into his skin, drawing a droplet of blood.

Link jumped back several steps and shot a pair of Disk Attacks, both of which Glen avoided by leaning to the left and right with expert timing. As Glen relentlessly closed in, Link fired a Spear Attack; this time, he aimed for the ground in front of the knight, causing uprooted dirt and grass to fly into his face. Although it didn't stop Glen's advance, it forced him to close his eyes as soil clouded his vision, allowing Link to step aside and trip Glen with a swing from his Deku Shield. The knight fell to the ground, but rolled aside before Link could thrust his Kokiri Sword into his armored back.

Glen got to his feet moments afterward, brushing the obstructions from his face and sprinting at Link. He unleashed a flurry of attacks, forcing Link's body to automatically react and deflect the blows, preventing him from concentrating on his magic. At last, Link made a mistake, stabbing at Glen and overreaching his strike; Glen side-stepped the attack, and before Link could regain his balance and draw his arm back, Glen slammed his golden shield down on Link's hand, forcing him to drop his Kokiri Sword. Momentarily stunned by pain and his stupid mistake, Link froze as Glen's boot collided into his stomach. The ruthless heel kick knocked the wind from his lungs and sent him sprawling onto his back; Glen leapt into the air, pointing his sword straight down at Link's heart as he fell. Link, unable to breathe, swung his body to the side as Glen's sword buried itself into the ground where Link was a second ago.

Back on his feet, Link needed to breathe, yet his lungs refused to cooperate. Glen didn't give him a chance to rest, yanking his weapon out of the grass and hurling the sword straight at him. Link lurched forward, tripping on his own feet and dropping on all fours; luckily, Glen's sword narrowly missed his head as it flew over him and embedded itself into the ground. Glen ran forward to reclaim his weapon, but Link got there first; with the golden sword right behind him, he reached out and grabbed it by its handle. Forcing himself to suck in a painful spike of air, he poured fistful of his magic into Glen's golden sword, cracking the blade as the input of power threatened to burst the blade from within. He released another Disk Attack, but Glen had already read the magic's trajectory and easily moved aside to avoid it. Seeing Glen effortlessly avoid attack, Link angrily threw the cracked sword at the knight, which he blocked with his shield and picked up after it fell to the ground.

"You dare dishonor the Sacred Sword of the Courageous with your filthy dark magic?" Glen scowled as his weapon continued to crack and chip.

"Tough," Link laughed, regaining his ability to breathe normally. He spotted his Kokiri Sword several meters away in the grass, but knew he had to get past Glen to reach it. Praying his makeshift item would hold together long enough, Link tossed aside his Deku Shield and pulled out a deku stick from the Pouch, grasping its end with both hands.

"A Dimensional Pouch," Glen said, eyeing the Pouch on Link's belt. "To think a monster such as you has such a treasure. You are unworthy of such a gift!" The knight charged, his shield protecting his chest and his damaged sword raised over his head.

"This was given to me by a friend! Don't you DARE insult my ownership!" Link roared, pouring his magic into the deku shield and feeling the fragile wood vibrate as it threatened to self-destruct. As Glen sliced his sword downward, Link swung his empowered deku stick upward. Their weapons clashed, and Glen was pushed back, a small chunk of his crumbling weapon taken out when it struck Link's deku stick, which disintegrated into dust.

Using this chance, Link tried to make a dash past Glen and dive for his Kokiri Sword, but Glen recovered faster than Link anticipated, kicking him in the ribs with his armored foot. Knocked aside, Link tumbled across the ground as he clutched his side in agony, and Glen casually approached him with his sword pointed at the sky, evoking a round of cheers from his observing soldiers. Link hastily got to his feet, but all that awaited him was a bash from Glen's shield; the blow sent him tripping backwards before falling on his back. He stood again, trying to get his bearings, but Glen kicked him in the face to knock him back down. This man was different from Gohma and the King Dodongo; while he was nowhere near as strong, his skill, patience, and cunning made him a far more threatening opponent. He wasn't a mindless monster rushing for victory; he was going to take his time, whittle down Link's strength without making any flashy moves or mistakes. Once Link could no longer move, Glen would claim his life.

Link had to do something before then, but what? He wearily staggered to his feet, his mind racing as Glen knocked him back down with another shield bash. He lost his Kokiri Sword and foolishly threw aside his Deku Shield, and while using magic along with the deku stick had been a good idea, it was a trick which would only work once. If he tried the same tactic twice, all Glen had to do was stand back and let Link's own magic destroy his deku stick. Trying to shoot Glen with his Fairy Slingshot was ridiculous, and his deku nuts were only a temporary solution; blinding Glen for a minute wasn't enough time to get his friends out of the Kakariko.

He got back up, warily keeping an eye on Glen's raised sword; if he stayed down for too long, Glen would finish him off in a heartbeat. Link's knees buckled as he stood, letting Glen kick him in the chest and onto the ground. Each time he was stuck, the cheers from the soldiers doubled, while some soberly averted their eyes.

"Cease your struggling," Glen said, almost in a pleading manner. "I have no wish to prolong your suffering. No matter how great your powers, you are a child in the end. At the very least, accept your death with grace."

Link spat out a glob of blood and laughed. "If you asked my mom or dad to die with grace, what would they have done?" Glen's hardened expression told the answer: Fight until the end.

"Then your death will be painful," Glen growled, pulling back his shield to strike Link.

"Ha! Someone else already has a claim to my life. You want me dead? Get in line!" Link roared, summoning his magic and recklessly focusing it into his right fist. Glen's eyes widened as he saw the blue energy gather, and relocated his shield to protect himself as Link punched. It was by far one of the stupidest things Link had done to date; as the magic in his right fist struck Glen's shield, the release of energy pushed the knight back by several feet, but nearly tore Link's hand to pieces. He gave out a soundless scream as he clutched his right hand, which felt as though it'd been dipped in Death Mountain's lava several times over. Although he still had all his fingers, fleck of skin had been blown away, and the slightest twitch spark the great agony.

"Fool," Glen chided as he lowered his shield. "Despite your powers, you really are a novice in the arcane arts. Sending raw magic into any object without refining it with a spell is a foolhardy task which will result in destruction, and to do so with your own body is suicide."

_Wait_, Link thought past the pain reverberating in his hand. Sending raw magic into _any _object without a spell resulted in the object's destruction? But that's how he used his Spin Attack, each and every time.

And then the obvious struck so hard he felt like an utter fool who deserved Glen's reprimanding. The Kokiri Sword, his main weapon, was enchanted by the Great Deku Tree to be unbreakable, meaning there was no risk in infusing his magic into the blade. Because he did so all the time, he never knew what would happen if he concentrated his magic into something other than his own sword. He took another peek at Glen's golden blade, which was on the verge and breaking into pieces due to his input of magic. How could he miss something so obvious?

It was because he wasn't acting like himself. Worrying over Zelda's health and angered over others insulting his parents, Link had forgotten something so obvious, something he'd always done against bigger, better, and stronger opponents. He breathed in, then out, and stood up, letting his right hand dangle.

"Thanks Glen, I've been pretty stupid, and you woke me right up," Link said, rolling his shoulders.

"Really?" The Royal Knight said hopefully. "Then you'll return Princess Zelda to our—?"

"No, not that," Link laughed, flexing his left hand's fingers. "Sorry, but Zelda is staying with me until she _wants_ to return. I'm talking about something else. You're strong Glen, stronger than me by far. Even with magic, I can barely hit you. So there's only one thing I can do." He wiped away a trail of blood from the corner of his lips with his thumb. "I've got to have some fun while pounding you into the ground!"

Glen scowled, his expression darkened by having his expectations dashed against the rocks. "You don't learn, you fool. I will no longer show any mercy! Death to those who oppose the will of Hyrule!" He lifted his shield and raised his sword, approaching Link one cautious step at a time.

How much magic had Link used? He conjured six Disk Attacks, one Spin Attack, one normal Spear Attack, and one extra large Spear Attack. While all his normal blue spells using the same portion of magic, his orange magic used twice the energy. Still, he'd never pushed himself to the brink, to the very limit of his abilities as Zelda had, so he was unsure how much magic he had left in him. Although using Din's Fire to roast the King Dodongo was a challenge, he didn't use _all_ his magic on the spell. The Great Fairy Dinara said he could store an extraordinary amount of magic, and Zelda said his potential was staggering.

What better time to put it all to the test?

Instead of waiting for Glen to approach him, Link stepped forward to meet him. The knight's eyes narrowed as he prepared for any trickery Link might attempt. When the two of them were a foot apart from each other, Glen jabbed his shield forward to smash Link's face, but he'd already anticipated the move. This time, Link caught the surface of the shield with his left hand, gritting his teeth as it stung from the impact. Nevertheless, he held his ground and pressed his palm against the golden protector, grinning.

Before Glen knew what he was planning, Link was already sending a wave of his magic into the golden shield, allowing a spider web of cracks to spawn all across its surface in a haze of blue. Glen scowled when he realized Link's scheme, but was too slow to pull away as Link gushed forth another batch of magic, engulfing the shield within an aura of orange power, causing it to explode in a burst of sparks. The magical explosion pushed Link and Glen back a few steps, but didn't nothing to injure either of them.

"The Shield of Hyrule … the Protector of the Goddesses… GONE!" Glen bellowed, turning his focus away from the fragments littering the ground and onto Link. "You dark spawn!" He rushed forward, grabbing his nearly-destroyed sword with both hands. Link highly doubted he'd be able to catch Glen's moving blade with his bare hands in order to shatter it with an overload of magic, so he did the next best thing.

The gifts of the Great Fairy of magic, Hylexa.

"Din's Fire!" Link roared, holding his left hand above his head and feeling the crystallized spell thrum in his chest. As he cast the incantation, the spell consumed a great deal of his magic, almost six Spin Attack's worth of energy, and it would've drain ever last sliver if he hadn't rushed to active the spell. An orb of fire was summoned from his hand, but it was like Zelda's familiar fireball. No, this was a sphere with a flawlessly smooth surface while radiating extreme heat. Moving on instinct, Link slammed the orb of red energy into the ground at his feet, watching a dome of fire explode outward from the area of impact. Compared to the explosion he summoned within the King Dodongo, this blast was tame in comparison, but it was still strong enough to set blaze everything within a fifteen-foot radius of him. Though the wall of flames left Link unscathed, it hit Glen full on, nearly obliterating all of his golden armor while flinging him away like a leaf in a storm. His chest plate was scattered across the grass, leaving only strips of underlying white cloth to cover his chest, while his left boot was obliterated, along with both his gauntlets. More than half his body was covered in severe burns, yet the Royal Knight was undeterred.

When the knight got back on his feet, Link relished the look of confused bafflement Glen wore. "An Inherited Goddess Spell … impossible … impossible! Who would teach _you_ a Goddess Spell?"

"A nice person by the name of Hylexa! Farore's Wind!" Link cast the second spell, expecting to scatter into a million flecks of light and teleport to a safe location. Instead, nothing happened. He felt the familiar drain of energy on his magic, yet his body stayed whole, feeling rather foolish as he stood motionless waiting for something to occur. "Okay … I wasn't expecting that."

"A spawn of the Fiend such as you has no right the use the spells of the Goddesses!" Glen cried, running at Link with his cracked sword aimed at his heart. "The divine have spoken, and you have been judged! Die!"

Link leapt back to avoid Glen's thrust. What he didn't expect, however, was to soar ten feet backwards at an accelerated speed while a silhouette of emerald light traced his body as he moved. His feet dragged against the ground as his legs struggled to slow his impossibly speedy retreat. As he gradually overcame his initial surprise, he remembered the last thing Zelda told him before passing out: Fire burns, Wind moves, and Love protects. She had been talking about the three spells Hylexa granted him: Din's Fire burned his enemies, Farore's Wind moved the caster at high speed, and Nayru's Love protected him from attacks. While his mother and Zelda used Farore's Wind to travel high speeds in the form of teleportation, locking onto one location and transporting themselves as a flurry of magic, Link used it to double his movement speed so long as he had the magic do to so.

Invigorated by this knowledge, Link let out an exhilarated laugh as he sprinted towards Glen, who tried to slash him with his crumbling sword, but Link was long gone by the time Glen's blade cut through the air. Link dove for his Kokiri Sword, scooping up his blade, and dashed back towards Glen. Before the knight could react, Link slashed the back of Glen's right leg, dropping him to one knee. The undeterred knight snarled, retaliating with a wild wave from his sword, but Link was already zipping away and zooming back, planting his foot into Glen's face. The Royal Knight used their moment of contact to grab Link's foot and hold him in place while slashing at him with his sword.

"Nayru's Love!" Link's protective magic was the same as his mother's; a dome of blue light encased him in a protective barrier, intercepting Glen's sword while batting Link away. Although he still felt the force of the blow, the sword didn't leave a mark on his body.

"How? HOW?" Glen howled in anguish as Link dispelled his Farore's Wind and Nayru's Love to preserve the remainder of his magic. "How can a servant of evil such as you possess such power? Why have the Goddesses blessed you with such might?"

"You only think I'm evil because you're ignorant. You said my mom taught you have to prove people wrong through actions? Well here I am, proving you wrong!" Link charged up his sword and fired a Disk Attack, hoping it would connect now that Glen's leg was injured.

No such luck. Glen threw himself to the side, cleanly avoiding Link's spell as it crashed into the house behind him. "I've seen that spell far too many times to be caught by it again! It is powerful against those who are unaware of your powers, but is easily avoidable because if its lack of speed and the time it takes to charge it!"

"Lack of speed, huh?" Link grinned in spite of his waning strength. After using so many new spells in a row without pause, he was starting to feel the negative effects of magic depletion. His body was starting to shiver despite the warm temperature, and his forehead was beaded in sweat. Still, Link had no reason to lose. "Then let's try this! Farore's Wind!" He held his sword back while his speed increasing magic shrouded his body, only this time he redirected his Farore's Wind, concentrating its ability into his sword the same time he charged it up with his diminishing reserves of raw magic. The emerald shroud was sapped from his body and sucked into his blade, spiraling around his sword in a mixture of green and blue light. "Farore's Wind and my Disk Attack: Wind Blade!"

Link released the magic, and a green-and-blue Disk Attack fired from his Kokiri Sword faster than an arrow. This time, Glen couldn't react as Link's modified Wind Blade crashed into the knight's bare and threw him against the village well. Though the power was still the same, the speed was on a whole new level.

Glen slumped against the leaking well, his consciousness flickering as he extended one arm to reach for Link. Finally, his body could no longer withstand the demands his mind was pushing on it, and he passed out.

Link laughed as loud as his lungs could bear, thrilled at his achievement. Unlike his battle against Gohma and the King Dodongo, this victory was a mile marker which showed his improvement. He defeated Hyrule's greatest knight at his strongest, and took the win nonetheless.

The only problem now was that combining a Goddess Spell with his Original Spell exhausted him far more than he could have anticipated. His knees bent and embraced the grass, and his sword dropped from his hand as the sudden desire to sleep cushioned his body. All the while, Glen's subordinates were slowly approaching him with their weapons at hand, each of them with an expression varying from fear to admiration.

"You fought well, child of the Skyloft family," one of them said, keeping his sword trained on Link's head as he slowly stepped towards him. "Defeating Lord Glen in combat … I barely believe it myself. There is no doubting their lineage. However, a crime is still a crime, and we have all seen where your faith lies. Goodbye, Spawn of the Fiend." The man stood beside Link while lifting his sword to behead him with one swoop, and Link didn't have the energy to stop him.

Then: "UNDEAD! IT'S THE UNDEAD!"

Mayhem swooped into the village as a horde of ReDead burst from the Kakariko Graveyard, attacking the soldiers with rotting teeth and fungus ridden nails. The soldier serving as Link's executioner backed away as two ReDead piled on top of him, gnawing at his face and scratching at his armor. While Link would've been devastated at the sudden infestation of the damned, his mood changed the moment he saw the pair of spirits controlling them.

"Sharp! Flat!" He wheezed as the two Composer Brothers floated above his head, jabbing their conductor batons at nearby soldiers. "What are you two doing here?"

"_Assisting you, of course!_" Sharp the elder replied, repelling the soldiers who tried to get close to Link. "_You are an enemy of Ganondorf, and the bearer of one of our sacred songs! It is only natural that the enemy of our enemy deserves our aid in their time of need!_"

"_Alas, we are not the only ones who thought so_," Flat added, smacking a screaming soldier over the head with his ghostly lantern to shut him up. "_Observe!_"

Link looked towards the windmill, and saw Zelda, Malon, Suvica, and Rail being carried out by the cursed Ltula Family, who zigzagged past the ReDead and soldiers while crawling towards him. At the sight of the cursed and deformed family, soldiers squealed in terror, abandoning all thoughts of battle as they fled in fright.

"You guys!" Link gasped as the Ltula Family carried his friends to him while kicking aside soldiers and muscling past brainless ReDead. The two youngest members of the Ltula Family gathered Link's sword and shield and dropped them on his lap.

"_You promised to break our curse,_" the Ltula father said, the one holding Zelda. "_It would be counterproductive if you were captured by these soldiers. Come! We shall escort you from the village!_" Before Link could protest, the youngest Ltula spider lifted him up and forced him to sit on its shell/face before scurrying away at full speed. Link insecurely teetered on the back of the Ltula's smooth shell as it zipped towards the village exit at astonishing speeds.

"Talk about a rescue party!" Rail laughed, barely balancing on the Ltula spider scampering beside Link's as they navigated around soldiers and undead. "I guess good deeds get rewarded after all!"

"But what about the village and the ReDead?" Malon asked beside Link, cautiously kneeling on her Ltula spider while the unconscious Zelda and Suvica were being transported behind them. "They won't destroy the village, will they?"

"_Ridiculous!_" Sharp scoffed; the Composer Brothers were floating beside them as they escorted them from the village. "_These fleshy imitations are under our perfect control! They will not harm anyone in the village!_"

"_Besides, they can't last long under the sun, and will melt away in a few minutes_," Flat added. "_The village is in no danger, although cleaning up will be a chore. Now flee! Take Princess Zelda to the city of Koon! There is an excellent doctor there who is skilled in the magical ways! Farewell, friends!_"

Sharp and Flat stayed within the borders of the village as the Ltula family carried Link and his friends down Death Mountain's stairs and back towards Hyrule Field at a crazy speed. Although Link gained much here at Death Mountain, he knew he wouldn't be coming back any day soon.

* * *

EDIT: Hello, Hello, and thank you for reading the 23rd chapter of my fanfiction! After being away for so long, I thought it'd be best to write as many chapters as quickly as possible while maintaining a level of proficiency (plus, it's summer vacation). Here, Lavin makes his appearance once again! For those of you who haven't read the re-editted versions of my story, Lavin is an annoying attention-hogging-liar who will say anything so long as it gets him undeserved-fame or attention. He appears in Chapter 7, Pancakes in the Market, and Chapter 14, Revolution. If you want, you can go back and find him to see why our main characters hate him so.

Also, Link becomes a little more honest with his feelings as the situation takes a total U-Turn, putting them in a pit of trouble. Also, since I continue to point out Link is supposed to have potential in the ways of magic, having him combined spells seemed like the easiest way to show it. Don't worry, Link isn't overpowered (yet) as these modified spells each have their own backlash, and the situations to come won't be letting up.

Thank you for reading, and if you have any questions, advice, or anything at all, please feel free to say it.


	24. Chapter 24, Unexpected

**Chapter 24**

**Unexpected**

Zelda fought against the men of evil, villains who thrust their swords of nightmares into her body. Running did her no good, for the dark apparitions followed her no matter how deep she sunk into her mind. Her brittle reality broke and reformed over and over again as her fragile state patched itself up with visions of terror before being torn down by inadequate moments of respite. When she tried to stand against her nightmares, the chaotic spirits nearly scattered the last remnants of her sanity with a flurry of nonsensical scenarios. She watched an endless forest grow around her in a matter of seconds before being burned down by a ravenous fire. She saw a puddle of black water rise until it was an ocean devouring all in its path. She shrunk beneath a tidal wave of golden spiders as they crashed upon her. She witnessed the passing of an outsized water mammal as it decayed into hunks of flesh and piles of bones, allowing its remains to give birth to a monster. Then, she stared in horror as her friends fled from the growing shadows covering Hyrule, screaming as one by one, the lightless world ensnared her beloved companions and reduced their bodies to dust while Ganondorf spat in mocking laughter.

"ZELDA!"

She awoke, gasping as light flooded into her eyes, blinding her sight and tearing away the foreboding visions. Link was kneeling over her, his face torn with ceaseless worry. Behind him, she could see Malon, Rail, and Suvica, all glancing down at her with varying looks of concern.

"W-Where …?"

"Save your strength," Link ordered, supporting her head with one hand as he brought a cool bottle of water to her lips. Zelda's parched throat drank gratefully, yet after two pitiful mouthfuls, she nearly vomited as her stomach clenched into a fist, rejecting any form of nutrition. Link wiped the liquid from her chin as she trembled with a fever. She knew her stomach was empty, yet hunger held no hold over her. Instead, she was bloated with a sickly feeling which caused her world to spin and her body to shiver.

Her body! Zelda blinked, mortified to realize it was all she was capable of. Her arms and legs were no longer her own, immobilized by a coffin of growing stone which had yet to reach her head. She wanted to cry, to despair over the loss so great she was nearly overcome with fear. Her only anchor was Link, who pressed a cool hand against her burning forehead and calmly asserted, "You'll be okay."

She believed him. She didn't know where her faith was coming from, but all the same, Zelda trusted every word Link spoke. She tried to smile, nauseated by how difficult it was. "Where are … we going?"

"Koon City," he replied, getting to his feet and walking out of her limited range of sight. Malon helped by propping Zelda's head against her lap, placing a wet scrap of cloth across her forehead to cool her fever. Zelda's motion-deprived body was lying on one of the blankets they frequently slept in while hanging from tree branches to avoid the undead of Hyrule Field. The front end of the sheet was lassoed to Link's waist, allowing him to drag her and Malon along as he ran with unshakable determination. As they resumed moving, Zelda saw Rail and Suvica from the corners of her eyes; they were running alongside her with paced strides, but from the way Suvica chanted "Ow, ow, ow," with each step he took, she surmised he hadn't fully healed from King Darunia's "hug." Rail was also in terrible condition, but while Suvica suffered from broken bones, her cousin was enduring fatigue and sleep deprivation. From the way his feet dragged and his eyes constantly drooped, Zelda wondered when he last had a night of sleep.

"You'll be okay," Malon whispered, distracting Zelda's fleeting concentration and breaking her concern for her friends. "We're going to find you a doctor, you're going to be okay." From the way her voice trembled, Zelda knew Malon was trying her best to convince herself as she held back tears.

"Thank … you."

"Save your energy," Navi the fairy ordered, fluttering in front of her eyes. "You should be glad we don't have a mirror with us, because you look terrible."

"I am … saving my energy."

"Poorly," the fairy muttered loud enough for Zelda to hear.

"Why … are we going … to Koon?"

"The Composer Brothers said we'd find you a doctor there," Malon replied, peeling the cloth from Zelda's head to re-soak it with cold water. "And right now, you really need one."

"Rail looks … tired," Zelda coughed, feeling a numbing pain bare its fangs in her body as a response. "When did … you last …?"

"Sleep?" Navi finished. "Three days ago. The moment the Ltula Family carried us out of the Kakariko Village, they took us as far as they could before they had to head back. They said their curse prevented them from straying too far from the Kakariko. Afterwards, Link made getting you to Koon City his top priority. He's only taken a few breaks to eat and look after you, but when you wouldn't swallow any food, he stopped eating all together. The last time he rested his legs was seven hours ago. Rail and Suvica had to eat lunch while running in order to keep up with him."

Lunch? Now that Zelda looked, she noticed the sky was still blue with the sun overhead. Blue … she always wondered why the sky was such a pretty color.

"Not … eating, and … no sleep? Not very … healthy."

"Look who's talking," Navi snapped. "Now stay quiet and sleep. My healing dust isn't doing anything to improve your condition. If anything else, it's made you worse. We need a proper doctor to look at you, someone who can actually help."

Doubtful. Zelda knew exactly what she was suffering from, and only four people in all of Hyrule could help her now. The first was Hyrule Castle's royal medic, whose magical and medical knowledge was the fourth greatest in the kingdom; Zelda would never let her friends take her back home, because if her father saw her in this condition he'd execute her companions with a mistaken perception of the situation. The second was Link's mother, Lillian the Wise; however, from what Rail said, she'd gone missing ever since the Denion Rebellion, so tracking her down would be impossible. The third was a Gerudo sorceress; this user of dark magic was the very definition of a witch, and Zelda knew her life was undeniably forfeit if they went to the evil sorcerer for healing. The fourth and last as a mysterious nomad whose skill and knowledge in the magical and supernatural was astounding; he appeared before her father a few years back, demonstrating how to harness the soul of a Poe as usable energy and humbling all the mages in Hyrule Castle with his unending wisdom of all subjects arcane and paranormal. Unfortunately, this man was a homeless wanderer, who traveled across Hyrule to unearth forgotten mysteries while expanding his own sum of knowledge. She highly doubted any of these four were at Koon City, and it would take a miracle for such a chance meeting to occur.

Either way, Zelda bet she had four days left to live. She could feel them, the cracks in the wall of her soul, leaking out her life force until all that remained was death.

Normally, such a fatal scenario was impossible for ordinary magicians and mages. For normal people to become magicians, the only way for them to receive their abilities was to find a master willing enough to divide a portion of their own magic through a spell and grant it to their eager disciple. Thus, the new Hylian mage would have a foreign container of magic within their bodies, able to store a limited amount of power. If their supply of magic was ever completely exhausted, they would suffer a severe shortage of stamina and find themselves voraciously hungry, but that was all. Their magic could be replenished with a proper meal and a night of rest.

But this scenario was different for people born with magic, like Zelda. To her, being born with these wonderful powers was like being born with a heart or set of lungs; it was totally normal for her to use magic as easily as drawing breath. Many mages envied Zelda's gift because of the ease at which she used her powers and her freedom to expand her magical capacity with time and training. However, she also had a fundamental weakness: Magical depletion. For Zelda, magic was a second heart, beating in her chest in tempo with her normal one. If she ever drained her powers entirely, it would be like ripping out her heart, resulting in fevers, illness, a shortage of breath, extreme tiredness, and the inability to move. If she had saved even a droplet of magic, she could've restored herself to full health with a large meal, a few nights of sleep, and a strict probation of spells for several days. However, with her supply barren, there was nothing left to replenish. The only way she could've recovered was with a transfusion of magic via a specific Inherited Goddess Spell: Nayru's Grace.

However, that was before Zelda permanently destroyed herself. Back at the Kakariko Village windmill, she was already running on empty, so when she healed Link's concussion, she took a part of her life force and converted it into useable magical energy. The result was this: Her soul was shattered, and her life was leaking out of the cracks. If someone cast Nayru's Grace on her now, the transfer of magic would widen the breaks in her soul and kill her faster; it was the reason why Navi's healing powder worsened her condition, because the magical properties aggravated her fractured soul. Honestly, Zelda was surprised she didn't die on the spot after healing Link, but now it was only a matter of time before she closed her eyes forever. Even if he did manage to find her help, and she somehow lived through this ordeal, the damage was done: She'd be a magic-cripple, unable to cast the simplest of spells for the rest of her life.

This was the end of her journey.

As Malon continued to assure her everything was going to be okay, Zelda reflected on her actions. To think she was dying because they needed to escape from Gorons who wanted a hug … ridiculous. She always thought she'd meet her end by a dastardly ploy from the Royal Council, or trying to shield her people from harm with her life, but not like this. A normal Farore's Wind would've never left her in such a condition, but trying to use the spell while teleporting Link, Navi, Malon, Rail, _and_ Suvica was too much for her to bear. Lillian said using Farore's Wind on a group of individuals while transporting herself at the same time grew exponentially harder with each passenger, and she was right. The moment Zelda activated the spell, her concentration was pulverized beneath a mountain of pressure. Everyone would've been scattered into billions of fragments, forever stuck as a harmless breeze of magic, if she hadn't abandoned finesse and held the spell together with every drop of magic she had in her.

Then there was the reason for her rash spell in the Kakariko windmill. If she'd given herself up, if she'd went with Glen and begged the knight to leave her precious friends alone, she knew she could've convinced the Royal Knight. If she'd only been rational, Link and the others would still be searching for the Spiritual Stone of Water, and she'd be receiving treatment in Hyrule Castle. Even though she'd be trapped in a life barely worth living, even though she'd never get to see the people she cared about most in the world, her friends would be free to save Hyrule, and she could focus on her duties to the kingdom. Instead, she let her childish selfishness get the better of her, allowing her feelings for Link guide her to her self-destruction. Still, she didn't care how stupid it sounded, not when death was days away: She liked Link. No, right now, she could say she loved him. Sure, she was still a child, and many would pass off her feelings as a little girl's meager crush, but the painful ache in her heart was too powerful to be a shallow attraction. Her feeble respect during their initial meeting turned to awe when Link took her from Hyrule Castle, quickly transforming into appreciation when he told her he'd always believe in her. As the days went by, as his actions grew more profound in her mind, her heart throbbed every time he smiled at her, and before she knew it, she was smitten. She envied Link's fortitude, admired his bravery, and loved him too much to bear being separated. When she sacrificed a part of her life to heal him, to make sure he was alright, she didn't care if she died, not as long as it was for his sake. And this was where her feelings led her. Now she was dying, and Link was fighting a losing battle to save her. His actions warmed her cold body, but hope could only sustain her for so long.

She deeply regretted what she'd done. She was more than glad to be able to aid Link, but was depressed beyond reasonable comprehension at the thought of never being able to confess her feelings to him. Right now, what was the point in saying she loved him? She was dying. Her shameless words would leave an everlasting scar on Link, regardless of his feelings towards her. They'd haunt him to his final day while she selfishly passed on. No matter what, Zelda couldn't bear to do that to him. So instead, she killed every begging plead her heart made to make her feelings known, shedding a remorseful tear as she closed her eyes and let her mind tumble into the recesses of her nightmares.

* * *

"_A suitor? But father, I'm barely ten years old!"_

_ "N-Not a suitor, someone to keep an … an open mind about!"_

_ Zelda couldn't begin to describe her smoldering feelings of disgruntlement as her father brought up such a ludicrous topic at her young age. "At least tell me why! Why are you suddenly so eager to see me wed?"_

_ "You are not being wed!" Her father strongly denied, trying to fight down his own demons. "We are simply … giving you time to adjust to a suitable husband! You will not marry until you are old enough, but you can warm yourself to a future possibility!"_

_ "He's forty-one years old!"_

_ "He's the unmarried son of one of Hyrule's most prominent Noble families! According to his father, he's a kind and honest man! I … I only want to make sure you find yourself someone who can protect you if something should ever happen to me!"_

_ "It's the Royal Council, isn't it?" Zelda cried, feeling her subdued emotions rattle against the chains binding them. "They're pressuring you to find Hyrule's throne a successor, aren't they?"_

_ "O-Of course not! I am the King of Hyrule! They cannot force me to do anything!" Zelda glared at her father until he started to squirm. "They are worried, that's all."_

_ "Worried the next monarch will by a Queen without a King?"_

_ Her father scrunched his eyebrows, a sure sign that Zelda was right. "Please, do this for me. I won't be around to protect you forever, so finding you someone who can look after you in my stead will brighten my grave. I could not protect your mother, and I do not trust myself to be able to protect you forever. Please, give Noble Hydren a chance. If he is half as decent as the rumors say, he will be a preferable …" Her father couldn't say the "H" word aloud._

_ Noble Hydren? Decent? If that were true, why was he still single at the age of forty-one? Zelda's suspicions only worsened as she took one of her nightly strolls within the castle gardens, chancing upon Noble Hydren, who was speaking with his wrinkly and aged father and head of his family, Lord Kegg._

_ "Marriage? She may be the Princess of Hyrule, but she is nothing but a child! I have plenty of women!" Hydren scoffed, kicking at the flowers Zelda so tediously raised by herself._

_ "Those whores you see for pleasure? Bah, they're unfit to be called women!" The Noble's father scowled. "How many of them have you beaten for the pleasure of it? Hiding your actions and paying off the harlots to keep them silent has cost me dearly! I refuse to be remembered as the lord who sired a beast and not a man! Besides, of all your whores, how many of them can offer you the throne of Hyrule?"_

_ Zelda saw Hydren's eyes grow wide under the moonlight. "You mean …?"_

_ "Of course that's what I mean, you stupid mule!" Kegg rapped his son on the forehead with his ring-adorned fingers. "Did you think I wanted you to wed a little brat for the pleasure of it? No! As the son of a Noble family, your crimes can be punished, but as the King of Hyrule, your actions become the law!"_

_ "A king … me, a king!" Hydren laughed. "Yes, that's the only role which suits me best! King Hydren! I love the sound of that! But father, in order for me to become King through marriage, I'll have to put up with that little wrench of a princess for the rest of my life!"_

_ The devious lord chuckled darkly. "Once the throne is yours, she is expendable. We can devise her death anytime we wish the moment you're on the throne. Until then, you must gain her trust! I've done everything I can to clean your bloody reputation! Do _not_ disappoint me!"_

_ The next morning, when Hydren approached Zelda with bushel of roses and a mask reeking of falsehood, she had Impa drive him away before he could get close. As the contemptible man ran from Impa's wrath, Zelda knew this was only the beginning. Noble families would try to push their sons onto her whether she liked it or not. She fondly read a library of fairy tale stories retelling the love between a princess and her beloved prince, but such a romance was impossible for her: These stories were called fairy tales for a reason. To find someone who cared for her, regardless of her royal status, would never happen._

* * *

Rail collapsed before the sun had time to set. His resolve to continue was admirable, but running for three days without sleep already taxed his limits, especially when he ran with the unbearably heavy Hylian Shield strapped to his back. Link frequently offered to store the slab of metal in his Dimensional Pouch, but Rail refused to accept the reasonable request, saying if he couldn't overcome the shield's burden alone, he didn't deserve to wield it. Now he was kneeling on the grass, gnashing his teeth in mortification as his over-strained body held him down. Despite Rail's numerous assurances that he could continue with a few minutes of rest, Link ordered them all to sleep. They spotted a large mound of boulders the undead Stalchildren could not climb, and once they were safely beyond the reaches their fleshless fingers, they crammed whatever food they could down their throats, holding it in when their weary stomachs threatened to reject the nourishment. Rail went to sleep first, followed by Malon, Suvica, and then Navi. Link persisted, sitting beside Zelda's unmoving body as it lay on the cushioning blankets beneath her. He held one of her unresponsive hands before closing his eyes, sitting upright while his head was slouched forward in sleep.

As the other snoozed, Zelda thought back to the strange nightmare she had. It wasn't a visage of revulsion brought forth by her decaying state of mind, but an actual event which took place in her past. She had watched her memories as she would a stage play. The stories were true: You really could see your own life flash before your eyes in the face of death. However, while fables and tales told about how people saw their whole lives flicker in their eyes during their final blink of life, she was seeing small portions at a time as her leaking soul slowly killed her.

She really was dying, more so each passing second. Almost losing herself to the gravity of her situation, she felt Link's hand unconsciously tighten around her own. With his warmth warding away the cold settling in her limbs, Zelda found a modem of peace before drifting off.

* * *

_Zelda had only one person, other than Impa, she called a friend. His name was Audrin, and he was the third son of a minor Noble family, the Muriel Family, one of the few who knew what she looked like. Whenever the Muriel Family came to pay their respects to her father, Audrin would sneak in his pet bunnies in for Zelda to play with. They were irresistibly cute, spurring her desire for a pet to call her own. Every time Audrin came over to play, she looked forward to the moments they would spend together, admiring his with fluffy pets. Every day she spent with the loveable hares was another moment she grew more attached to them. She even saw the rabbits give birth to a baby bunny, which Audrin said she could keep. She called her adorable new friend Fifi, secretly raising him inside her room._

_ Then things changed. Political matters fell apart between the King and the Muriel family when her father demanded more tributes from the already-struggling family in order to properly fund a campaign to expand Hyrule's military. Because her father was the King, Audrin's family had no way of refusing his demands. Instead, they vented their angst and collective rage onto her._

_ One night, when the Muriel family came to the castle for a friendly dinner, Zelda realized Fifi was missing. Determined to find him after supper, she hurried to dress and present herself at the royal dining table, where her father, a few members of the Royal Council, and Audrin's whole family, were already eating. She rushed to her seat and politely took a bite from her meal. The meat was delectable, so she asked what it was called._

_ Audrin's father grinned wickedly and said, "It's called a Fifi."_

_ When the meaning of his words sank in, Zelda almost vomited from a revolting sense of sorrow and self-disgust. Her father saw her hesitate to eat any further, and said, "What are you doing? This is a dish specially prepared by the Muriel family. Hyrule owes them a debt of gratitude for their aid in funding our military, so the least you can do is finish eating."_

_ Zelda looked to Audrin, but no longer recognized the boy who was once her friend. His face was skewed by vengeance and pleasure; all of this had been his idea. He blamed her for the diminishing state of his family, relocating his hatred from the King and onto her. _

_As Zelda choked down her tears and bile, she ate._

* * *

Rail was sick.

It was unsurprising, considering how much of a burden he placed on his body. There was no way he could've ran for three days and two nights and not expect to emerge without repercussions. He was shivering off beads of sweat in spite of the warm sunlight bearing down on them, and he could barely stand with the weight of the Hylian Shield, let alone run with it.

"I'm … fine! I can still run!" Rail snapped, hugging himself to stop the tremor running down his body. "I won't … hold us back! Let's go! Zelda needs help!"

"We're not going anywhere until you're better," Link stated firmly. "Zelda's sick, and I won't let you kill yourself too. All of us are staying here until you're better, whether you like it or not!"

"We don't have time for that!" Rail screamed, barely able to stay on his feet. "Zelda's dying, and we don't know … how far Koon City is from here! Every day counts, and we can't afford to waste anymore time! I won't … hold us down!"

"You already are," Suvica snickered, gingerly rubbing his half-healed ribs.

"And so are you," Link shot back, silencing the pestering dragon. "If you were all better, you could've flown Zelda to Koon by now! None of us are in ideal condition, so all of us have to watch out for each other! The only thing we can do is get better and use our strength to help Zelda! Now REST!"

Rail grudgingly obeyed, laying down and curling into a ball, but Zelda could still see his seething expression of self-loathing; Navi hovered over him and sprinkled a light mist of healing dust on his body, hoping to accelerate his recovery. Suvica let out a stream of curses, but sat down and concentrated on breathing, as if it would speed up his regeneration process. Link sighed as the two boys obeyed, but remained standing and on the lookout for danger.

"I'm sorry," Malon mumbled, catching everyone's attention as she used her lap as Zelda's pillow. "I wish I could do more for everyone."

"Don't be ridiculous, you're doing fine!" Rail hastily laughed. "Who's the one that got Darunia to listen to us after the Gorons lock us away? You! If you weren't with us, we'd either be rotting in a Goron ceil or kicked off Death Mountain without the Spiritual Stone of Fire."

"You were pretty gutsy at Denion," Suvica added, gruffly crossing his arms. "Driving a herd of horses into the enemy? Not bad."

"And it's thanks to you we escaped from Hyrule Market," Link said, giving her a look of approval. "Do you think any of us could drive a wagon like you?"

"Don't forget Oron," Navi joined, quelling Rail's shivers with her natural magic. "If you weren't at that city to give us a lift, Link and I would still be walking to Hyrule Castle in order to meet Princess Zelda."

"You've helped us plenty," Link assured, then joked, "Leave a little for us, will you? If you do everything by yourself, there'll be nothing left for the rest of us to do."

Malon's smile shone at his words, her mood brightening considerably. "Thank you, everyone."

"I still wish we were moving, not resting," Rail grumpy murmured after thanking Navi for her assistance. "The more time we spend moving the better I'd feel."

"You almost … killed yourself running," Zelda coughed, trying to strain a smile; no good, her paralysis was creeping up her face, scratching at her cheeks. "Didn't you say … what doesn't kill you … only makes you stronger?"

"Or cripples you for life?" Rail quoted her with a grin. Zelda would've winced if she could, because that analogy was accurately describing her painful predicament.

"Link?"

"Shouldn't you be sleeping, Zelda?" He replied.

"I will … when I can. You said … all of you …are not in … ideal condition. I understand Rail … and Suvica's … troubles, but what of … you? Were you … mortally hurt fighting … for our safety?"

"It wasn't anything Navi couldn't heal," Link shrugged. "I got beaten a bit, but the cuts and bruises weren't anything to worry over. No, my problem isn't physical, it's magical. After beating Glen, my magic is a bit out of whack. I can still feel it inside of me, but I can't seem to use it that well."

"Sucks for you," Suvica chortled.

"What … happened?" Zelda asked.

"Nothing much. I tried out the three Goddess Spells Hylexa gave me, and they worked well, but none of them helped me take down Glen. Also, he was dodging my Original Spells like they were moving in slow motion, so I tried to improvise. I combined a Goddess Spell with an Original Spell, using Farore's Wind with my Disk Attack to create an extra-fast Disk Attack, which I called the Wind Blade. Worked really well, but I haven't been able to channel my magic ever since. I wonder why?"

Zelda knew why. If she wasn't immobilized due to her feet being stuck on death's doormat, she would've ran a few laps around Hyrule in surprise before fainting in shock. Never before, in the known history of magic, had Link's feat been accomplished. Combining an Inherited Goddess Spell with an Original Spell? That was no different from lighting a candle by dousing it in a hundred pounds of gunpowder and striking a match while expecting to come out of the resulting explosion alive.

"Zelda, are you okay?"

Link must've been worried by her prolonged mulling, because he, Malon and Navi were staring at her to make sure she was still alive.

"I'm … as well …as I can be. Link, do not … worry about … your magic. It will return … as your body heals … the damage you've … done to it. Until then … please refrain from … using such reckless spells."

"Okay, will do. Still, I kind of wish I knew why my magic started acting funny afterwards. Don't explain it to me!" Link warned, giving Zelda a stern glare. "You get to rest. Once you're better, you can lecture me all you like."

"I'll hold you … to that."

In her head, Zelda was already reviewing the problem. If raw, explosive, magic was like gunpowder, then a refined spell was nitroglycerin, a liquid substance discovered by the Goron, which was so volatile and unstable its production was banned and its existence a secret. Certainly, using raw magic or a spell separately, with no prior practice, was dangerous enough. Even the most skilled mage took caution while using either, but mixing the two together? The result would doubtlessly be outstanding, but the smallest mistake would end up in a catastrophe. Many mages tried to mimic Link's feat in the past, but after all of them either spontaneously combusted or ended up losing all their limbs, so the study into Modified Magic was banned. Naturally, Link had to stumble on the subject by sheer accident and achieve what hundreds of experienced mages could not. Typical. Zelda was glad she couldn't move her face due to her close proximity to death, because she was tired of making startled expressions at Link's achievements. If she got out of this alive, the next time Link broke or rewrote the laws of magic, she was going to say, "What took you so long?"

* * *

_Today was the day. Finally, after several years of pleading and begging, her father was considering the idea of letting her travel and see the world of Hyrule (under heavy guard). Zelda didn't care; she was given a chance to leave the castle, and she would not let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip her by. Her father said he was going to the throne room to discuss this with the Royal Council and Royal Court, and wanted her to be present when he did, saying it would help her cause if she spoke for herself. While she was still averse to speaking in front of large crowds, if it was for the sake of her freedom, she was willing to do whatever it took. She stayed in her room as her father left, saying he would send someone to fetch her when he needed her to speak before the others._

_ As Zelda eagerly waited, straightening her gown and rehearsing her lines, Noble Gregory of the major Northwind Family came to her room with a pleasant smile, saying, "Your father, the King, wishes you to come to the throne room in one hour. He will present and explain your case before you come out to speak. Is this acceptable?"_

_ "Y-Yes!" Zelda replied in an animated tone._

_ But when the hour passed by and she enthusiastically walked into the throne room, the meeting was already over. The heads of each Noble family were leaving, and her father was furious._

_ "Where were you, Zelda?" He demanded when she approached his throne. "I send Noble Gregory to you an hour ago! You were supposed to arrive with him then, yet you dare shame me by appearing late?"_

_ Dread clawed into Zelda's stomach as she put together Gregory's ploy. "No, no! You're mistaken, father! Noble Gregory told me to come after one hour's time! I did as he asked!"_

_ "I did no such thing," the deceitful Noble said in a low bow. "I left to fetch the Princess, as you commanded, but when I arrived at her chambers, she was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps she was talking a stroll in the gardens and forgot the time?"_

_ "N-No! That's not true!" Zelda tried to defend herself, but was instinctually cowering beneath the parental authority of her father._

_ "You've brought shame to me and the Noble families," her father growled as she bent over in apology. "To think you dared to walk in tardy with your head held so high! Have you no humility? I thought you might have been prepared to leave the castle, but if you cannot keep such a simple promise, then clearly you are too immature! You will _not_ leave Hyrule Castle, not while I sit on this throne! You are dismissed!"_

_ "But father!" _

_ "DISMISSED!"_

* * *

Because they devoted the entire day into recovery, everyone (excluding Zelda) awoke the next morning revitalized. After a speedy breakfast, they resumed their fast pace jog towards the general direction of Koon City (though everyone wished they had more accurate directions; relying solely on Suvica's memory was a risk none of them wanted to take). Rail was sprinting with a new grin on his face, while Suvica only said "ow" once every three steps. At least they were recuperating nicely.

Zelda felt death breathing down her neck. She no longer experienced any pain, but that was only because all the feeling below her neck ceased to exist. She was a head who'd lost her body, only able to squeeze out a few words and blink out her tears of frustration. She always accused herself of being useless while cooped up inside Hyrule Castle, but now she truly understood the meaning of the word. It was mortifying to see how much she depended on someone else's aid to accomplish the most basic of tasks, to know she wouldn't be alive without the helping hand of another.

An hour after lunch (with Zelda unable to stomach the smallest of bread crumbs), they chanced upon the small town of Kikorim, a tiny settlement far south of Luxvil City. They unanimously agreed to confirm their distance from their destination and steal themselves a method of transportation, for Suvica had little luck finding another Peahat to tame. Malon and Rail suggested they scout out the town first, to make sure there were no Royal Hylian Knights and to see if there were any updates about Zelda's missing status. With Link's help, Zelda watched her red-headed friends approach Kikorim's front gate and walk in after being allowed access from the front guards; as they left, Suvica shouted at them to buy him some new clothes. Half an hour later, only Rail emerged from the town's gate, prompting Suvica to tackle her cousin while demanding to know where Malon was.

"She's fine, she's fine!" Rail shouted after Link pulled the dragon away. "They've got horses to spare and a wagon we can easily swipe, but we can't steal anything if they close the gate before we can leave. That's why I came out to get Suvica's help, to see if he can bust it down."

"Leave it to me," Suvica growled in pleasure, flexing his fingers.

"Wait … undead," Zelda gasped, barely able to move her own tongue.

"Don't worry," Rail said, understanding her fears. "Kikorim has plenty of spare construction materials, and their gate is pretty basic as well. If it gets broken, they can easily fix it before nightfall." Zelda breathed in relief. "But there is one little problem."

"Which is?" Link asked.

Rail reached into his pocket and unfolded a square wad of paper. Link took the sheet of parchment, and though the backside was facing Zelda as she lay down, she could see the ink markings on the other side thanks to the rays of sunlight. It was a notice of alert with a black-and-white picture of Link's face. She wasn't adept at translating backwards sentences, so Link spared her the pain by reading aloud.

" _'Link H. Skyloft, the Spawn of the Fiend and the next Bane of Light. This monster is responsible for the abduction and poor treatment of Princess Zelda, and must be handled as a demon in human skin. He is powerful and extremely dangerous, and must not be approached without absolute caution. His evil powers include the heretical use of dark magic, the control over undead, and the ability to summon demons from the deepest parts of the Shadow Realm. Reward for dead or alive capture: 1,000 rupees._' Wow, this isn't good."

"A thousand rupees?" Suvica drooled. "Forest Boy, mind if we move up our final confrontation? Can I kill you now and cash in your head for the reward?"

"No, you can't," Link sighed, slapping the back of Suvica's head, only this time his enhanced Goron-strength slammed the dragon face-first into the ground. With his existing injuries, Suvica was slow to get back up. "Oops, sorry about that."

"D-Damn … you!"

"Besides, it won't work if _you_ try to collect Link's bounty," Navi point out. "The two of you are pretty much identical twins. If they see you, they'll assume you're Link and attack."

"And since when can I control the undead and summon demons?" Link wondered, rereading the alert notice.

"Well, that's what it looked like back at the Kakariko Village," Rail explained. "When the ReDead, Composer Brothers, and Ltula Family came out of nowhere to help you, who wouldn't think that? Not very good for your already bad rep."

"How many of these things are there?" Link asked, waving the poster.

"Malon and I couldn't walk three steps without seeing one of those plastered onto a wall or bulletin. They're literality everywhere. Congratulations, Link, you're official public enemy number one. And to make things worse, we _need_ Suvica to bust down Kikorim's gate, but if he does, everyone in the town will think he's you and blame the '_Spawn of the Fiend_' for the wreckage."

"Works for me," Suvica cackled as he got on his feet. "I pull some crazy stunts and Forest Boy takes all the blame? And it's not even my birthday."

"Good thing I don't care about my reputation, then," Link sighed. "Break the gate, and do it fast. We need to get Zelda to Koon City, and worrying about inconsequential things will only slow us down."

"I have to make sure to enjoy myself," Suvica snickered as he ran towards Kikorim. "Show off my wings, demolish a few homes with my tail, shoot some lightning. Spawn of the Fiend? This is going to be good!"

As they all watched Suvica rip off his cloak, leaving his chest bare and allowing his wings and tail to emerge, Zelda said, "I have serious … qualms … about sending …the lizard."

"Who doesn't?" Navi groaned over the crash of Kikorim's crumbling gate; the wooden blockage easily succumbed to Suvica's fists.

"Once Ganondorf is stopped, you've got some serious explaining to do to some seriously influential people," Rail noted as the town was consumed by mayhem, causing streams of people to flee from the obliterated entrance while lightning struck from within the walls. "Right now, you're Hyrule's mortal enemy, and Ganondorf is the King's most trusted ally. Taking him down isn't going to be easy."

"When was it ever?" Link laughed lightly as a pair of horses hauling a rundown cart, with four noisily creaking wheels and a ripped up canvass, left the town and approached. Malon (at least Zelda thought it was her, because there was something strange obscuring her face) steered their raucous ride towards them while Suvica circled Kikorim one last time, pelting buildings with his lightning before flying after Malon and landing in her acquired ride.

Once she pulled the coach alongside them, Zelda saw Malon was wearing a mask, a childish guise showing the face of a Goron. She cried, "Get in!" from beneath her disguise. Link gently scooped Zelda into his arms and jumped onto the back, handing her to Suvica, who roughly tossed her onto the dusty floor. Link helped Rail get into their transport, and once they were securely on board, Malon gave their horses a snap from her reins, spurring them into a gallop.

"Ah, that was fun," Suvica snickered as he withdrew his dragon limbs. "I almost forgot how good it felt to terrorize sappy humans. Looks like the Spawn of the Fiend now has a few more tricks up his sleeve!"

"Did you _have_ to destroy most of the town as well?" Rail groaned as he saw the pillars of smoke rising from the diminishing settlement. "I only wanted you to break the gate, not the entire town!"

"That place was filled with pictures of me labeling me Forest Boy. It pissed me off, so I burned a few of them," Suvica shrugged as the wagon's front axles let out a rusty squeal. "Seriously, when was this thing made? During Halden's rule?"

"Those were pictures of Link, not you!"

"Yeah, right! The kid on the paper had black hair, not yellow! It was totally me! Stupid humans can't even draw right. What?" The obnoxious lizard asked as everyone turned away and sunk their heads in disbelief.

"Malon? What is … that mask?" Zelda breathed, cringing as the back of her head continuously bonked on the flooring as the wheels tumbled across the uneven fields. Thankfully, Link saw her plight and rested his left hand behind her head.

Malon peeked at them from the front and tilted her mask back to reveal her wide smile. "While I was waiting for Rail to come back with Suvi, I met a man who said he was a traveling mask salesman. Because everyone knows Fairy Boy's and Zelda's faces, I thought they'd help!" She tossed Link a small satchel Zelda hadn't noticed before, which he tipped upside-down to pour out and reveal a dozen or so masks.

"How'd you buy these? Doesn't Link have all our rupees in his all mighty pouch?" Suvica asked, picking up the mask resembling a set of bunny ears and placing them on his head; they really didn't suit him.

"I didn't buy them! The mask seller said I can borrow them as long as I spread the love of masks around! He was really nice! He said he has a bigger store in Hyrule Market too! We have to visit it someday!"

"He sounds suspicious," Rail murmured, selecting the mask sculpted to depict a Gerudo's face and peeping through the eyeholes. "Still, it's not a bad idea. If we can conceal our identities with these, they'll help greatly."

Link had something other than masks on his mind. "Malon, you said Kikorim Town knew Zelda's face as well? How?"

Zelda was also curious about that, so when Malon handed Link a roll of parchment too large to be an alert notice, he unrolled the paper in front of Zelda's eyes so she could see what it was; if she could, she would've blushed. It was a masterfully painted portrait of her, throwing balls of fire into villainous bandits wearing Hylian armor while leading the people of Denion against Pavo. Her likeness was wearing an expression of pride and authority, something Zelda had never been able to pull off with her own face.

"Not bad," Rail said past his Gerudo mask as he observed the painting. "Where'd this come from?"

"A man was selling it from a stand next to the mask seller," Malon explained, steering their transport onto a blissfully even road and stilling the bumpy tremors. "They say there were a lot of artists in Denion City, and after the revolt was over, they painted up _hundreds_ of pictures of Zelda. They're selling so well all across Hyrule that I got this one for free. I'm going to frame it in my room when I get back home!"  
The idea of having such an embarrassing portrait of herself hanging in Malon's room urged Zelda to object to the idea, but her mortification was sullied by dread as she realized she could no longer move her mouth.

* * *

Zelda was running out of time.

Link was the first to discover her condition was rapidly worsening. He realized by sundown that her prolonged silence was not attributed to her need for rest and demanded that Malon force the horses to ride throughout the night. Though she was opposed to Link's insistence at first, when he informed her of Zelda's rapidly deteriorating health, Malon did everything within her skills to guide their frightened mares down the road as the undead emerged from all around them.

He held onto Zelda's hand while Rail used Link's slingshot and Suvica resorted to his lightning to fend the Stalchidren away from their squealing wagon. With Link desperately clutching her hand against his chest, Zelda caught a glimpse of her terrible state; her fingers were as pale as the moon, and no doubt the rest of her body was just as white. If anyone else saw her from a distance, they'd mistake her for a ghost.

In a matter of minutes, the line between dream and reality was blurring over to the cool touch of death. Sometimes she thought she saw undead clambering over the sides of their wagon to attack them, while other times she could've sworn they were the power mongering Nobles who tormented her at Hyrule Castle. When she stared into the moon, the pearl orb was actually the betrayed eyes of her bunny Fifi, wordlessly demanding to know why he had to die. She knew she was losing it when one of the small hills punching at the horizon stood up and turned into a gigantic Stalchild, which stomped towards them with ground-shaking steps. If it was real, then Link blew it up with a rainbow-colored burst of light, then finished it off by reducing it to crumpled flower petals with a firecracker he pulled from his Dimensional Pouch.

As time slugged by, Zelda grew colder. It wasn't the night breeze which was responsible, but the chill of demise creeping in her body. Already, everything below her waist felt as though it'd been doused in Lake Hylia during a freezing winter season. The previous sensation which dulled her body was pierced by bitter icicles as the frigged pain spread. Dying from a shattered soul was so morbid. She previously thought she had a day or two left in her, but at this rate, she'd never live to see the following morning.

As she succumbed to the frosty temptation of death icing over her eyes, she thought she heard Malon cry, "We're here! We're finally here!"

"There's no doubt at it!" Suvica barked, "That's Koon City!"

"But the gates are closed! What're we going to do?" Rail demanded.

"Climb them! Zelda won't mast nuch lon … er …" Link shouted, his voice fading into a dull echo in her failing ears. He roughly grabbed Zelda and threw her lifeless body onto his back, but she could no longer feel his warmth.

This was it. It didn't matter what kind of doctor they found in Koon City; no one could help her now. If she were still a slave in Hyrule Castle, she wouldn't have minded passing on, but now things were different.

She didn't want to die. There was so much more she wanted to do. She wanted to reach out and save her people from corruption. She wanted to journey with her friends and explore new lands she'd only read about. She wanted to stop Ganondorf and celebrate the victory with loud cheers and a feast of good food.

Most of all, she wanted to stay with Link.

The mixture of regret and grief was so deep, it sparked a temporary flicker of life in her mind, where she gathered enough of her dwindling concentration to think: _I'm so sorry._

At last, she could no longer resist the lull of peace beckoning for her, so she closed her eyes and let the tendrils of ice swallow her whole.

* * *

_Zelda peered into the throne room via the secret window she had Impa install into the wall of the deepest inner garden, where hardly anyone ventured except for her. Her sense of despair grew deeper as Ganondorf's words and advice were readily accepted by the Royal Council, the Royal Court, and worse of all, her father. She knew this man from the desert was the coming catastrophe, the dark clouds which would fall upon all of Hyrule if not stopped. But Ganondorf was cunning; he knew each of the council and court members personally, and had her father's ear at every turn. It didn't matter what sort of prophetic dreams she had, because Ganondorf earned everyone's trust through hard work, diligence, and bribery, and that's what made him dangerous. He was smart, exceedingly strong in magic and might, and was not afraid to wait for long periods of time before striking at his prey's most vulnerable spot. No doubt, the man of evil was waiting for the perfect opportunity to tear Hyrule down, the moment where everyone believed in him without the smallest shred of doubt and he massacred them all when they trusted him with their backs. She had to warn someone, anyone, about Ganondorf's inherited evil, but who would believe her? The only person who knew she spoke the truth was Impa, but her caretaker was forbidden, by her father, to leave her side as long as she was in the castle. In the end, Hyrule could only play the patient lamb and Ganondorf led them to slaughter._

_ Something cracked._

_ Zelda spun around, terrified to see the walls of Hyrule Castle reduce to dust, its fragments disappearing into the dark and deep edges of her dimming mind. This never happened to her in the past, but she knew what was going on. She watched the walls fall, her garden rot, and the water evaporate into nothingness. In a few moments, she was alone, encased in a world of endless black. She looked down at her body, still clearly visible regardless of the lack of light. The tips of her fingers began to waver, eventually fading away speck by speck as her astral self broke apart. _

_This was death._

_ Unable to avoid what was certain to come, Zelda closed her eyes as she drifted away, vanishing from the world piece by piece._

"Excuse me?"

_A sword of green light stabbed the darkness, breaking away the shroud of death as the words rang clear in her ears. Zelda had to shield herself with her disintegrating, fingerless, hands as the blinding emerald shine encompassed her body. She knew that voice, and when she properly identified it in her mind, she smiled._

"My name is Link, Link of the Kokiri Village,"_ the voice continued as a hand emerged from the light, reaching out for her._

_ "Yes, you're Link," Zelda choked back her joy as she held out her disappearing arm. "The boy who changed my life."_

_ The hand grabbed her elbow, and pulled her out of the darkness._

* * *

"_Gasp_!" Zelda's chest inflated so quickly she almost choked, sending her into a seizure of coughs. Before she could properly get a mouthful of air, someone slammed into her with such speed she saw fairies fluttering in her eyes.

"You're alive!" Malon (the human projectile) sobbed, holding her tight and spilling her tears all over Zelda's … what was she wearing? It didn't feel like the familiar custom dress tailored for her. She tried to raise her head, but her body was still an immoveable statue.

To her relief, however, Zelda discovered her speech had thankfully returned. "Malon, please … that hurts." She wheezed into the curtain of red hair scratching her nose.

"Sorry, sorry," Malon sniffled, only holding her tighter. From the warmth radiating from the ranch girl's body, and blossomed in her own, Zelda surmised she was no longer dying. But how was that possible? She was positive she was ringing on death's doorbell before she closed her eyes, so how could she feel so … fine?

As Malon moved off her chest and sat on the rim of the bed, Zelda twisted her head to see where she was. She was resting in a spacious two story house, where the second floor was clearly visible thanks to the torn down walls. Zelda was laying in one of those peculiar beds which could fold into the wall, right next to the fireplace in the corner of the building. It was crackling merrily while a cooking pot bubbled over the flames. The rest of the torch-lit, window-less, house was clustered with an assortment of bizarre items, many of which she couldn't identify. An iron cage, inscribed with runes of suppression, was bolted to one wall, imprisoning what looked like wailing ghosts. Clay pots, each decorated with a different color, were randomly placed across the paper-scattered floor and were farting (yes, _farting_) a symphony of sounds while belching small puffs of colored smoke. One particular contraption was a mess of fuming bottles, rotating gears, hissing plastic cylinders, and magic crystals, which created a liquefied rainbow that poured into an overflowing bowl below. There was also an odd painting hanging above the rainbow machine, showing a troll huddled beneath a bridge, with the exact words, "U MAD?" scribbled over the monster's face. Wanted posters of dangerous bandits and criminals lined walls, yet more than half of them had the word "SERVED!" scribbled over them. In the center of the room was a stone cauldron, large enough for Zelda to fit in, supported by two beams of wood; both the oak supports were embellished with runes of containment so powerful they could've imprisoned Suvica without a problem, causing Zelda to wonder what terrifying creature was incarcerated within the stone pot. From where she was laying, she could only see a portion of the mind baffling items and gadgets clogging the house, and had no doubt there was still more to be seen. As it was, her attention refocused onto the girl working near the fireplace, using a ladle to pour the stew into a bowl. She was around Zelda's age, with short gold hair tussling at the nap of her neck. She wore an azure blouse which complimented her sapphire eyes, along with a white dress that hung around her naked ankles. She was lightly sweating from overwork, with a few stray strands of hair brushing her eyes, but her skin glowed with health and vigor. For some reason, she appeared awfullyfamiliar, though Zelda couldn't tell why.

"Don't worry, there's nothing in here which can hurt you," the girl said, setting the soup-brimming bowl onto a tray and carrying over to Zelda; even her voice struck a chord in the corner of Zelda's memories. "I apologize for the mess. My teacher is incapable of cleaning up after himself." She kicked aside one of the fart pieces of pottery right as it let out a loud one.

"What are all these?" Zelda asked as Malon helped her limp body sit upright. From this position, she saw she was wearing a pink nightgown a size too large, unable to see her own hands or feet in the long sleeves and wide dress.

"Fascinating but ultimately pointless inventions my teacher invented in his spare time," the girl replied, placing the tray on Zelda's lap and lifting a spoonful of soup to her lips; the smell was inciting. "Please, eat. Now that you're no longer in danger of dying, a bit of food won't hurt."

"How was I—?" Zelda began, but was abruptly cut off when the lass shoved the spoon into her mouth. At least the food tasted good.

"—saved?" The pushy girl finished, plucking the utensil from Zelda's lips to feed her another portion of soup. "My teacher actually did something useful for once. Would you like to know how?" The girl read Zelda's expression while stuffing one scoop of soup into her mouth after another; Zelda wasn't complaining, because she was famish and swallowed the meal the moment it entered her mouth. With each gulp, a blossom of life flourished inside her once-dying body. "To be honest, I'm just as confused as you. I know little about mending broke souls, so if you wish for a proper diagnostic, you'll have to ask my teacher. Rest assured, you'll be all better with some food inside you. And don't worry, you'll be able to use your magic just fine."

Zelda almost coughed out her next scoop of stew. "Y-You know?"

"Of course. It was obvious when your friends burst in shouting about your condition for half the city to hear," she said, tossing the spoon into the fireplace and placing the rim of the bowl to Zelda's lips, pouring the remainder directly into her mouth. "That was much quicker, I should've done that before. Do you want seconds?"

"Yes please."

"Malon, if you'd be so kind?" The assertive girl handed the empty bowl to Malon, who quickly scurried off to get more. "So tell me something: How does the kidnapped Princess of Hyrule end up traveling with such cute boys?"

"You … know who I am?"

The girl laughed, and Zelda's heart thrummed as the burst of merriment gave her a familiar vibe. "It was blatantly obvious, Princess Zelda. Can I call you Zelda?"

"Certainly."

"Thank you, saying '_princess_' all day long goes against my nature. But really, with the ruckus your father is causing at Hyrule Castle, there isn't a soul in the world who _doesn't_ know you're missing."

A pinch of tension squirmed inside Zelda's unmovable body. If they knew her identity, did that also mean they were aware of Link's? "My friends, where are they?"

"They're my teacher's boy toys for today. Oh Goddess, that sounded so wrong. Let me rephrase that: They're helping my lazy teacher with all his miscellaneous little chores, leaving me here with you. Please don't misunderstand, I appreciate a day off. Additionally, being able to talk to someone other than my teacher keeps my sanity in check."

"If … if you know who I am, do you know who my companions are?" Zelda slowly ventured.

"Of course, since they all introduced themselves while you were being treated. She's Malon," the girl pointed at Malon, who came rushing back to Zelda with another bowl of soup. "The cute one with the scar is Rail, and the twins are Link and Suvica. They're pretty good looking too. So, how did you end up meeting them?"

"You don't know about Link's … parents?"

"Perhaps I gave off a bad first impression, but I do not pry onto into the affairs of others. If the twins wish to speak about their lives, very well, I'll be a good girl and listen. Until then, their past is not my concern."

Zelda felt another ten years of her life fly away in gratitude. This girl, and hopefully her teacher too, didn't know Link was being called the Spawn of the Fiend. It was most likely due to the fact that Koon City (she was guessing that was where she was) was ruled by mercenary leaders and not Hylian Nobles, which meant they frequently ignored alerts or notices from the Royal Council, Court, and the King. After all, the city's mercenary leaders mainly consisted of people who were disgruntled by Hyrule's biased laws and the unfair rulings of the Noble class

"So tell me," the inquisitive lass continued as Malon helped Zelda drink down her second helping. "Do you fancy of those boys?"

This time, Zelda did spurt the contents of her mouth onto the bed sheets in front of her. "W-W-What are y-y-you implying?"

"There's no need to be shy," the girl grinned while Malon ran about searching for a towel. She yanked a strip of cloth from a box, only to see it was the woven hair belonging to a decapitated head, causing her to scream and faint. "Oh bother, I always tell my teacher to get rid of that thing," the lass sighed, kicking the beheaded skull across the room and knocking over the small sculpture of a unicorn. "Anyhow, I saw the way the boy in green was frantically carrying you while shouting at my teacher for help. You obviously have a place in his heart, but is the feeling mutual?"

Zelda's face burned, and not trusting herself with speech, sealed her lips.

"You do? How interesting! The Princess of Hyrule, falling for a boy from the countryside!" The girl laughed, muffling her enjoyment with one hand. "Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. Don't worry, he's much cuter than the ugly mugs you'll see in this city. The males here only care about becoming mercenaries, and the moment they get their hands on a sword, they run off to get themselves killed."

"I assume this means there is no one in your heart?" Zelda mumbled, trying to shift the topic of their conversation.

"There's no one I like, if that's what you mean. Still, your arrival has presented a few opportunities. Rail is very handsome, and I can tell he has his priorities straight. I would love to meet his parents."

"His parents are dead."

"Really?" For some reason, the girl didn't show the normal sentiment of remorse as most did. Instead, her eyes shone in approval. "How'd they die?"

"They were falsely accused by Nobles and murdered. His village was burned down as well."

"And yet he still walks with such inner strength. It takes real determination to stand up after such trauma. I'm sure Rail is a boy I can be happy with. What about Link and Suvica? Are their folks okay?"

"Link and Suvica are not related. They may share a similar appearance, but they are not siblings."

The girl's eyebrows rose with her excitement. "Really? How rare."

"Why the sudden interest in the family of my friends?"

"Children are a testament to their mother and father. It helps me understand what sort of person a boy is by their parents. So what happened to your black-haired bandit? Where are his folks? Are they also dead?"

"No. As far as I can tell, they're alive and well. Suvica abandoned them on his own accord to … make a name for himself."

"Really? I'm willing to bet there's a deeper reason. What about Link? If Rail mans up and confesses to Malon, I can make your green-clothed friend option two."

"Link is … wait, repeat yourself," Zelda backed up. "What is this about Rail and Malon?"

The lass spread open a crafty smile. "Don't you know? I can tell by the way he looks at her: He's totally interested." She turned to the fainted ranch girl on the floor and smiled. "I don't know what he sees in her, but he's an honest boy with a crush, and believe me, men like him are arrows; they'll find their target. He only shows a little interest now, but give him a few years and he'll be talking of marriage."

"That's very … interesting."

"The loyal type always is. So what're Link's parents like?"

"Well …" Since it came to this, Zelda saw no harm in telling the truth while avoid the vital facts. "He was abandoned by his mother as a baby, and is constantly being compared to his father, who is a great villain in Hyrule's eyes."

"That's a shame. I think I understand him better now, because I know what it's like to be accused for something a family member did. Trust me, it's a terrible thing. What is his father responsible for?"

"A great deal."

The girl narrowed her blue eyes with a grin, like she couldn't wait to coax the secrets from Zelda's clamped mouth. "Really? It's obviously bad, very bad. There's a whole bunch you're not telling me, but you won't say it. Very well, I shall step aside for now, but you've earned my interest. I'm eager to learn the truth, Zelda."

"Best of luck with that …" Zelda blanked, then said, "… I don't believe I know your name."

"Ah, of course. You were still unconscious when I introduced myself. My name is Li—"

"WE'RE BACK!"

Zelda's talkative nurse was cut off by a wailing old voice. A door opened from somewhere, and Link, Suvica, and Rail stepped inside, followed by a peculiar sight. A hunched over figure of timeless age and short stature was riding on the back of a Poe, a restless ghost with an astral robe-covered body and a hooded head that had two thin orange slits for eyes. The ghost held an ethereal lantern in one hand while supporting the old man on its back with the other. Zelda had to close her mouth as she observed the spectacle she beheld; Poe's were angry spirits that lashed out at anyone who disturbed their graves, so to see one acting like a faithful house dog was indeed rare. Then she got a look at the old man who tamed the angry spirit and knew who he was; this elder wore a ragged purple cloak with a hood concealing all of his face in shadows except for his protruding red nose. His undersized gray limbs were scrawny, and he hefted a gangling ivory staff in one hand.

"I know you!" Zelda shouted as she rummaged through her old memories. Link, Suvica, and Rail were buried beneath their individual towers of freshly bought equipment, but when they heard her voice, they dropped everything in their arms and rushed at her with relieved faces.

"You're awake! Are you okay?" Link demanded, as Suvica shouted, "This damn old cracker is crazy! Now that you're up, we got to get out of here!" while Rail laughed, "I knew it! I knew you wouldn't die on us like that!" Then Suvica noticed Malon was passed out on the floor and was immediately beside her; when Malon awoke, she hid behind Suvica in fear, and the dragon leered at the elder in outrage

All the while, the old nomad shooed away his disciplined Poe, which dejectedly teetered back into the iron cage with the rest of its broken brethren, and mournfully stared at the remains of his newly purchased equipment, their delicate parts strewn across the floor. "My unicorn trap, the troll hunter hammer, they're ruined! THEY'RE RUIN—oh, you're awake, my dear."

As Zelda warded off her friend's questions and demands, telling them to give her a little space, she focused on the superstar in question. "I know you! I saw you when you came to visit my father in Hyrule Castle! You're the Unrivaled Drifter, the Timeless Adventurer, the Peerless Poe Collector, the Abandoned Sage, the—!"

"—Old Crap Cracker Who Won't Die, the Man Who Can't Shut up, the Annoying Bridge Troll, and the Dirty Diaper of Hyrule's Buttocks, correct?" The mythical man chuckled. "Yes, yes, I've heard them all, Princess Zelda. I remember you too, my dear."

"We call him Poe, because he won't tell us his name," Rail said.

"_This_ is your teacher?" Zelda asked the girl who took care of her.

"Indeed. Ridiculous, isn't it?"

"No! It's amazing! He is one of four mages in all of Hyrule who could've possibly healed me! The chances of meeting him here are incredible! How did he become your teacher?"

"It's a simple story. My parents died, the world hated me, and he took me in. I've been living with him ever since. Many times I wonder if life would've been easier life if had just died, but I owe this man my life, regardless of how many loose screws he has, so here I am."

"I'm honored to meet you, sir!"

"Really? I'm not." The elderly nomad ("Poe" was an okay nickname) snickered, startling Zelda with his bluntness. "Please, don't take it the wrong way, my princess, but I arrived at this city with cruelly broken hopes. I came a few days ago with my disciple—" Poe fondly waved at the girl nursing Zelda, who responded with a taunt smile, "—because I received a notice saying I could find something extraordinary here, but what do I get? A dying princess, because she naively thought using a part of her own life to cast a spell was a smart idea. _Sigh_, a waste of my precious little time. No offense, my dear."

"Precious time of what?" Suvica scoffed, looking around at many remarkable (yet unreservedly useless) inventions filling the room.

"Precious time researching, my boy! Knowledge is power! I thirst for it, hunger it! Before I die, I've made it my goal to absorb all the knowledge of the world … no, the universe! Someone once asked me what a rainbow tasted like, so I found out!" The wise nomad cupped his hand into his rainbow fountain and took a sip from the multi-colored liquid. "Ah, as I had expected! Tastes like unicorn piss! Another asked what the definition of evil was, so I searched for evil where I could find it!" He motioned at the criminal posters circling the walls. "But despite all the questions I answered, there are always, more, more, and more! My curiosity shall never be sated, yet I do not have all the time in the world to quench my thirst. I am a dying old man trying to solve the greatest dilemma of his life. I … _cough … _I … _hack_!"

Zelda immediately grew worried when Poe doubled over, clutching his mouth while leaning precariously on his ivory staff (which she realized was a magical wand carved from a dragon's horn, used to amplify one's spells) as he suffered a terrible seizure. Strangely, none of her friends looked worried, and even Poe's student spared herself a tired sigh. Before Zelda could discover the root of everyone's disinterest, Poe's disciple picked up a bottle engraved with numerous magical markings and pointed the opening towards the encaged ghosts. The evil spirits wailed in terror as one of them was reduced to ash-gray flames and was sucked into the glass container. As the Poe (the restless ghost) struggled against the inside of its portable prison, the lass handed the bottled ghost to her mentor, and Zelda watched with wide eyes as Poe (the nameless sage) pressed the mouth of the bottle to his lips and drank the weeping spirit. Immediately, Poe's seizures ceased, rejuvenating his skin-and-bones body as he tossed the bottle aside.

"Thank you, my dear," Poe said, wiping the ghostly vapors from his lips with the back of his wrinkly hands. "Where would I be without you?"

"In a very small grave," his disciple assured. "Teacher, you can't keep prolonging your life with the undead energy of angry spirits. Each drink gives you a few more months to live, but the seizures are getting worse, and you know it."

"I'll suck it up. After all, to me, drinking ghosts is like eating Ice Scream. Aw, YEAH!" Poe cheered, laughing in uncontrollable hilarity at his own bad joke.

"You … you drank the spirit of a Poe," Zelda weakly murmured, wondering what sort of ludicrous man Poe really was. "That's impossible. Their vapors would suck the warm of life from your body. How … how …?"

"I do what I must to survive," Poe said, counting the number of trembling spirits trapped within his personalized Poe-cage. "Hmm, we're running low on Poe souls again. We'll have to go hunting soon."

"I'm always ready," Poe's disciple assured, patting an oversized crossbow hanging from a pedestal above the fireplace.

"But as you say, Princess Zelda, consuming the soul of a Poe is certainly not beneficial to one's health. If I could only find and examine one of the immortal children from the Lost Woods, I would have the secret of eternal life in my hands!" Link tensed at Poe's words, and Zelda saw his hand twitch for his sword. "However, I have already devoted too many lifetimes searching for the fabled paradise in the Lost Woods, and I no longer have any more to spare. The only reason I can prolong my life by drinking a Poe's soul is because I have extensively modified my body. If any of you were to partake in this ghostly cuisine, I doubt you would survive the experience."

"Is that a challenge?" Their prideful lizard snarled before Link could slap him on the back of the head and send him sprawling across the floor.

"Is knowledge really that important to you?" Link asked. "I can tell you're plenty smart already, so why bother learning more?"

"The naivety of youth," Poe sighed. "Knowledge is the ultimate form of power, granting you limitless possibilities for your future! Ah, Hyrule needs another war, for times are far too peaceful for anything extreme to occur. You do not understand, for there is no end to the wonders you can discover!"

"You should tell them about your current research project," Poe's disciple said, holding back her anticipating laughter with a stifled mouth. "Show them the '_terrible beast of unimaginable power_'."

"Ah, yes! Good point! Please observe!" The knowledge-thirsting elder limped towards the cauldron in the middle of the room, the very one bound together by immensely powerful markings of containment. When he reached into the stone prison with one hand, Zelda tensed, Malon hid behind Suvica, and the boys were immediately on guard as the beast in question emerged.

It was a kitty cat, and everyone was speechless.

"See?" The insane Poe chuckled in merry amusement. "Its very appearance silences you all with dread!"

"Not exactly," Link mumbled, mostly to himself.

"Exactly how is it '_a terrible beast of unimaginable power_' ?" Zelda asked.

"Because it cannot be killed, of course. Observe!" The old man raised his magic staff, muttering, "Din's Fire!" to light the tip into a torch of flames. For a moment, Zelda feared the ludicrous old coot would hurt the poor kitten, but the fires instantly died out as he dropped his staff and cooed, "Aw, aren't you a cute whittle kitty? Come here you, you gorgeous whittle bundle of—"

"Eh-em!" His disciple cleared her throat loudly, awakening the cat loving elder out of his self-induced stupor.

Poe, the insane researcher, shook his head, wiggled his nose, then pick up his magical weapon with a quivering groan, lightly tossing the kitty cat back into the cauldron which could contain a dragon. "See? Every time I attempt to slay it, I cannot bring myself to deliver the final blow. This beast uses its black magic to turn its eyes into wide orbs of seduction. Is it not amazing? How can such a small creature sway me, the man ghosts and dead spirits fear? Do you not wish to uncover its deep mysteries?"

"I think it's time we leave," Link announced aloud.

"About damn time," Suvica growled.

"I second that," Rail added.

"I want to go home," the traumatized Malon moaned.

"Please wait a moment," the kitty loving man called out. "Is that it? I help your friend, the Princess of Hyrule, recover from a fatal illness using all my skills and wisdom, and you repay me with mocking stares? What has happened to humanity?"

"I guess that means you want to be paid for your help?" Rail said, asking Link, "How many rupees do we have?"

"Nonsense! Material wealth means nothing to me!" The elder snapped. He proved his point by tapping his magic rod against the floor, causing several of the panels to shift aside to reveal a hidden trove brimming with red, purple, orange, and gold rupees. Zelda did a few hasty calculations, and surmised the amassed currency was worth more than ten thousand rupees. Rail did a few fake-coughs to hide his astonishment, and Suvica tried to dive headlong into the pool of riches (the old mage blasted their dragon back with a sudden torrent of fire from his staff). Zelda had been surrounded by richest all her life, but the abrupt display of wealth caught her off guard. "As you can see, your wallets can do little to satisfy me. After all, I must stay well financed to fund my research. You wish to repay me? Do so with knowledge!"

"What do you mean?" Suvica coughed, dusting off the ashes coating his chest and tightening his chain/belt around his sagging pants (Poe was a little shocked to see Suvica was unharmed, looking at his staff and back to their dragon as if there was some sort of malfunction with his magic).

"It means you must do something for my mind, not for my wallet," Poe said after inspecting his staff up and down. "If you wish to repay me, tell me something I do not know, show me something I've never seen before, or solve one of my riddles within a predetermined amount of time."

"And that'll settle our debt to you? Seems fair enough," Link said, but Poe's loveable assistant shook her head in dismay.

"I'll warn you all now," she said sternly. "Not even the greatest mages and scholars can best my teacher when it comes to brains. He knows everything they know and more, he's seen enough miracles and mysteries to last several life times, and no one in the world has ever solved one of his riddles. I'm only saying this to save you all time; you should give up now and repay my teacher with a year or two of manual labor. Besides, I need the company."

Link turned to the girl, and for a brief instant, Zelda thought she saw something transpire between the two of them. While Poe's disciple glanced at Link with interest and curiosity, he was staring at her with caution and a tinge of bewilderment. Now that Zelda checked, Malon, Rail, and Suvica were doing the same, holding the lass in their eyes with vigilance, and from the wary jingle coming from Link's hood, Navi was doing the same. What had transpired between them all while she was unconscious?

"Sorry," Link said. "But none of us can afford to waste any time. I'll show off a bit of magic. Do you have something I can hit?"

Scholar Poe rapped his ivory staff against the floor twice, and a faraway wall moved aside to reveal a cube of steel tucked away in a hidden storage room. "That, my boy, is Hyrulian Steel, the strongest and most precious metal in all of Hyrule. This is the material the Goron Hero forged the Megaton Hammer from, and it is nigh indestructible. You may hit it with anything you wish. Now, what treat will you let me see?"

Link stepped forward, moving so he was directly facing the wide cube, about twelve feet away. "This is my Disk Attack." He drew his sword, powered it with magic, and threw the blue ring of destruction against the Hyrulian Steel; his spell crashed against the flat-front of the unyielding block and didn't leave a scratch. It was a good thing Link only had to demonstrate his skills in magic, not break the unbreakable.

"An extremely basic Original Spell," Poe sighed, slouching over in disappointment. "You focused your magic into your enchanted blade and used your power as a projectile. The force is somewhat impressive, but that is all. The design is basic and crude, and I am unimpressed."

Link nodded, as if he'd been expecting that exact response. "Next, this is Farore's Wind." He shimmered as an outline of green energy wrapped around him like a second skin. As he ran around the perimeter of the house, he moved twice his normal speed, leaving a flurry of upturned paper in his wake. He skid to a stop back in his original position and looked to Poe.

"Boring," the strict judge yawned. "I know every Inherited Goddess Spell in existence and have seen hundreds of variations for each. What you displayed is a child's feat. Is that all you can do?"

This time, Link grinned. "Hardly." He held out his sword behind him as the blade charged with magic and his body's outline glowed as another Farore's Wind activated at the same time. "Now this … this is my Wind Blade!" His Farore's Wind was sucked into his sword, generating a spiral of green-and-blue magic. When he unleashed the spell, the combined powers fired the Disk Attack from his blade faster than an arrow, colliding into the Hyrulian Steel and bursting in a shower of indigo and jade sparks.

Poe dropped his staff. Zelda couldn't see his shadow-obscured face, but had fun imagining his dumbstruck expression. "You … you …"

"Combined a Goddess Spell with an Original Spell," Link finished, swinging his sword in a few stylish circles before slamming it back in its scabbard. He was sweating a little from the effort it took to properly merge his spells, but was grinning in triumph. "So? Have you seen that before?"

"I …. no … how?"

"My turn!" Suvica laughed, pushing Link aside to step up to the spotlight.

"Wait, we're done!" Rail pointed out. "Link already did something the old guy has never seen before. What's the point in having you mess things up?"

Suvica snarled, causing a tempest of sparks to scatter from between his bared teeth. Poe's assistant backed away in shock, and the old man himself turned his staggered attention to the new surprise. "The old coot says that thing can't be broken? How can I resist the challenge?"

The brash dragon's wings and tail ripped out of his back, and his scales emerged from both his arms. The two unaware spectators backed away as Suvica flew at the Hyrulian Steel, threatening to bring down the house every time his armored fists jarred and shook the unbending metal slab. As Zelda's body bounced about to Suvica's quaking rampage, the earthquake ended after a constant minute of nonstop punching. The Hyrulian Steel didn't have a scratch, and the arrogant dragon was seething from his scales, but Poe was impressed nonetheless.

"You're … a dragon! No wonder my flames did nothing! And those black scales … a _Thunder_ Dragon?" Poe cried as Suvica kicked at the metal block and sulked away, recalling his wings and tail back while the scales on his arms receded. "But you… you look human! How's that possible?"

"Who gives a damn?" Suvica growled, throwing himself against the wall as he frowned at his inability to dent the Hyrulian Steel. "I'll break it someday."

"What of you two?" Poe frantically turned to Rail and Malon. "What sort of amazing skills do you both possess?"

The two of them glanced at each other, and Zelda could tell they were both wondering the same thing: _How are we supposed to follow up after all that?_ Regardless, Rail refused to give up without trying. He equipped his Hylian Shield to his right hand, walked up to the Hyrulian Steel, and smashed the edge of his protector against the unbroken metal surface. While Zelda hadn't expected anything to happen, she was caught off guard as a circle of sparks erupted from the Hyrulian Steel, throwing Rail back. When everyone got over their initial alarm, their faces grew long as they saw a swallow, barely visible, scratch mar the once-unbreakable metal.

"Impossible!" Poe screamed, not in disbelief but sheer delight, as he shoved Rail aside and ripped the Hylian Shield from his arm. "A scratch on my Hyrulian Steel, a scratch! Yet not a mark on this crude shield? What is it made out of?" He tapped the dusty surface with a boney knuckle. "Dragon scales? No, this lacks luster. Time stone? Can't be, that mineral can't be forged or shaped. What is this wonderful metal? Wait, don't tell me! I MUST figure out on my own! You! Girl!"

Malon jumped when the excited nomad leered at her. "Y-Yes?"

"Show me something! Demonstrate your abilities! Move my soul!"

The poor girl looked to her friends, each of them giving her encouraging nods. With no talents in battle or magic, and not a horse in sight to demonstrate her natural rodeo skills, Malon resorted to her favorite hobby: Singing. Her musical performance was touching, moving everything with the beauty of her voice. Zelda would've dried her eyes on her arms if she could move them; as it was, she did her best to blink back grateful tears.

When Malon was done, Poe was huddled over and bawling, sputtering an unintelligible gush of words none of them could translate before tumbling out the front door crying. While Zelda and her friends stared at one another, each hungry for an explanation, Poe's assistant filled them in. "Don't worry, he really likes all of you. It's rare for him to blubber like that. Consider yourself out of debt. You can stay as long as you all want and leave when you're ready."

"Thanks," Link said, helping Rail to his feet and handing him back his discarded Hylian Shield. "I'm only wondering, how long will it take for Zelda to completely get better?"

"A few days, maybe two." Poe's assistant answered. "Before then, she needs absolute rest. No physical labor or magical exercises. Still, all of you are really something else. You're traveling with the Princess of Hyrule, and each of you managed to catch my teacher off guard. Who are you guys?"

Zelda watched her friends exchange troubled expressions (while Suvica snickered to himself, like he was enjoying a hidden joke).

"Hmm, so it's a secret?" The girl said playful, a mischievous glint shining in her eyes. _Why _was she so familiar? Everything she did, every word she spoke, told Zelda she knew this person, yet she'd never seen her before in her life. "Well, don't worry. Once I discover your secret, I promise I'll keep it to myself."

"Thanks, but it's better if you don't pry," Link warned, standing in front of Zelda's fold-in bed and beside Poe's disciple. The moment Zelda saw them side by side, everything clicked together. Their gold hair, identical blue eyes, the way they laughed, their lack of honorifics, their unmistakably similar tone, aversion to secrets, and their cursed family member who caused them both no end of grief.

It couldn't be.

"You … your name …" Zelda stuttered, barely able to hold herself together.

"Oh, that's right, I still haven't told you. My name is Lina H. Skyloft. Pleased to meet you, Zelda."

* * *

EDIT: Thank you for reading chapter 24 of my fanfiction! Although it's pretty clear the way it is, cat-loving Poe is the same Poe Hunter Link sells Big Poes to in the game. I don't know why, but the old guy always cracked me up when I played Ocarina of Time, so I had to add him. As for Lina, you'll know more about her in the next chapter. Until then, feel free to guess her relationship to Link. You also get to see a bit of Zelda's past. I'm always saying how much she hated to return, so I thought now was the perfect moment to have a few flashbacks, especially when she's knocking on heaven's doors.

And thank you for the encouraging reviews after my year of absence. It's always nice to know someone is enjoying my work. You know who you are, and I thank you for your kindness. Until the next chapter!


	25. Chapter 25, It All Fun and Games

**Chapter 25**

**It's All Fun and Games …**

Malon huddled around Zelda's bed with the rest of her dear friends, giving the princess a brief hug of relief before joining in the little circle they formed. It was their second night at Koon City, the capital of mercenaries (their first was when they got Zelda into Koon and to Kitty-Loving Poe). Although Poe's mind-boggling abode lacked any windows, the crazy-inventor said (after he came back crying, drying his tears and blowing his nose) the torches within his home automatically brightened and dimmed with day and night. Currently, the fireplace held nothing but dying embers, while the torches died with small wisps of faint fire. The strongest sources of light came from the rainbow fountain and the entrapped Poe souls (Malon almost felt sorry for them when she saw crazy man Poe eat the ghosts like snacks). The water fountain shooting drinkable rainbows captivated her at first, but when Poe smacked his lips and said it tasted like unicorn pee, she put up an invisible mental force field around the colored water and refused to breach the shield. Yet with the glow-in-the-dark rainbow acting as their nightlight, it had the terrifying effect of darkening the room's shadows, forcing Malon's horrified imagination to picture skulls with a major hairdo popping out from the darkness solely to scare her.

Pinching her cheeks, she focused on the extreme matter at hand. With Poe loudly snoring on the second-floor, which was in plain view, and Lina resting quietly in her waterbed at the far side of the room, now was the perfect time to discuss the matter on everyone's mind. Malon and her friends sat in a circle around Navi, who was nominated to be their personal candle; Suvi spread his wings around them all to contain the fairy's light and avoid awaking their two hosts, and while Zelda's wall-bed groaned under their combined weight, it still supported them all without a problem.

"Are they both asleep?" Zelda, whose face was flourishing with health, asked.

Fairy Boy nodded, wiping an abnormal amount of sweat from his forehead. "Lina was pretending to sleep in order to eavesdrop on us, but she's not faking it anymore."

"Eavesdrop?" Rail murmured, pushing aside Suvi's wings ("I just polished my scales, damn it!") to peer at Lina, who was more than thirty feet away. "How was she planning on doing that from all the way over there?"

"She's got good ears," Fairy Boy mumbled.

"Wow, I think that reminds me of someone. Oh wait, it's you!" Suvi chuckled as quietly as possible. "So what in Volvagia's great name is going on? Does the Fiend have two spawns, or she like that blasted runt that's been following us all across Hyrule?"

"She's not lying," Navi piped, shuffling her pretty wings. "Trust me, I can tell from her face. She's telling the truth."

"Her face? You've met her before?" Zelda asked, scrunching her eyebrows as an itch irritated her nose, yet her arms continued to remain defiant. Malon scratched the prickle for the princess, and Zelda thanked her.

"No, I haven't, but I've seen that truthful expression before," Navi replied, turning her attention towards Fairy Boy.

Everyone looked to him for an answer, but he only wearily sighed, "I'm the kid who didn't even know he had a mother until a few weeks ago. How am I supposed to know if I have another …" he struggled for the right word, "… sibling."

"Are you okay?" Rail asked, noticing Fairy Boy's tired condition.

"Not really," he admitted. "I was feeling better before, but I hadn't completely recovered after my first Wind Blade. Using a second so soon is making my magic act up. I actually feel like puking a little."

Suvi moved away. "Watch the wings, Forest Boy. I did not polish my scales so you could spit your stomach garbage all over them."

"It's because you undertook a task that has crippled many and killed even more," Zelda explained. "Your magical progress is astounding as always, but you lack a severe common knowledge when it comes to the basics of your powers. There are repercussions for using Modified Magic, a combination of Inherited Goddess Spells and Original Spells, which you were unaware of."

Malon had no idea what the princess was talking about, and remained puzzled as Fairy Boy laughed lightly; his merry chuckle was eerily similar to Lina's. "If that's the case, I'll hold you to your promise; you owe me a few lessons in magic."

Zelda returned the smile. "I look forward to it."

"In the mean time," Suvi rudely butt in. "Why doesn't we talk about the girl who could be Forest Boy's sister? Usually, I don't give a Dodongo's crap about these sort of human matters, but since it's Link we're talking about, I can't help but be interested. So, did the Fiend have more than one spawn?"

"Impossible," Zelda strongly objected. "Link was born the same day Lillian killed her husband, Cross. It's unlikely Lina is Link's sister."

"The witch might've gotten lonely and bored, you ever think about that?" Suvi cackled, prompting Fairy Boy to smack his elbow into their dragon's face.

"She could be Link's older sister," Rail offered as Suvi muffled his mouth to hold in a biting stream of curses. "Maybe Lina is older than she looks."

"Unlikely," Suvi growled, pinching his reddening nose. "She smells too young, so I bet she's ten, maybe eleven."

A thought came to Malon as she glanced back and forth between the identical boys. "What if Lina is Fairy Boy's twin? They act the same way, and they look really similar too!"

Zelda disapproved of her somewhat-reasonable conclusion. "Link is an only child. If Lillian had a daughter as well, I'm certain she would've told us back at Denion. However, twins …" The princess pondered the possibility, and lit up as an idea flickered to life. "However, you have the right idea. Link is an only child, but his father Cross, was not."

"Whoa, wait!" Rail loudly interjected, receiving a collective "SHH!" from all of them as his outburst caused Lina and Poe to stir in their respective beds. "Sorry, sorry! But seriously, Cross the Fallen had siblings? Did anyone else know about this?"

"How would I?" Fairy Boy shrugged.

"Not really," Navi admitted.

"Am I supposed to care?" Suvi yawned.

Malon shook her head, also oblivious to such a startling piece of information. "Are you sure, Zelda? If you're right, how come none of us have ever heard of Fairy Boy's dad having siblings?"

"I suppose it's only natural," Zelda whispered as soon as she was sure their two hosts hadn't awoken. "Cross was like a sun, covering the stars around him out of sight with his radiance. It's not surprising no one knows much about Cross's older brother, Groon, and his younger twin sister, Linnet. While Groon died in battle fighting in the Great War against the Gerudos, Linnet lived through the terrible era wrought by Ganondorf's servant, Dark Cross. Though not many, including me, knows what happened to her after the Skyloft family fell from grace because of Dark Cross's horrendous deeds, I'm fairly certain she is Lina's mother. The only way to be sure is to ask her."

"Wait," Suvi mumbled, trying to connect the dots in his adorably slow head. "So how is Lina related to Forest Boy? If she's the daughter of the Fiend's sister, that makes her Link's … twice removed sibling?"

"No, it makes her Link's cousin," Rail quietly laughed. "Seriously, how do you not know how the family tree works?"

"Shut up," Suvi growled, more embarrassed than angry. "So it sounds good as speculation, but we don't know for sure, do we?"

"No, we don't," Zelda greed.

"So how do we find out? I hate all this guesswork."

"We can only ask."

"Well, that's sure to be fun," Rail groaned. "So who wants to walk up to the girl who helped save Zelda's life and ask if she's related to one of the most notorious men in Hylian history? No offense, Link."

"None taken," Fairy Boy reassured as he leaned over due to his short of stamina, which threatened to plunge him to sleep at a moment's notice. "All things considered, we should just drop the topic. We don't ask her anything related to my dad, and we don't tell her I'm her cousin."

"What? Why?" Malon demanded. "She's your family! Aren't you happy to know you have a cousin?"

"Honestly? I'm a little thrilled, sure, but how would she react? I'm the son of Cross, and my current reputation isn't doing much to better things, is it? If she learns I'm being called the '_Spawn of the Fiend_,' how do you think she'll react? Zelda, you said my dad is being blamed for destroying the Skyloft family?"

"Yes," Zelda mournfully confirmed. "As soon as Cross was branded as the Fiend, the remaining innocent members of the Skyloft Family were accused of harboring a monster. They lost their land, wealth, and status, and even as common beggars, there was no one who wished to associate with the family of the Fiend. If Lina is your cousin, then her life must have been unendurable. Unlike you, she was not sheltered in the Lost Woods, and would have had to live with people secluding and tormenting her as a follower of the Fiend."

Malon was crestfallen they wouldn't be able to reunite two long lost relatives, but felt the weight of Fairy Boy and Zelda's words. They were doing little to better the reputation of the "Spawn of the Fiend," and the last thing Lina needed was to know her forgotten relative was being called the "Next Bane of Light." Still, she couldn't help but ask, "Are you sure, Fairy Boy?"

"I'm sure," he replied firmly. "I've been pretty selfish, and everything is finally coming back to bite me. I kidnapped Zelda on a whim, and now we've got Hylian Knights stepping on our tails. I've publically called myself the son of Cross and Lillian because I'm proud of who my parents were, but my recklessness put the rest of you in danger. I've got a bit of maturing to do."

"Do you regret you actions?" Zelda asked meekly, sounding afraid to know the answer.

Fairy Boy merely laughed with his usual smile. "Never. I took you from Hyrule Castle, and I've enjoyed every day I spent with you." The princess's face turned a deep shade of red, but Fairy Boy turned away before he could see her blush. "I've called myself the son of the Fiend and Savior because there's nothing to be ashamed about, and I'll keep doing so as long as it doesn't put any of you in danger. But from now on, I've got to be careful not to act too brashly. Zelda paid for my mistakes back at the Kakariko, and it nearly cost her life, so I'm going to make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Bravo, excellent speech," Suvi muttered with disinterest. "So you don't want to talk about your cousin? Fine. So what's next? We head straight for Lake Hylia as soon as the Princess learns how to walk again?"

"The lake is the entrance to the Zora's Domain, the capital of the Zoras," Rail agreed with a nod. "Since they're the bearers of the Spiritual Stone of Water, wouldn't that be the best course of action?"

"Not necessarily," Zelda informed. "While Koon City remains oblivious to Link's identity thanks to their stubborn leaders, the rest of Hyrule is well aware of his parentage, meaning the Zoras know he is Cross's son."

"So?" Malon asked, wondering why Fairy Boy's parents mattered to the Zoras. Then she remembered: "That's right! Everyone thinks Fairy Boy's dad killed the Zora Queen!"

"Correct, and the Zoras loved their Queen with all their hearts, especially the King. Should either Link or Suvica take one step inside the Zora's Domain, I fear the Zoras will rend them limb from limb without a second to spare."

"Not if I kill them all first," Suvi scoffed.

"You will do no such thing," Zelda said with such authority their cuddly dragon flinched. "While Link may not care what the world thinks of him, _I _do. He will not go down in history as the Spawn of the Fiend, but will be known as the hero who prevented Ganondorf from bringing about the next dark age. If _dare_ sully Link's name any further, I will clip your wings and tailor them into doormats, cut your tail and serve it as sushi, and hang your head on my father's throne as a decoration for all to see and mock."

"Damn, Princess, you're getting scary," Suvi mumbled.

"Zelda, you really don't have to—" Fairy Boy began, but the princess silenced him with a glare.

"Argue this with me, and I will convince Malon shave all the hair from your head, eyebrows included. Is that understood?"

"Yes ma'am," Fairy Boy said immediately, protectively shielding his eyebrows with his hands.

Malon giggled, happy to see how well Zelda took control of the situation. To think a few weeks ago, she could barely speak without begging for an apology for her "impudence." She preferred this Zelda over the old puppet princess any day, yet the change also made her a little sad. Zelda had overcome her inhibitions thanks to Fairy Boy, while Fairy Boy was gradually subduing his hatred towards Ganondorf thanks to Navi, his mom, and the princess. Malon initially followed him to help with his troubles, yet found he'd recovered well enough without her. Perhaps she wasn't needed here.

_No, no_, Malon told herself, lightly slapping her cheeks while assuring everyone she was only trying to stay awake. She wasn't going to start questioning her place with her closest friends. She was happy here, and she'd never doubt this joy. If Fairy Boy and Zelda were overcoming their problems, then it was time for Malon to think about her own. She glanced at Suvi, who was making static snot bubbles with his nose, and wondered if it was time to tell him.

"Tell me what?" Suvi suddenly asked, startling Malon with his mind reading powers. Then she realized he was speaking to the princess, who had asked him a question Malon had missed while she was contemplating to herself.

"Tell you something that's been bothering me ever since we left Denion," Zelda replied while Malon settled down her racing heart. "Lillian told me something I've been afraid to ask you until now."

"Why the change in heart?"

"Before, I feared your wrath, but after a tea party with death, I find you're not as terrifying as I once believed you to be. I wanted to know—" Zelda continued before Suvi could angrily interrupt, "—why Lillian called you the _last_ Thunder Dragon."

The princess's question abruptly cut off Suvi's supply of fury. "The witch called me the last Thunder Dragon? Why?"

"This is what I wish to know."

"Who knows, who cares?" Suvi shrugged, still a bit smug all the same. "Perhaps the others died off because they were too weak. Either way, it's none of my business."

"I always thought a Thunder Dragon was … no, never mind," Zelda said, ending her subtle curiosity. "As you say, it does not concern us, and we have more urgent issues to discuss. The retrieval of the Spiritual Stone of Water is our top priority."

"I still say we massacre the Zoras and take it from them," Suvi smirked, clearly enjoying the idea. "If we're their enemies, why bothering trying to play nice? If they want us dead, I say we return the favor and fill the Zora's Domain with their blood! We can always take the Spiritual Stone afterwards. All that matters is keeping it from Ganondorf's hands, right?"

"That's really mean, Suvi," Malon pouted, disliking it when he talked about blood and battle with a grinning face.

"And it would be a hopeless cause," Zelda added.

"Why? You think I can't do it?" Their dragon snarled, letting sparks snap at the depths of his throat.

"Yes, there is that, but if you kill the holder of the Spiritual Stone of Water, we will never be able to retrieve it."

"How come?" Rail asked as Suvi mumbled about bringing down the Zora's Domain with one hand tied behind his back.

"Do each of you remember how King Darunia presented the Goron's Ruby to Link?"

"Yeah, it popped out of nowhere," Malon said, vividly remembering how the priceless jewel came into existence through a flash of crimson light.

"It's because the Spiritual Stones are kept in a vault more secure than any physical security system: They are stored within the spiritual bodies of their bearers. We could've searched King Darunia up and down, but we wouldn't have been able to find the Spiritual Stone unless King Darunia allowed it. It may be why Ganondorf did not take the Spiritual Stone when he had the chance."

"So what would happen if Suvica stupidly killed the one protecting the Spiritual Stone of Water?" Fairy Boy asked past Suvi's bickering.

"The worst case scenario," Navi replied in Zelda's stead when the princess was looking weary from speaking. "The Spiritual Stones are protected by one of the six most powerful Inherited Goddess Spells: Goddess's Commandment. It takes a great deal of magic to cast, but when used properly, you can store any object you wish within someone's spiritual body, keeping your treasure from physical hands. If our stupid lizard—," Navi zigzagged through the air as Suvi furiously tried to grab and crush her, "—killed the holder of the Spiritual Stone of Water, the stone would instantly relocate itself into a random soul. It can be anyone so long as they're a resident of Hyrule, and we'll never be able to accurately pinpoint its location. Even the new protector of the stone won't realize they're holding it. It's the best way to keep the Spiritual Stones safe."

"Which means we can't retrieve it by force," Fairy Boy surmised, stifling a yawn; the night was growing darker, and everyone's eyes were starting to sag (except for Suvi, who was still trying to snatch Navi out of the air). "In other words, we've somehow got to get on the Zora's good side to receive the last stone."

"Indeed," Zelda said, confirming their worst case scenario. "But how we're to accomplish such a feat is beyond me."

"Wait a second, something's bugging me," Rail interjected. "If the Goddess's Commandment really is the best way to keep the Spiritual Stones safe, are we doing the right thing by collecting them all? Once they're in Link's pouch, anyone can take them, can't they?"

"Do you think I'm that careless?" Fairy Boy asked.

"No, of course not! But you have to admit, it's odd. We all know Ganondorf holds tremendous influence over Hyrule as it is, and he's strong enough to defeat Lillian the Wise, so why hasn't he made a more direct move to claim the Spiritual Stones. We already have two, yet he hasn't sent any of his Gerudos to take them from us. He _has_ to know we have them and we're moving to claim the third, so what's he up to? As far as I can tell, he's barely tried to stop us himself."

Malon had to admit, Rail made a fair point, but Fairy Boy was already subjecting his words to speculation. "Not exactly. He killed the Great Deku Tree to claim the Spiritual Stone of the Forest and revived the ancient King Dodongo to strong arm the Gorons into forfeiting theirs. Since he can't take them by force, he's resorting to more roundabout ways."

"Plus, he still holds the title of Commander of the King's Royal Guards," Zelda added sleepily. "While we know his ultimate goal, he must still maintain appearances. Should he act against Hyrule before then, he will reveal his deceitful plans, which will foil all his schemes. It is why he used the Red-Eagle Gate to isolate the Gorons, who know of his treachery, and cursed the Ltula Family in order to keep them silent. I'm sure Ganondorf would make a more direct move against us if he could, but with his current status, he cannot do so without compromising his intentions."

"I guess that makes sense," Rail surrendered, bowing to Fairy Boy and Zelda's logic. "Still, I never thought it'd be this _easy_." Everyone stared at him like he was mad, forcing him to hastily add, "I'm not saying things have been a cake walk to begin with! There have been loads of times where we almost died, but come on, _Ganondorf_, the Curse of Demise and the King of the Gerudos, is our enemy. I thought he'd make things way harder on us."  
"I see someone is eager to wrestle with another King Dodongo," Suvi snickered.

Rail sighed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "You know what, you're right. Maybe I seriously overestimated Ganondorf and his plans. I'll try not to think too hard about it."

"No, you are right to be concerned," Zelda said. "I never hurts to be on guard for the unexpected. However, for your previous question about the validity of collecting the three Spiritual Stones, I have my doubts, but I still believe it is the correct choice to make. Ganondorf's mad desire for the Triforce will never die, and unless he is stopped, Hyrule will always remain in peril of the Gerudo King. Collecting the three Spiritual Stones, luring him from the safety of Hyrule's flag, and defeating the Gerudo King, is our best bet to end him once and for all."

"But what if we can't?" Rail continued, his brow wrinkled in worry. "What if Ganondorf is too much for us to handle and he pounds us all into the ground and takes the Spiritual Stones from us?"

"I have thought of that possibility. Those who will face Ganondorf will do so, but we will leave the Spiritual Stones in the hands of a noncombatant. If we cannot stop the Gerudo King, we will use extreme measures." The princess swallowed, almost disbelieving the words coming from her mouth as she said, "We will open the Door of Time and use the Triforce to vanquish Ganondorf."

Rail was stunned by the proposition, but Suvi was a bit too pleased with Zelda's idea. Fairy Boy had a harder time swallowing such an underserved victory, but agreed it would be their only way to stop Ganondorf should combat fail. Malon didn't like the plan, because she had a sneaking suspicion she was the noncombatant the princess was referring to (it's not like she could help her friends by throwing rocks at the King of Gerudos). She didn't want any part of the plan in that case, because the dark seductions of the Triforce would be too great for her to bear. She knew how easily susceptible she'd be at the prospect of using the divine artifact for her own purposes, and feared the person she'd because with such power in her grasp. Fairy Boy and Zelda exchanged a glance, passing a silent conversation everyone else was not a part of, but it was thankfully clear one of them would shoulder the burden of the Triforce, letting Malon breathe in ease.

As the night grew older, everyone decided to rest for the remainder of the moon's presence. Zelda fell asleep so quickly Malon almost thought she'd died, while the boys found their own comfy spots on the floor. Knowing how many cramps she'd get in the morning if she slept on a hard surface, Malon snuggled next to the princess and slowly drifted away.

* * *

"Morning!" Lina shouted so loudly Malon jumped to her feet, blinded by the blanket mummifying her face, and would've tripped and fallen to the ground of Zelda hadn't caught her. As she blearily got her bearings, she was overjoyed to see the princess had regained the use of her arms, though her legs were still defiant to the end.

As Malon squeezed out her last remnants of sleep with a yawn, she brushed her hair from her eyes to see everyone else was wide awake. Fairy Boy and Suvi were arguing with Poe, who was trying to get the identical boys to sign a piece of parchment which gave him the right to dissect their bodies when they died. Rail was stroking the soft fur of the kittens stored within Poe's cauldron, passing one of them to Zelda, which she fondly cuddled in her arms. Malon kindly turned down Rail's offer when he tried to hand her a loveable cat; she wasn't as affectionate towards these animals as the princess was, because stray felines were always snacking on their Cuccos back at Lon Lon Ranch. Lina was preparing breakfast for everyone in the fully stocked kitchen with a wonderful exhibition of culinary skills by frying eggs, flipping pancakes (Fairy Boy must've given her the recipe), cooking sausages, and baking potatoes all at the same time. She was a bit overworked as she made a meal large enough for twenty people (who told her about Suvi's appetite?) but seemed to enjoy herself nonetheless.

When she was done cooking, Lina stacked the food onto individual plates before tossing them to their particular owners like Frisbees. Not a morsel was dropped as the saucers flew across the room, but while Link, Suvi, Rail and Poe snatched their dishes with relative ease, Malon was not expecting this specific method of delivery, and instinctively threw her arms over her head. Suvi caught her dish with his tail, tapping her on the head with the plate before dropping it into her hands.

"Thanks Suvi!" Malon called while Lina walked over and handed Zelda her meal. The food was scrumptious, and Malon was fighting for seconds before Suvi got a chance to eat everything. While they dined, Poe and Fairy Boy talked about his Modified Magic, while Malon stayed with the princess in order to talk to Lina about different cooking recipes they could try out later. While they exchanged ideas, Malon noticed Suvi and Rail were elbowing one another. Apparently, Rail was still curious to know exactly how Lina was related to Fairy Boy, and Suvi was telling him to "Man the hell up!" while pushing him forward. She had fun watching Rail nervously walk towards the unsuspecting Lina with his mouth half open before sulking away because of his fear in hurting Lina's feelings.

Eventually, Suvi could bear no more as he shoved Rail aside, strode towards Lina, and demanded, "What's your relationship to the Fiend?"

"Pardon me?" Lina said as the house grew silent; everyone was waiting for her response, while Poe plucked one of Fairy Boy's hairs and dropped it in a test tube.

"You heard me. You said your last name is Skyloft, which means you must be related to the Fiend. Are you the famous '_Spawn of the Fiend_' everyone's talking about?" Suvi snickered wickedly as he shot Fairy Boy a taunting leer.

Thankfully, Lina wasn't offended by the question, but her playful attitude changed into seriousness as she replied. "The Fiend's my uncle. My mom was his younger twin sister, and she passed away a few years after the Fiend was killed and I was born. Satisfied?"

"Immensely."

"You're certainly a direct one. Most people usually fidget like crazy while trying to ask me how I'm related to Hyrule's most ruthless criminal." Rail dropped his shoulders in shame. "You, on the other hand, just come right out with it."

"Dithering and making happy talk is a pointless waste of time," Suvi shrugged. "So what do you think about the Spawn of the Fiend everyone's talking about?"

"Propaganda," Lina said, dismissing Fairy Boy's existence. "We've only been in Koon City for a while now, but it's obvious the King and his council dogs are still trying to subjugate this city. The only reason they don't use their military on Koon is because the mercenary force here is quite powerful. Therefore, they're trying to frighten the leaders of this city with false stories about the child of the Couple of Tragedy. If the Fiend's son really did exist, why wait until now to show himself? It's all lies if you ask me. I'm rather pleased we came to Koon the same time the kingdom started spreading their deception, because we're safe from their petty deceit here." Malon saw Fairy Boy was baking with relief, yet simmered with an odd hint of discomfort.

"Good to know!" Suvi chuckled, yet continued to probe by asking, "So what's it like, being the niece of the Fiend? Must've been a hard life."

"Hard enough for my dad to abandon my mother, breaking her spirit and causing her to die when I was three," Lina shrugged, trying to appear indifferent, yet unable to keep the stray feelings of discomfort and buried grief from Malon's eyes.

"I thought you said your _parents_ died, as in both of them. Why say that when your dad left you and is probably still breathing somewhere?" Rail asked.

"He's as good as dead to me as far as I'm concerned. Sure, life was hard with the scorns and jeers from everyone who had a loved one lost to the Fiend, but I didn't want someone else's crimes to judge me forever. So I got on my feet and walked forward. I met my teacher a few years later, and the rest is boring history."

"I see," Suvi nodded approvingly, though Malon knew he was only interrogating Lina to get a rise out of Fairy Boy. "One more question."

"Seriously, haven't you said enough?" Rail said, searching for a place to put down his cleaned plate.

"I don't mind, I get asked these things a lot," Lina smiled at Rail before putting on her stoic face for Suvi.

"Let's say the Spawn of the Fiend wasn't a lie made up by the idiots at Hyrule Castle. What would you do if you got a chance to meet with the son of the man who ruined your life?"

"What would I do? I'd treat him like family," Lina replied, catching Suvi (and Fairy Boy) off guard with her unexpected response. "I know I've had it bad being the Fiend's niece, but I bet my troubles are a grain of salt compared to what the Fiend's son would have been through. I'd understand what he's endured, and I might be the only one who can help him. I've suffered a lot too, but I don't regret a thing. I hate my dad and it breaks me to remember my mom, but my life has molded me into the person I am right now. If pain has taught me anything, it's that I can be better than the idiots who made me this way. If the Fiend's child was alive, I wouldn't hate him, because he doesn't deserve to shoulder his father's sins. There, better?"

Suvi stared into Lina's eyes for ten long seconds before stomping away, grumbling, "Damn it, I thought she'd be more fun."

Malon, excited and awed by how grown-up Lina acted, tried to tell her the good news, that her cousin was standing a few yards away from her. However, Zelda held a steady hand over Malon's mouth, wordlessly telling her that this was Link's choice to make, and for his sake, they should let it be.

As Malon pouted, the princess said to Lina, "You're very mature for your age. I did not think you were this … grown-up when you spoke to me of boys yesterday."

"I was a lonely little girl who had to learn how to take care of herself for five years," Lina replied, like she was proud of her resilience. "The only way I could do that was by growing up. Crying, whining, and blaming people who were already dead wasn't going to do anything for me, so I moved on. Simple as that."

For sure, Malon knew Link and Lina were related. They spoke of and accomplished the most ludicrous and difficult tasks like they were the most basic problems in the world, and they did it with a smile. The two of them would be a force to be reckoned with if they ever worked together, so it made Malon wonder if Link would leave Koon with another loving family member, or ignorant sibling.

* * *

When breakfast was finished (Suvi swallowed the last of the pancakes), teeth brushed, and faces washed, Lina offered to give them a tour of the city. She said she'd only "been around the block" once or twice, but already knew it as well as her own name. Everyone was eager to see a few sights while Zelda recovered, but the princess asked them to take her along. While Fairy Boy originally objected, saying she needed rest and not a city-expedition, Lina solved their problems by bringing out one of her teacher's earlier inventions (Poe was meticulously examining the strand of hair he'd plucked from Fairy Boy, and paid them no mind as Lina shuffled about his storage of antique belongings). It was a dusty oak chair on wheels, supported two large rear wheels and a smaller set attached to a swivel on the front, allowing the chair to feeling maneuver left and right as it moved. Lina said it was called a wheelchair, and while Zelda was placed in the cushioned seat, Fairy Boy grasped the handles nailed to the back of the ingenious invention and pushed her along, allowing the princess to easily travel without using her own strength.

Still, there was one other problem. While Koon City did reject the wanted posters of Fairy Boy, leaving its inhabitants unaware of the Fiend's spawn, there were plenty of masterful paintings, expertly carved figurines, and twenty-foot tall marble statues of the princess all around Koon City (Malon saw many of them when they were rushing the dying princess to Poe's place in the dead of night). When Link informed Zelda her face was everywhere in the city, they knew they couldn't wheel the Princess of Hyrule out onto the streets in plain view. After Zelda got over her embarrassment, she reminded everyone they'd already prepared a counter measure for this sort of situation. Excitedly, Malon remembered the masks she stashed in Fairy Boy's pouch, eagerly retrieving their disguises and spreading them out on the floor for everyone to see.

"These will work nicely," Fairy Boy agreed, grabbing the Keaton Mask; it was a masquerade in the shape of a yellow fox, with cunning slits for eyes, a black dot for a nose, and long pointy ears. He handed Zelda the Skull Mask, a mask in the shape of a skull with two boney spikes sticking out of its forehead, and though the princess objected to his choice, he convinced her that no one would think a girl riding in a wheelchair while wearing such a tasteless disguise could be the Princess of Hyrule. Joining in with the playful atmosphere, Rail took the Gerudo Mask while Suvica pot on the Spooky Mask (it looked like the wailing expression of a ReDead), asking if it made him look threatening. Malon settled for the Goron Mask, while Lina, who said she didn't need a disguise for this city, took the Bunny Hood and snuggly fit it on her head.

Ready to go, Lina led them to the front door after taking her crossbow from its pedestal and tying it to her back, fastening a quiver of bolts to her waist. "This is the city of mercenaries," she explained when Malon gave her a quizzical stare. "You've got to be ready for danger." As she pushed open the doorway and stepped outside, Malon giggled to Zelda's gasp; she and her friends had been equally surprised when they first saw what the princess experienced now. Poe's house was like Fairy Boy's magic pouch; a small exterior yet massive on the inside. The moment they stepped outside, Zelda glanced back to see they'd emerged from an adult-sized storage box labeled: "RABBID MONKEYS! WILL STEAL YOUR BANANAS! DO NOT DISTURB!" At first glance, the untrained eye could've sworn only two grown men could squeeze inside the angry-monkey container, making it a good hiding spot for Poe's home. It also explained how he was a wandering traveler while still having a place to live, because his residence was easily portable.

While the rest of Koon City was harshly simple in comparison to Poe's bigger-on-the-inside home-box, it still did its best to impress them. It might not have been as large as Hyrule Market or as fancy as Denion City, but it was undeniably livelier. Weapon and armor stores ruled the vast majority of merchandise, and each was crowded with enthusiastic mercenaries searching for a replacement weapon or a blacksmith to re-sharpen their current armaments. Fights were constantly sparking between armed sell-swords; they couldn't walk five steps without passing by a small squabble. There were plenty of street performers as well, causing Malon and her friends to frequently stop to watch these amazing recitals. She saw insane men swallow their swords yet pull the blades back out unharmed, watched female swordswomen demonstrate their graceful skills by knocking down arrows aimed at them from willing archers, and gaped as a blindfolded knife-thrower hurled his daggers at his assistant, who was chained to a rotating board; each blade missed the sweating subordinate by centimeters, and Malon gasped each time she thought the assistant was a goner (which was every time).

Then there were the food stalls and mini-game centers. While most of the food sold was horrid abominations that deserved to be blown up with a Bomb Flower, there was one kind and burly man (whose brawny and scarred stature did not fit his occupation) pushing a trolley brimming with sweets. Now this guy was an artist, as everything he sold, ranging from his caramel-apples to his cotton candy, was a work of genius. Link helped himself to a candy-apple while passing Zelda her sugar-sculptured lollipop shaped into the smiling face of a dragon, which she eagerly bit off. Rail enjoyed a cup of strawberry-flavored powder sugar, and Lina bought a large wad of cotton candy. While Malon took a orange-flavored lollipop larger than her own head (avoiding the rainbow-colored candy for her own reasons), Suvi put the man out of business by handing him a gold rupee (a reward they received from Poe for "reviving a few dying brain cells") and devouring all the sweets in a matter seconds, proudly declaring (to Malon's burning envy) that dragons were incapable of getting cavities.

With their bellies bulging with sickly sweetness, they walked into the large section of Koon City responsible for hosting mini-games of strength, skill, and luck. The participants put their wallets on the line as they pitted muscle against muscle, swords and spears, and pushed their archery skills to the limit. Suvi was all too eager to "put a few humans in their place." With Poe's gold rupee wastefully spent, they relied on the small stash Link kept in his magic pouch, amounting to a measly forty-eight rupees.

"Not a problem!" Suvi snickered beneath his Spooky Mask, walking towards the nearest game corner after Fairy Boy handed him a red rupee. There was a small pack gathered around this station, so Fairy Boy had a little trouble steering Zelda's wheelchair around the clustered bodies; Rail eased things up by getting in front and shoving people out of the way, making room for the rest of them. As they arrived to the front of the crowd to see what the commotion as about, Malon saw they were at an arm wrestling competition called "Muscle Buster." Here, a muscle-monster man, seven feet tall, was flexing his bare, sweaty hair chest (ew) while flashing his mohawk. He was daring anyone willing enough to arm wrestle with him, and if they won, they'd receive the title of "Ultimate Muscle Man" (really now, boys and their silly titles) and receive all the rupees the hairy-hulk earned so far. According to the board behind him, he'd been challenged fifty-five times in a row and earned a total of 825 rupees. The entrance fee was fifteen rupees, and anyone could pit themselves against the muscular-titan as many times as they wished, but from the empty seat across from the bulky man, no one was willing to try, and Malon could see why; muscle-monster's arms were thicker than her own body, his veins surging beneath his skin.

Suvi stepped up, shouting, "Time to learn your place!" while tossing the red rupee onto the arm-wrestling table. At his appearance, the people gathered almost fell over in hilarity while the hulk glared down at Suvi with contempt.

"Ya think ya got tha stones ta challenge me? Go home an drink yer milk, boy!" Muscle man sneered, revealing his mouth dotted with missing teeth.

"Shut up and bring it on!" Suvi laughed, sitting down and bracing his right elbow against the table, holding out his hand with a sneer. Everyone went wild with laughter, and many started making bets on how badly Suvi would need a doctor. On the other hand, Malon, Zelda, Fairy, and Rail each folded their hands and gave Suvi's opponent their sincere condolences. Lina tried to convince the hairy hulk to forfeit now and save himself, but was rejected with ill-mannered jeers.

"Time tha teach ya a thing er two bout respect! Ya gotta know who tha boss is round here!" The ripped giant sat down across from Suvi, grinding his elbow into the worn out table and making Suvi's hand disappear inside his own. The witnesses doubled over in amusement at the stark contrast in size, but Malon was already covering the eyeholes on her mask.

"Ready!" A judge shouted. "On three, gentlemen. One … two … three!"

_SMASH!_

She dared a peek, immediately regretting her decision; the poor man's arm was bent the wrong way as Suvi slammed the back of his opponent's hand against the table so hard the wood shattered. The poor chap screamed as he held his mangled limb, while Suvi shouted, "Who's the boss now?" as he scooped his prize into his arms and walked away, his grin visible beneath his mask as he swaggered through the speechless crowd.

"Easy win," he snickered, snatching Fairy Boy's magic pouch and stuffing all 825 (845 if you included his red rupee) into the bottomless container. "My minions, we are set to raid the restaurants."

"Who's a minion?" Fairy Boy laughed, snatching his pouch from the grinning dragon and steering Zelda's wheelchair away from the still-wordless mob.

Next, they visited a shooting-stall. The targets were green, blue, and red rupees, each moving about on their individual platforms, which shifted and swerved in erratic patterns to make hitting them difficult. While the green rupees were the closest, the red rupees were the farthest from the front counter, where other children, and some adults, desperately tried to aim for the red gems without success.

"New customers!" The booth's owner applauded as one of the children gave up in a fit of rage, slamming his borrowed slingshot on the desk and storming away. "Are you interested in a little game of skill and luck?"

"Why not?" Lina said, but Link held her back.

"Let me," he offered, stepping up. "So, what're the rules?"

"Very simple, my boy!" The vendor grinned mischievously. "Pay me ten rupees, and I'll give you a slingshot with twenty pellets. You get to keep all the rupees you hit, but you'll walk away without any prizes if your aim is poor! Are you ready to play?"

"Sure, but can I use my own slingshot?" Fairy Boy asked, placing two blue rupees on the counter and showing the vendor his slingshot.

The booth's owner twitched in annoyance, but the sign of aggression was so fleeting Malon almost thought she'd imagined it. "Certainly, my boy, but you have to use my custom pellets! Anything else is against the rules!"

"That's fine, I'm out of ammo anyways."

"Excellent! Here are your twenty shots!" The suspicious man gave Fairy Boy a small bag filled with white beads. "Begin!"

Fairy Boy armed his slingshot and pulled back, firing with absolute confidence. Malon had never seen him miss before, so she was surprised when his bullet went askew and flew over the intended red rupee. Fairy was just as astonished as she was, for he picked up one of the pellets and balanced it in his hand.

Lina must've smelled something suspicious, because she pinched one of the beads and rolled it between her fingers, examining it with deep scrutiny. "This thing is faulty!" She cried furiously, shoving the defective projectile back into its bag and gaining the attention of the other participants, who glared at the vendor. "No wonder no one can hit anything! You've sabotaged all your equipment! You're a thief! This isn't fair!" Her words made Suvi growl and incited Rail to reach for his Hylian Shield.

"Now, now, bunny girl," the cheapskate snickered, poking Lina's Bunny Hood. " '_Fair_' isn't good business. You got a problem with my little game? Too bad. Suck it up, because I never said using damaged equipment was against the rules. This little game booth is my turf, so you play by _my _rules."

Malon's own irritation pricked at her chest at the grown man's lowly scheme, and Suvi and Rail would've knocked the cheater's teeth out if Fairy Boy hadn't raised one hand, motioning for them to stop. "He's right."

"He's what?" Suvi snarled, baring his teeth.

"It's his game, so he makes the rules," Fairy Boy replied, spinning the defective bead on the tip of his finger. "If we have a problem with that, we should just leave."

"Ah, I'm glad there's someone sensible amongst you all!" The immoral owner chuckled approvingly.

"How can you tolerate this man's actions? He should be punished for exploiting the goodwill of others!" Zelda objected, struggling to move her immobilized legs.

"Yeah," Lina agreed. "We should have some fun beating manners into him."

Fairy Boy laughed. "I agree with that too, but do you know what's more fun? Beating him at his own game." With one swift movement, he armed his slingshot with the fraudulent ammunition and fired. His aim went wide, yet the faulty bead curved on its own accord and knocked over a red rupee over eighteen feet away. The store owner's mouth dropped, and Fairy Boy's efforts were met by the swindled customers' cheers.

"How … how …?" The vendor gasped, turning pale beside the morning heat.

"Simple," Fairy Boy said, fired one bead after another while sniping the distant red rupees with impossible accuracy. "I've gotten used to using these little fellows, that's all." Within the span of twenty seconds, all the red rupees were knocked over, and the deceitful vendor had no choice but to present Fairy Boy with his prize: 380 rupees. Then he said, "This is fun, I'd like another go!"

After four more rounds, the humiliated scammer had no choice but to close shop as his wallet dwindled. A grouping mass of people, all customers who'd been conned out of their savings by the shameful stall-owner, cheered as the man was forced to walk away. Their gratitude only increased when Fairy Boy gave each of them a fair share of his earnings, returning their wrongfully taken rupees with a little interest as well. In the end, he was left with fifty rupees, but his friends (except Suvi) were beaming at him beneath their masks.

"That was extremely kind of you," the princess said as Fairy Boy pushed her wheelchair along, searching for another attraction to enjoy.

"I did what I thought was right, nothing more," he assured.

Suvi was still bitter over Fairy Boy's generosity and their lack of winnings, so he kept to himself. Lina, alternatively, was staring at Fairy Boy with admiration. "That was great! I never knew you were so skilled with a slingshot! Have you ever tried your hand at archery, maybe a crossbow, before?"

"Nah, I usually use magic to compensate for ranged attacks."

"You should try archery! You'll be shooting apples from people's heads in no time!" Lina said enthusiastically, wrapping her arms around Fairy Boy's.

It was odd to see Fairy Boy's cousin hugging him so affectionately, so Malon squeezed between them and asked, "How about that game? It looks fun!"

Thus marked the start of their winning streak. Suvi was a beast (naturally) when it came to games of strength. Civilians and mercenaries alike dropped their jaws with each impossible feat he accomplished. When he stepped up to the High Striker (a game where he had to use a hammer to strike a lever and shoot a puck upward, sending it alongside a tower of wood to see if he could hit the bell at the top), he obliterated the mallet and the game with one heavy swing, sending the puck so high it pierced a hole in the bell before shooting for the sky; they had to wait several seconds for it to come back down. In the Mountain Mover (where contestants pushed a large boulder across a racetrack to see who could move their rock the farthest in the allotted time), the audience sneered at Suvi's participation as he stood beside the other beefy constants, intensifying their mockery when he chose to move the largest boulder available. They all clammed up when he picked up the hunk of stone, held it above his head, and ran for the finish line laughing. The feat which garnered him the most attention was the Wrestle Mania, where all the applicants gathered in a small arena in a free-for-all battle; you lost if you shouted "I'm a pansy!" and won if you were the last man standing. Forty seconds after the game began, all ninety-eight contestants were piled into a giant mound of unconscious bodies, with Suvi sitting on the top. Malon thought his Spooky Mask made him look rather funny at first, but as he wore it while standing on a pile of unconscious mercenaries, he was very threatening.

Fairy Boy was equally successful, though he was more subtle about it. While he could've easily dominated the games of strength thanks to his Goron's Bracelet, he settled for the shooting games. His accuracy made him an instant enemy of the shooting booths as he ended each game with a perfect score, no matter how difficult or rigged the game. When Lina joined in, it immediately became a competition to see who the better shot was; her crossbow against Fairy Boy's slingshot. Malon always smiled as she watched the siblings enjoy themselves with each other's company.

Rail opted to take on the games of endurance, and he was very good at them too. When it came to holding his breath underwater, he was practically a Zora, refusing to resurface even when all other competitors surrendered to the lack of oxygen. The Tingle Chair was a contest to see who could bend their knees and hold the position the longest, like they were sitting on a chair made of air. Rail was unmovable, setting a new city-wide record with his impressive persistence. After he won a prize from the Human Flag (hanging onto a vertical pole while keeping your body parallel to the ground), he presented the child-sized happy-cow-doll to Malon, who admiringly thanked Rail for the wonderful present (it reminded her of home). When she smiled at him, he hurriedly turned away while rubbing his face. Malon got a slightly uneasy feeling, and hoped Rail hadn't fallen for the wrong girl; she didn't deserve a kind boy like him. As it turned out, Suvi saw Rail's gift in her hands, and it suddenly turned into a race between the two of them to see who could bury her beneath the tallest mountain of prizes. Ultimately, Malon had to start giving them away, because it was impossible for her to lug around a small caravan of wooden toys and stuffed dolls.

While Zelda couldn't participate in any of the activities, the princess was still having a wonderful time. Malon watched her ardently applause to Fairy Boy's eagle-eye sharpshooting, laugh at the ruckus left behind by Suvi, and cheered Rail on as he proved his endurance. It was apparent she wanted to enjoy herself with everyone one else, so Malon tracked down a game even the temporarily-crippled princess could participate in. She found something called Whack-A-Peahat, where little sculptures of the field pests randomly popped out from a box dotted with holes, and Zelda had to use the toy mallet to "whack" the Peahats when they came out. The game stand was just the right height for the princess to turn into Hyrule's most feared Peahat exterminator, unable to repress her open smile of joy as everyone cheered her on. After Zelda achieved a new high score, everyone else had to test their skills. Lina furiously pounded away at the onslaught of wooden figurines, and was a few Peahats short of the princess's record. Rail was absolutely terrible at the game, unable to focus on more than one Peahat at a time. Malon was fairly average, and was at least proud that she beat Rail's score by a small margin. Fairy Boy cheated by using a toned-down version of his Farore's Wind, unleashing a squall of mallet-blows with his magically speed up arm, beating Zelda's high score by at least double the points. Suvi ended it all by tossing aside the rubber mallet and playing the game with his fists. When he was done, all of them were running away from the game-owner's fit of rage as the Whack-A-Peahat station was reduced to a pile of wooden chips.

Malon was given a chance to have a little one-on-one time with Lina when Rail and Suvi found another game to compete in, letting Fairy Boy and Zelda watch their conquest for victory from the sidelines. Lina led Malon to a large archery range meant for all ages. While the adults and veterans sniped targets more than eighty feet away, Lina was tutoring Malon at the kid's section, where the arrow-clustered haystacks were only ten feet away. There were other children there as well, watched and instructed by the archery field's adult supervisor; they used easy-to-use toy bows, pretending they were masterful bowmen.

"Try this," Lina offered, taking one of the small rental crossbows from a rack of used and donated equipment. She showed Malon how to arm the weapon (with a blunt bolt), hold it properly, and fire. In a matter of minutes, she was using her child's crossbow with ease, and drew a happy face in her target with her quiver of quarrels. Lina used her personal arbalest to join in with the fun, but while Malon's was a device smaller than her own chest, Lina's used a monstrous weapon as tall as herself. Her crossbow wasn't only large, but crazy powerful as well, completely penetrating her targets and striking the stone wall they were braced again.

"How do you draw that thing?" Malon asked as she watched Lina rearmed her mini-ballista. She could barely redraw her crossbow's string to lock it into place in order to fire another blot; the grueling labor took her more than ten seconds at a time. In Lina's case, all she had to do was the crank the lever-type trigger on the bottom of her crossbow to instantly redraw its string. Not only that, but there was a intricately added metal cylinder built into stirrup at the front of her handheld ballista; each time Lina cranked her crossbow, the cylinder would rotate one latch at a time and automatically set another bolt onto the flight groove, allowing her to fire immediately. It was as easy as that: Fire, _crank_, fire, _crank_, fire, _crank_! It looked a little ridiculous, having a girl barely an inch taller than Malon, use such a huge and ill-fitting weapon, but Lina's accuracy could not be denied.

"It's really easy for me," Lina said, demonstrating a quick reload with her crossbow's lever and firing off another bolt, nailing her circular haystack against the wall. "My teacher made this for me as a birthday present. Out of all the useless things he's made over the years, this is not one of them." She patted her weapon fondly.

"Does it have to be so big?"

"The bigger it is, the more powerful the shots," Lina shrugged, detaching the cylindrical bolt-holder from her crossbow by unfastening a series of complicated latches in order to refill the empty bolt-stock. When it was filled, she slammed the loaded chamber back into place and shot another projectile to make sure it still worked; it did.

"Isn't it heavy?" Malon asked, pretty sure the contraption, regardless of how ingenious it was, weighed hundreds of pounds.

Lina grinned mischievously, a face Fairy Boy frequently made when plotting something dastardly. "What to try holding it?"

Malon quickly shoot her head. "No thank you, I'm pretty sure I'd drop it."

"Good call," Lina giggled, twirling her weapon in her hands with a graceful display of skill. "In reality, this thing doesn't weigh much at all, and if it wasn't cursed, you'd be able to pick it up no problem."

"C-Cursed?" Malon retreated several steps back, bumping into the boy practicing behind her. The teenage lad leered at her for interrupting his shot, threateningly hefting his one-handed crossbow as if he intended to use it on her; his arrogance left him faster than an arrow from a bow when he saw Lina aiming her ballista at him, saying, "Try it, mine's bigger."

"Don't fret," Lina continued as the poor boy ran for his life. "Just because something is cursed doesn't mean it's a bad thing. Plus, the curse was cast by my teacher, so it's alright."

"Poe _cursed_ your crossbow? Why?"

"Don't get the wrong idea, it's a good curse. Well, for me, anyways. Here, take a look." Lina held up her crossbow for Malon to ogle at. It was a beautiful masterpiece, and while Malon was averse to dangerous objects, she had to admit Lina's arbalest captivated her. The foregrip, limbs, and stock were made from polished black lumber, and the metal arrow track, trigger, and cylinder chamber shone with a silver sheen. Funny jade pictures and illegible symbols were scribbled and scrawled all across the dark wood, and it took Malon a moment to realize they were glowing faintly.

"Is that … magic?" She wondered, poking at the illuminated figures; they were pleasant warmly to touch.

"It is. My teacher cursed my crossbow so no one but me can hold and use it. If anyone else tries, it'll gain an extra thousand pounds, making it impossible to lift."

"That's so cool," Malon whispered, fascinated such a handy spell actually existed. She wondered if Poe could curse her toothbrush back at home, so her dad would stop accidentally using it in the early mornings.

"You won't find magic like this anywhere else," Lina said with a hint of pride. "My teacher is the only one capable of pulling off such a spell. Not even my dead aunt, Lillian the Wise, could use such complex magic."

_She's not exactly dead_, Malon thought sheepishly, while asking, "So there's nothing else in the world with thief-protection like your crossbow? That's so cool."

"Not exactly. I'm betting there are ancient artifacts, rare treasures or weapons of great power, that have a curse similar to my crossbow's. My teacher didn't invent the spell, he rediscovered it. Wouldn't it be interesting to find a sword only one person in the world can wield?"

"Not really?" Malon admitted. "Because if you find the sword and can't use it, you can't really do much with it, can you?"

Lina giggled into her hand. "Good point, but _discovering_ something like that would be exciting, don't you agree?" Malon admit, it did make her heart dance to think about such wonderful hidden treasures. "I think the boys are done trying to show each other up. Ready to go?"

"Oh! Wait, there's one thing I still want to do!" Malon hurried to put her crossbow back on the rental rack before picking one of the children's bows. "Let me try this!" She said, holding up an ordinary trainer bow, a curved stick with its ends connected by a basic line of string. The handle was worn down by countless hands and an infinite number of fired arrows, but Malon thought this bow was just right for her.

Lina observed her choice with her lips pressed in a puzzled flat line. "Are you sure? Bows are notoriously more difficult to use than crossbows. Why would you want to try one?"

"Because using a bow looks prettier?"

Fairy Boy's cousin laughed to that, but agreed to instruct her to the best of her abilities as she fetched a quiver of arrows. As Malon clumsily notched an arrow, dropping it several times before she could get the hang of it, she followed Lina's instructions word by word, keeping her back straight and her body perpendicular to the target. Slowly, she raised her bow, pulled on the string until the arrow's fletching brushed her mask, and stared down the shaft of the arrow to line up her sight. Her hands grew sweaty as Lina meticulously inspected her form, often straightening Malon's shoulders or readjusting her arm. Finally, she shouted, "Fire!" and Malon let her arrow fly.

Way off target, if she might add.

"Aw," Malon mumbled as her arrow haphazardly missed her haystack by several feet, plopping onto the ground and skidding to a halt. Despite her lack of success, her chest fluttered. There was something more invigorating, more satisfying, by loosening an arrow from a bowstring rather than firing a lump of metal from a crossbow.

"See? Hard, right?" Lina said, anticipating Malon's failure. "It's easier to stick to a crossbow, if you ask me."

"But that's what's fun about bows!" Malon happily protested, hugging her shabby archery equipment. "Isn't sharpening your skills with lots of practice, getting better little by little, what makes it so exciting?"

"Ha, ha! I guess so!" Lina smiled, strapping her giant crossbow to her back. "I like you Malon, you're really easy to be friends with."

"Aw, thanks!"

"Mister," Lina said to the man watching over the rental gear. "I want to buy one of these bows for my friend. How much are they?"

"Depends on which one ya want."

"What're you doing?" Malon asked, jogging to Lina's side.

"I've got to give my new friend a gift before she leaves," Lina said with a wink as she tried to select a suitable bow. "You won't be staying in Koon forever, and neither will my teacher and I. Who knows when we'll part ways, but it'll be soon, I know it. Before that happens, I want to give you something."

Malon would've protested, saying she only needed Lina's kindness to remember her forever, but considering how this was Fairy Boy's cousin, she didn't see how she was going to convince Lina otherwise.

"What do you think of this one?" Lina asked, holding out a fanciful bow with a recurve, designed with plentiful carving pictures of slain monsters. "It's a bit over priced—" she shot a look at the used weapon lender, who pretended he didn't hear her by whistling noisily. "—but with our winnings, it's no big deal. What do you think?"

"This one is fine," Malon assured, still hugging the basic bow she'd selected from before.

Lina made a face. "Are you sure? That thing will probably snap the next time you use it."

"It's my first bow, so it's fine."

"Well, it's your present, so it's your decision. How much for it?" Lina asked the weapon's keeper.

"Five rupees, lass."

"It's barely worth one," Lina grumbled, tossing the bargaining fellow a blue rupee all the same.

"Thank yee very much. Yer quiver, bow holder, and arrows'll come with tha purchase. Have a nice day, lassies." The lumbering man dipped his head in a bored but customary gesture of gratitude before returning his watchful eyes on the archery-practicing children at play.

"I could've gotten you something so much nicer," Lina whined as the two of them left the shooting range. "We can still walk back now and get you something better."  
"This is fine," Malon repeated, smiling at her purchase. Her "bow holder" was a scratched up belt, allowing her bow to hang from the back of her waist. She also tied her quiver, with its seven shoddy arrows, to the side of the belt. She wasn't about to start shooting monsters with her nonexistent archery skills, but she could still set up a range back at the ranch for a bit of fun and practice.

"Well, at least it suits you," Lina said as Malon gave her new accessory a little twirl, glad neither her bow nor her quiver fell off, yet accidentally dropped one or two arrows. "Your archery form is definitely magnificent."

"Really?" Malon asked excitedly, picking up her arrows.

"But your aim is terrible."

"Oh."

Lina laughed at Malon's fluctuating expressions. "Don't worry about it. With a couple years of practice, I'm sure you'll be an archer Hyrule will be singing praises about. You can't grow as famous with a crossbow."

"Why not?"

"Because people say it's overpowered, doesn't take any practice, and is cheating. Using a bow takes skill, but a crossbow only requires a trigger finger. You ever heard of the legend explaining why the crossbow was invented?"  
_There's a legend about that?_ Malon thought in wonder. "Nope."

"They say the crossbow was built to mimic the power of a bow so powerful, it could create holes in the sky if fired at the heavens," Lina, Malon's excited storyteller, said with sparkling eyes. "A long time ago, when demons and evil roamed Hyrule like the land was their backyard, there was a warrior who guarded the Lost Woods. Some say he was an enthusiast who loved the forest, while others describe him as an immortal guardian created by the trees themselves. Either way, the forest hero fended off evil with his unbreakable sword, but the little dagger couldn't stop all his enemies. Therefore, he crafted himself a new weapon, fashioning it from the strongest lumber he could find and strengthening it with the soul of the forest. When he was done, he'd created a weapon, a bow, so powerful it punched holes in mountains, split the seas, and parted the clouds with a single arrow! Many called it the Green Guardian's Bow, some named it the Dark Breaker, but the warrior called it the Fairy Bow. Many people witnessed its power and tried to replicate it, but with little success. The crossbow was the closest they ever came to copying its awesome might."

"Wow," Malon said, wondering why she'd never heard such a fascinating story before. The warrior was a guardian of the Lost Woods? She wondered if Fairy Boy knew anything about him. "So are crossbows as strong as the Fairy Bow?"

"No idea," Lina shrugged. "It's not like I've got it stashed in my closet somewhere. Many say it's a mythical weapon hidden deep inside a magical temple within the Lost Woods, but no one dares to venture into those haunted woods. Still, doesn't mean the Fairy Bow actually exists. After all, it's only a fun fable to tell. And even if it did, I've already got myself a lovely partner." She gave her large crossbow a pat. "Say, what're you going to call your bow?"

"Hmm? It needs a name?"

"Of course it does! When you become a well renown archer, people need to know the name of the bow you use to they can stare at it in awe!"

Malon looked to her rudimentary bow hanging on the back of her waist. "I don't think it really needs one."

"How can you say that? Shooting things is only half as fun if you don't give your bow a proper name!"

"Then tell me your crossbow's name first!"

That put a wrinkle on Lina's brow. "It doesn't have one … yet."

"And you're still asking me to immediately name mine," Malon grinned, spotting Fairy Boy and the others several steps away. "If names are so important, why haven't you given your crossbow one yet?"

"I … I'm not really the best when it comes to names," Lina admitted sourly. "My first idea was Bad-Guy-Beater, but when my teacher almost died laughing at the idea, I put it on hold."

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll come up with something lovely!"

"I know I can!" Lina said vigorously, an attempt to raise her spirits. "I made a list of ideas already, but the best one so far is Dandelion Blaster! What do you think?"

"I take it all back, you should let someone else name your crossbow."

"Malon!"

"Sorry, sorry!"

_Gong! Gong! GONG!_

Time halted within the city as three bell-tolling rings bounced through the air. Vendors stopped selling, tourist ceased buying, and children ended their games. The last time Malon remembered a city becoming this quiet, this abruptly, was when Gerudos were invading Oron City; right now, the silence enveloping Koon was giving her a very bad vibe.

Someone screamed, and Malon almost cried in alarm. It wasn't, however, a yell of terror, but a shout of joy. This holler sparked the fuse the rest of the city needed to explode in pulsating cheers, nearly deafening Malon's ears.

"What's going on?" She shouted, trying to make herself heard as everyone around them stopped what they were doing and flocked for the center of the city.

"I've heard about this before!" Lina laughed, shouting back over the collective noise as they moved aside to avoid getting trampled by a stampede of eager tourist and fervent mercenaries. "It's _that_ time of the year!"

"What time?"

"It's Koon City's Grand Battle Tournament!"

* * *

Malon and Lina managed to regroup with Fairy Boy, Zelda, Suvi, and Rail after Navi appeared out of nowhere (keeping her existence a secret from Lina) and told Malon where the others were. Once they were all together, Lina explained what was going on.

Once every year, the leaders of Koon City held a tournament open to everyone who wished to participate. The prizes depended on how well each participate did. Most were new weapons forged by talented blacksmiths, discounts at the city's most reputable stores, or a year's supply of booze. However, the champion was given the option of selecting any one of these three prizes, along with an addition 500 rupees, and a chance to join one of the three major guilds of Koon City: Golden Sky, Silver Moon, or Red Shadow (Fairy Boy grimaced when Lina mentioned Silver Moon, though Malon didn't know why).

"Is being in a guild that great?" Suvi yawned as they made their way to the coliseum near the center of the city. Most of the streets were already barren, the stores closed, because everyone was gathering to watch or participate in the yearly event. "Heck, what does a guild even do?"

"I've talked to a few of the members in Red Shadow, and they're an okay bunch," Lina said, readjusting her Bunny Hood when it became to slip off. "According to them, a guild accepts assignments and requests from clients will to pay. These jobs can be really simple, like gardening a Noble's lawn, to assassination missions."

"Assassination?" Fairy Boy said, pushing along Zelda in her wheelchair. "If that's the case, why hasn't the King of Hyrule or some rich Noble shut them down? Someone can hire a guild to kill a Noble, can't they?"

"They can," Lina agreed. "But you'll be surprised to know how often Nobles use guilds to do their dirty work."

"I've heard about that," Rail added, his mask shifting as he scowled. "When a Noble doesn't want to get directly involved with a bloody assignment, they'll hire a guild to do the dirty work for them. They say a guild never rats out their client."

"That's right. Plus, there are some guild _funded_ by Nobles, acting like their personal little militia. Still, while some guilds are pretty much pets to Hyrule's upper class, there are some decent guilds out there. Take Golden Sky for example: They draw the line at murder, and refuse to accept any commissions which order them to kill. The Red Shadows don't support that restriction, and will do whatever they have to in order to get the job done, but only if it's for the right reasons."

"What about Silver Moon?" Fairy Boy asked.

"Their policy is: '_If it isn't nailed down, take it._' They'll do anything for rupees, whether it's through grunt labor or a village-wide massacre. The Golden Sky and Red Shadow guilds are at odds with the Silver Moon for their ruthless nature, but don't dare to make a move against them."

"Why not?" Malon asked; they were nearing the expansive fight arena, where the boisterous cheering was starting to drown down their voices.

"Because the Silver Moon is the guild wealth families call on the most in order to carry out their filthy schemes," Lina replied as they pushed their way into a wall of bodies, moving deeper into the open-ceiling arena. The circular structure was imposing from afar, and more so up close. The place was a crowded palace, with banners (showing a diverse range of symbols and images to represent different guilds) hanging from the walls, and crystal chandeliers reaching down from the faraway polished ceiling. "If the Golden Sky or Red Shadow tries to take Silver Moon out, the people backing Silver Moon will make a move against the other two guilds, and since all three are powerhouses, the remaining two would be in a weakened state after pitting themselves against the Silver Moon."

"Which guild is the strongest?" Rail asked, shouldering aside a few mercenaries that got in their way as they continued into the coliseum.

"They're pretty equal so far, but I'd have to say Golden Sky is the strongest. They don't have a lot of members, but they focus on quality rather than quantity. Each member can take down the strongest of Hylian knights, and they're pretty fierce when they fight as a group. Silver Moon has the most members, but a lot of them lack talent. I heard they're scouting for remarkable individuals these days."

"That part I know," Fairy Boy chuckled softly.

"As for Red Shadow, they specialize in stealth, ranged combat, and silent kills. Their spies are a class of their own, always stealing vital information from Golden Sky or Silver Moon. It's the main reason why the other two guilds want spies of their own."

"You know a lot about these guilds," Fairy Boy noted.

"Certainly. I've been in this city with my teacher for five days, but I didn't want to spend _all_ my time with just him. When I heard about the three greatest guilds, the Big Three, in Koon, I wanted to know more about them. Golden Sky and Silver Moon don't exactly give tours of their inner workings to strangers, but the Red Shadow guild was much kinder. I was always welcomed to stay at their hideout, and I got to listen in on many of their conversations."

"Wait, isn't that kind of weird?" Malon asked. "The other guilds don't let you see their bases, but the guild of thieves and spies let you in without question? They must be really nice."

Lina laughed. "They are, and since my teacher saved their guild master's life in the past, she was more than happy, so to say, to greet me with open arms. I think she wants me to join the Red Shadows, but since I'll be leaving once my teacher is ready to go, I had to decline."

"Seriously," Rail sighed as walked by several posing sculptures of previous tournament winners; the one which caught Malon's attention was the marble statue of a man holding giant spoon as he would a sword. "Undead, corrupt Nobles, the Legacy of the Cross, and now sell-sword guilds. My granddad—" He chewed on the word, remembering his "grandfather" was actually the first King of Hyrule, "—always used to say how beautiful Hyrule used to be, about how the Nobles were a sign of justice, and our relationship with the Gorons and Zoras were so strong we were all brothers and sisters. Looking at the world today, it's hard to believe."

"Hyrule is still recovering from the damage the Fiend caused," Zelda said, and Malon saw Fairy Boy sigh while Lina tensed. "The kingdom's wounds are still festering, and there are those who would take advantage of those scars to better themselves while ignoring the plight of the land as a whole. My fath—" she stopped herself when a group of mercenaries strut past them, "—King Ceylon does his best to restore Hyrule to its former splendor, but many believe his goal is folly. He was crowned during a time of turmoil, shortly after Cross the Fallen was killed, so there are plenty who believe he does not deserve the throne, but do not say it out loud. Additionally, all the previous members of the Royal Council and Court, many men of honor and righteousness, were killed by the Fiend when the late King and Queen of Hyrule were slain. That is why their vacant seats were hastily filled by men who were ill-prepared to receive their new positions of power. Hyrule is on shaking grounds, and can collapse at any moment. It is a sorry state, and I am sorry for that."

"What're you apologizing for?" Lina said, patting Zelda's head. "It's not like any of this is your fault. I'm sure things will get better when you're Queen."

The princess put on a sad smile. "That is what I hope."

"Hey, where are we going?" Suvi demanded as Lina led them to an abnormally long line of warriors filled with scarred men and bulky women in a spacious lobby room. "Better yet, why are we even here? Let's go play around some more!"

"That would be hard to accomplish when the whole city is gathered here," Lina laughed. "You want to play? Here we are. Everyone who wants to prove their worth comes to Koon City at this very day, because it's the greatest chance they'll ever get to see how strong they are while fighting for a chance to get into one of the Big Three. Anyone interested?"

"I certainly hope you're not planning on entering," Zelda said to her. "I mean no offense, but having a known relative of the Fiend participate in such a large tournament would not be beneficial to your wellbeing. This yearly competition would be the perfect excuse to kill you in public to … purge the world of the Fiend'evil."

"Don't worry about me, I learned that lesson a long time ago," Lina replied, involuntarily rubbing her shoulder and shifting her blouse. Though it was only for a moment, Malon saw a mess of scars deforming her skin, and felt a welt of pity for Lina as she imaged what sort of terrible life she must've had. "So, who's participating?"

"I'm not," Suvi yawned, surprising them all with his reluctance. "What? Putting humans in their place as a short time killer in a few games keeps me entertained, but fighting in a tournament filled with hundreds of weaklings trying to act stronger than they actually are for hours at a time? I'm not committing suicide through boredom."

"Are the Big Three guilds going to watch the competition?" Fairy Boy asked. When Lina confirmed that they were, he readjusted his Keaton Mask and said, "Then I'm out. I met a member of the Silver Moon back at the Kakariko Village, and I'm pretty sure he'll remember me, with or without a mask. I'd rather not have the Silver Moon chasing us. Running for our lives from cities is becoming a bad habit of ours."

"A good point," Lina agreed. "The Golden Sky, Silver Moon, and Red Shadow guilds rule this city in place of Nobles, so their word is law. While they are moderately fair leaders, standing against a member of a Big Three guild is equal to digging your own grave. What about you, Malon, Rail?"

"Me? Why would I compete?" Malon giggled at the thought.

"I'll do it," Rail said sternly. "I want to see how far I can go."

"Alright, good luck," Lina encouraged, slapping Rail on the butt and flushing his ears with color. "Stay in the line, and you'll eventually get to the front desk, I think. Give them your name and tell them what weapon you plan on using, and you're in. Wait, are you going to fight with that mask on?"

"Yeah, why not?" Rail asked, lifting the rim of his Gerudo Mask to peer at them directly with his eyes; his cheeks were still a little red.

"It's a Gerudo Mask."

"So?"

Lina smiled at him. "Brave _and_ resolute. Want to go out with me?" The Gerudo Mask quickly fell back into place to hide Rail's face as he ran away to find the end of the still-growing line. "So adorable. C'mon, let's find some seats. If they're all taken, we won't be able to watch the fights."

Getting to their seats was actually pretty easy. Even with the hallways packed with bodies and eager spectators, all they had to do was follow Suvi as he pushed and threw everyone out of their way. Many people recognized him as the "Beast Boy" whose strength defied common sense and voluntarily moved aside. Thanks to him, they managed to get some front seats. The wide, oval-shaped, and sandy fight arena was surrounded by high walls so no one could flee in the middle of battle. The tiered seating circled the central area, several yards above ground level.

As the amphitheatre continued to flood with people, Fairy Boy helped Zelda into her seat and sat beside her. Malon was on the other side of the princess with Suvi on her right, leaving Lina to take a spot beside Fairy Boy. In a matter of minutes, the thousands of seats in the stadium were filled to the limit, and armed men moved in to kick and keep out those too slow to secure themselves a spot.

"So how does this work?" Suvi mumbled, kicking back with his hands behind his head. "Is it a free for all where they all kill each other at once, or is there a tournament tree to make things even longer?"

"It's one on one," Lina answered as the hundreds of contestants entered the sandy fight stage below. "Of course, this competition would go on for months if they only held one battle at a time, so right now, they're thinning the herd. Look."

Below them, Malon watched the fighters break off into pairs, moving to an isolated spot on the field with a referee, easily identified by their flamboyant orange cloaks along with the large sign strapped to their backs, waving in the air saying "REFEREE." As hundreds of individual battles too place simultaneously, Malon noticed barely anyone was actually paying attention to them; the audience was chatting animatedly to one another, placing bets, or ordering food from busty waitresses with short skirts.

When she asked Lina what was going on, she said, "They're just waiting for the main attraction to start. Out of everyone who entered, sixteen will be chosen to use the whole field as they see fit as they go up against their own individual opponents. Since those sixteen are obviously going to be the best out of all the fighters down there, everyone is waiting for the main battles to start."

_I wonder what chance Rail has of becoming one of the sixteen_? Malon searched the spacious field for their friend, but had trouble spotting his usually noticeable scarlet hair. "Does anyone see Rail?"

"There," Fairy Boy and Lina said in unison as they pointed out their friend's location.

The two of them stared at each other in surprise, and Lina said, "You've got good eyes."

"Likewise," Fairy Boy replied.

Malon strained her own, and managed to make out Rail and his opponent. They were on the other end of the stadium from where she was sitting, so it was difficult to make out their battle. She breathed easy when his opponent fell over, and Rail raised his Hylian Shield in victory. Their referee declared him the winner, and asked him to wait for his next opponent.

The process continued for more than an hour, by which time, Suvi was snoring, Zelda was tipping her head as she stared to doze off, and Fairy Boy was struggling to avoid Lina's prying eyes and searching questions. Malon was still on the edge of her seat, because she'd been tracking Rail's progress; every time he faced a new opponent, she became stressed, because it was impossible to foresee the winner (when Lina said killing was allowed, Malon was all the more freaked out), and sagged into her chair when Rail was the victor, each and every time. Finally, he was declared one of the sixteen final participants.

"Is it over yet?" Suvi moaned when he abruptly jerked awake.

"No, they're letting the fighters rest another hour so they can battle each other in top condition," Lina replied, and Suvi groaned loudly.

As the audience was subjected to another long wait, Malon noticed there were people stepping into the barren, yet lavish, podium posted higher than the rest of the coliseum seats, giving the occupants the best view possible.

Malon reached across Fairy Boy and tugged on Lina's sleeve, pointing to the new arrivals. "Who are they?"

"They?" Lina checked to see who she was referring to and lit up a grin. "Finally! It's going to start!"

"Warriors of Koon!" The incessant ramble in the coliseum was silenced almost immediately as the man spoke. He stood near the edge of the VIP longue, spreading his arms wide as he addressed everyone, his voice booming with intense volume. "I welcome you all to our yearly Grand Tournament held here, in Koon City! I am Isaac, guild master of the Golden Sky!"

The crowd erupted into cheers as they beheld one of the leaders of the Big Three. Even from a distance, Malon could tell he had an imposing stature. His russet hair was divided in the middle, curtaining the sides of his head. His cobalt coat was knee-long and unbuttoned, majestically breezing with the wind, along with the silver scarf around his neck. His lightly tanned face was wide and ridged, the look of a warrior, but was kind at the same time.

"I am Natasha, master of the Red Shadow guild!" The female warrior on Isaac's left announced. Despite her slender appearance, there was no doubt this lady was a cold and efficient killer. Though her round face was very pretty, and her straight black hair bountiful, its fringes almost covering one of her purple eyes, she never displayed a hint of emotion, emoting like a talking statue. The onyx, sleeveless, dress she wore fit her form tightly, reaching all the way down to her ankles, yet had a slit up one end so she could move her legs freely. Her skin was frightfully pale, no doubt from all the time she spent sneaking around in the darkness. The enthusiastic cheers she received were just as great as Isaac's. "You have come to see which of these sixteen fighters, the best unnamed warriors in Koon, is the greatest, and deserves our respect!"

The last man in the podium with the other two guild leaders was averagely built, his peachy skin obviously cared for and washed daily. He had no hair, and was clothed in a pallid silk robe that hid his feet from sight and cloaked his hands with wide sleeves. Its surface was embellished with golden dragons (something Suvi found strangely funny), and when he swung his arms to embrace the crowd, his clothes swished noisily; when he spun in a circle to flamboyantly show off his outfit, Malon saw a silver crescent moon sewn on the back, with a rupee in the center. Though he smiled widely, it was a crude and crafty smirk; this man was a monster who would do everything in his power to accomplish his goals, even if half of Hyrule had to burn. When he stepped up, the cheers were unenthusiastic and strained.

"_Scoff_, is that how you greet Zladimir, the beloved leader of the Silver Moon?" The man sobbed in a blatantly false tone, rapidly blinking his black pupils as if he were crying. "Why, I feel so depressed … I might want to see a few heads roll to cheer me up!" Responding to the indirect threat, the audience frantically forced themselves to applause with all their might. Zladimir bowed repeatedly, like he'd won the tournament already and it was alright for everyone to go home now, but Isaac leered at the arrogant guild leader's back, while a crack of irritation broke Natasha's expression of stone. "Now, as my two dear friends we saying, welcome to the Grand Tournament of Koon City! I should tell you all about how hard the Silver Moon guild has worked to keep the peace in this dreadfully harsh capital, so let me—!"

"OH SHUT UP! HURRY UP AND GET ON WITH THE STUPID FIGHTS!" Suvi roared, cutting down Zladimir's prepared speech before it even began. A thousand eyes riveted onto the critically bored dragon, some with respect, while others gave him the Are-You-Insane glare.

Zladimir snarled, but faked a cough to hide away his scowl and resumed his lie-tempered smile. "It seems we have a restless guest in the crowd! Perhaps you are new to Koon City, my naïve fool, but within these walls, I am the—!"

"YOU'RE PISSING ME OFF! GET ON WITH THE FIGHTING!"

This time, it was impossible to miss the small pockets of amusement that popped up. Golden Sky's leader Isaac laughed without restraint, while stone-face Natasha gave Suvi a wink.

"Very well!" Zladimir barked. "You are lucky I am in a good mood today, twerp! I received most pleasant news, and I shall not let you ruin my day! On with the tournament!"

The crowd cheered (for real, this time) as the leaders of the Big Three named the contestants while they stepped into the arena. There was Bison (a colossal guy-giant with big muscles and a two-handed hammer), Alice (a female archer from Luxvil), Bryce (an ex-Hylian Spearman), Leofrick (a knife-thrower), Rulf (swordsman who trained in the Gerudo Desert), Henry (mace wielder with a wooden peg for a left leg), Hadrian (used a really big sword Suvi called a "flamberge"), Fendrel (a short little guy swinging around a pair of clubs longer than himself), Ulric (an experienced gladiator with a trident and steel net), Rowan (a shield and hammer), Thea (another lady with a pointy sword, a rapier), Arthur (sword and shield), Drake (he was carelessly swinging a still-bloody scythe), and Lief (a odd fellow with no weapons, only a really big cloak which hid his entire body from view).

Then there were the two who caused the most controversy. When Zladimir called in Venjack, a man with a mean face wielding a sickle on a chain, he was assaulted by a storm of boos. Before Malon had time to figure out why, Zladimir announced: "What's wrong, lowly grunts of Koon? The rules do not say a guild member from one of the Big Three, specifically the Silver Moon, cannot enter the tournament. Well, at least you know where the prize rupees will be going!"

"Zladimir!" Isaac roared, grabbing the scheming guild leader by the front of his robe; his inexplicably thunderous voice could be heard by all. "What is the meaning of this? We all agreed none of our guild members will participate in this competition! This is a chance for us to see the talent of others, not for your men of dishonor to fill their wallets!"

"When did I ever agree?" Zladimir snickered, freeing himself from Isaac's hold and straightening his silk garment. "The two of you said '_Yes_,' but I remained perfectly silent! Blame yourselves for misinterpreting me."

Malon was afraid the Big Three were going to having a falling out, but Natasha placed a restraining hand on Isaac's shoulder, "Enough. We are before the people, and all your actions set a bad example. We can see this as an opportunity."

"What opportunity? How can any of these amateurs defeat that venomous snake!" Isaac shouted, pointing a harsh finger down at Venjack, who bowed like he was being praised. The other competitors shuffled their feet in annoyance for being labeled as "amateurs."

"Should any of them defeat him, they prove their outstanding skills in combat, regardless if they make it to the final round or not," Natasha replied. "Stay your blade, Isaac. We shall see where destiny guides us."

"Bah!" Golden Sky's leader scowled, yet sat back down in his throne-like chair regardless.

"Now, introducing our last contestant," Natasha resumed with the introductions like nothing had happened. "Rail Grand!"

The second hot topic of the day walked in, and while the audience jeered at Venjack with insults, they mocked Rail with arrogance.

"It's a little lost Gerudo! Need directions to get back home?"

"Try not to die too fast!"  
"How many people did you bribe to get here?"

"Get lost runt, you don't belong here!"

"Guess it's time to play Kill-The-Gerudo! Ha!"

Rail ignored all the petty remarks and callous comments, keeping his head high as he walked down the line of contestants to stand in his place. Contender Lief stuck out his foot to trip Rail, but Rail kicked the extended limb so hard Lief fell on his face, grabbing his shin. The insensitive taunting continued, but Malon noticed there was a small group of defeated warriors, leering at Rail from the arena's entrance, fighters who didn't—no, _couldn't_—join in with the degrading shouts. These were the men Rail defeated, and they knew what he was capable of. Glad to see there were some who were humble enough to keep to themselves, Malon got to her feet and shouted, as loud as she could, "Go get 'em, Rail!"

A few people in the audience turned in surprise, and while her voice was drowned out by the collective ill-remarks, Rail turned his head to her direction, and she saw his cheeks rise in a smile beneath his Gerudo Mask.

At last, it was time to draw lots, to see who was facing who. A referee stepped forward (with the ridiculous "REFEREE" sign still hovering over his head) and presented a closed casket to each of the contestants. Each of the fighters drew a number, and their opponents were determined. A stone dropped in Malon's stomach when Rail's match was first, and his opponent was muscle-hulk Bison.

As the other fourteen left the arena to give Rail and Bison as much space as they needed, the referee shouted, "We shall now hear from our three leaders to see who they believe has the greatest chance in emerging as this year's champion!"

Zladimir cackled. "Is it not obvious? I choose my second-in-command, Venjack!" The chain-and-sickle man raised his weapon in the air to accept his leader's encouraging words.

Isaac, still disgruntled, said, "I shall place my bets on Ulric, veteran gladiator from the Silent Chasm Coliseum!" The gladiator bowed deep.

When it was Natasha's turn, she took a moment to assess the competitors, and then said, "I choose Rail Grand." Her choice stunned the coliseum silent, and even Rail was surprised. When the referee asked why she made such an odd choice, she replied, "I can see his inner strength, his resolve, the fire that burns bright within his heart. It will carry him far." A confused ripple of murmurs spread amongst the audience.

The referee got back everyone's attention to start reciting the rules, saying how anything was allowed as long as victory was attained. As he spoke, Malon asked her friends, "Who do you guy think will win?"

"Alice the archer," Lina said.

"Rail," Fairy Boy voted confidently.

"Rail," Zelda nodded.

"Rail, who else?" Suvi scoffed.

Their confidence in their friend comforted Malon greatly (while baffling Lina), but she had to ask why they thought so.

"Because he's traveling with us and he's still alive."

"He's my cousin, and I believe in his abilities." ("Rail is related to the Princess of Hyrule?" Lina gasped. "Score.")

"He fought the King Dodongo with us and didn't back down. Compared to that lizard, the rest of these weaklings are cake." ("King Dodon-what? What are you guys talking about?" Lina demanded)

The fight started.

Then ended.

It happened so abruptly the stadium was deathly quiet for almost ten seconds after Bison hit the ground, unconscious. The giant had swung at Rail with his hammer, excepting their friend to go flying with a tap. Instead, Rail knelt down and blocked the attack with his Hylian Shield, and before the muscle-hulk could react, he charged forward and slammed his shield against Bison's shin, causing the bulky mountain to kneel over in pain. Once his face was in range, the rim of the Hylian Shield was smashing into the titan's chin, sending Bison onto his back, unconscious.

The only ones who cheered were Malon and her friends, while the rest of the stadium was unable to speak (Lina included). Someone shouted that the fight was fixed, and this opinion was rapidly supported by everyone else, who couldn't accept the reality of the situation. Rail walked to the waiting bench where the rest of the fighters were while the booing chased his back. As Bison was dragged out by a squad of identically dressed referees, Isaac ceased the commotion with a booming, "ENOUGH!" so the tournament could continue.

Next up was Alice the archer against Drake, the scythe psycho; Alice dropped Drake with several arrows to his arms and legs, ending the battle with an unconditional victory (Lina cheered harder than the others). After them it was Rulf the swordsman and Lief (the one who tried to trip Rail). As it turned out, Lief was a magician, startling his opponent with a small display of magic before burning him with a Din's Fire. The crowd roared in approval at the rare display.

"Wait, what?" Suvi shouted. "He can use magic? How? I thought all the magicians put on collars and were licking Hyrule Kingdom's boots! What's this bum doing here?"

"Not all users of magic serve the kingdom," Zelda said, struggling to make herself heard over the earsplitting applause as Lief walked away, waving his arms brazenly. "There are many magicians who believe serving Hyrule Kingdom would restrict their freedom to use their powers freely, so they keep their existence and abilities hidden. You can understand why the kingdom would not want someone with such abilities to wander the world freely, which is why they try to enlist or capture all the magic users they can. The statement that says all magicians work for Hyrule is a fabrication devised by the Royal Council."

"Oh really?" Fairy Boy snickered as contestants Rowan and Ulric stepped to the center of the arena. "And Suvica so adamantly told me all Hylian magicians served the kingdom back at Hyrule Castle. Does that mean what I think it means?"

Suvi sweated fiercely, ignoring the battle. "Shut up! That doesn't count towards our deal! Nonsense like that's supposed to be common knowledge! I wasn't wrong, I was lied to!"

Fairy Boy laughed; below, Ulric had snared Rowan in his net and stabbed him through the chest, resulting in the tournament's first death. "You really love your scales, don't you? Come on, why don't you give me this point? You've still got one chance left."

"Never! Unless something _I _said which _I _believe is true turns out to be wrong, it doesn't count!"

"What're you two talking about?" Lina demand, increasingly agitated by how little she knew about what they were referring to.

"Nothing!" Suvi growled, plopping back into his seat, waiting for the next match to hurry up and start; this battle was between Henry the mace wielder and Thea, the female swordswoman with the rapier. Everyone went "Oh!" and "Ah!" as Thea nimbly dodged all of Henry's heavy attacks, ending the skirmish by stabbing her foe's weapon hand, dropping his weapon, and resting the point of her rapier on his neck. Henry surrender, and Malon and Lina cheered to girl power. Next up was the former Hylian Spearman Bryce and throwing dagger enthusiast Leofrick, the win went to the ex-soldier, who had many years of training under his belt. After them, Hadrian the flamberge wielder faced off and defeated midget Fendrel and his dual clubs.

Now it came down to Venjack from the Silver Moon and Arthur, who raised his sword and shield. Malon couldn't watch as Venjack's chain-sickle moved like it had a life of its own, slashing and hacking open red ribbons all across Arthur's body. To make matters worse, Venjack's purposely kept his already-defeated challenger alive as long as possible, chipping the life from Arthur's body one cut at a time and taking extreme pleasure from it all the while. When the Silver Moon killer was done, Arthur's body was surrounded by a lake of his own blood, and nobody cheered. The first round was over, and there was a fifteen minute intermission to give the competitors time to recuperate.

The second round started with Rail and Alice, while everyone was jeering at Rail for being a cheater and a shameless briber. Malon shouted as loud as her lungs could bear in order to support her friend, but was muted by the buzz of negativity.

Alice took the opening move, firing four arrows, each targeting a different one of Rail's limbs; he ducked behind his Hylian Shield as the arrowheads bounced off the mysteriously hard metal. When Alice knew she couldn't win with range, she patiently waited for Rail to drop his guard while keeping her bow notched and the string pulled back. Rail cautiously approached her step by step, and she refused to budge as he got closer. Finally, the two rush at each other; Rail tried to ram his shield into Alice, but she placed a foot against his protector, using it as a foothold to leap over him while keeping the point of her arrow trained on his back. Rail let go of his shield the moment Alice's foot touched it and was lunging at her while she soared above him, but she'd already fired an arrow, which buried itself into his shoulder.

Rail didn't flinch, knocking into Alice in midair, causing the two of them to tumble across the stand. Somehow, he managed to get on top, keeping one hand on her throat as he ripped out the arrow in his shoulder and let it hover over Alice's eye. The archer conceded her defeat, and Rail won his second match. Again, the crowd was frozen, only thawing to accuse their friend of cheating in some unforeseen way.

Someone shouted, "That's why women shouldn't leave the kitchen!"

"Oh really?" Lina snarled, on her feet and drawing her crossbow. "I think he's right, because I'm about to show him what happens when we do!"

It took all of Fairy Boy's persuasive power to convince his cousin otherwise, but she was still seething when she sat down. The following match pitted Lief the magician against Ulric the gladiator. While Ulric put up a fight, he eventually crumbled to Lief's constant use of Din's Fire, badly burning the warrior. The third match of the second round was won by Thea and her rapier when she outmaneuvered Bryce and his spear, lodging her weapon in his heart and giving the tournament its third casualty. The fourth was Hadrian the flamberge user, who fell to the villainous Venjack's sickle.

"Do you think Rail's okay?" Malon asked during the second intermission.

"It's a love bite, he can lick it clean," Suvi mumbled, on the verge of sleeping.

"Alice had no wish to mortally harm Rail, so she did not shoot her arrow with full force, thus the damage to Rail was minimal," Zelda added.

Lina was rubbing her head like she had a migraine. "I still can't believe he won two matches! If it was you, Suvica, I'd get that, since you're a dragon, but how's Rail doing so well?"

"Compared to the monsters we've been up against, fight someone who's actually human is a sight for sore eyes to Rail," Fairy Boy said, leaving Lina begging for more answers.

When the third round commenced, Rail charged at Lief before the magician could cast any spells, disrupting his concentration and leaving him open for Rail's attacks. He managed to hit Lief three times (a kick to the shin, punch to the stomach, and shield-smack to the chest) before the magician could cast a spell, which threw a gust of wind into Rail, sending him flying back and halfway across the arena. With the proper distance between them, Lief continued with his victory tactic: spamming Din's Fire. While the audience gaped and cheered at the magical display, Malon was hardly impressed, and Rail must've felt the same, because he sprinted at Lief without a moment of hesitation. Compared to the outstanding things Fairy Boy and Zelda did on an almost-daily-basis, Lief was a novice. Already, the magician's face was pale and covered in sweat as his meek flames harmlessly splashed against Rail's Hylian Shield. By the time he reached Lief, the exhausted magician was on his knees, coughing out his defeat. Several people shouted "Boo!" but they were feeble; after three consecutive victories, no one could avoid the truth: Rail was strong.

The next battle ended the moment the referee shouted, "Begin!" Thea put away her rapier, declared her resignation, and walked away. No one objected to her decision (or made any kitchen jokes) after what happened to Venjack's last two victims.

It was the final round. Not one person made a peep as Rail and Venjack faced each other; Rail was unflinching as always, while his enemy twiddled with his sickle and chain, as if trying to settle on the best way to kill Rail. Malon vividly remembered how the sick killer's first two opponents ended up, and the thought of seeing Rail get murdered made her stomach so upset she needed to use the restroom.

Venjack attacked before the referee had a chance to say, "Begin!" hoping to catch Rail off guard; he lashed out with the metal weight on the end of his sickle's chain. Rail protected himself with the Hylian Shield, defending against all of his cowardly opponent's attacks.

Malon's fears worsened when Venjack tossed his curved sickle, hooked it around the rim of Rail's shield, and yanked it away from him. With Rail defenseless, Venjack freely whipped his chain, which Rail was barely able to dodge. He tried to make a diving-grab for his discarded shield, but the Silver Moon's killer fished the shield with his sickle and chain, pulling it towards him and away from Rail. Unable to get up in time, Rail's left arm was smashed by the weight on Venjack's chain, and his right shoulder was slashed open by a whip from the killer's sickle.

With blood flowing freely, Rail's arms were numbed by his wounds. Malon wondered if she should intervene, but her nonexistent bow skills wouldn't do her much good. What about the others? Zelda was still recovering from her ordeal, so her magic was forbidden. Lina could save Rail with her crossbow, yet how would the crowd react when the niece of the Fiend interrupted a one-on-one battle? Zelda and Lina were both fidgeting nervously as Rail struggled to avoid Venjack's attacks. Only Fairy Boy and Suvi were utterly relaxed, without a smug of fear on their faces.

The crowd gasped, and ice ran down Malon's back when Rail suffered another injury to one of his legs, dropping him face-flat against the sand. Gloating his pre-determined victory with a flaunting display of skill, Venjack casually strut towards his latest victim. The arena was quiet as they excepted another head to roll.

Only one person shouted: Suvi. "C'mon Rail! Hurry up and finish him off, I'm bored already!"

Almost everyone in the coliseum turned at Suvi like he'd lost his marbles. Though Venjack gave their dragon a curios glance, he focused back on his prey and lifted his sickle to begin his torture session.

That's when Rail struck. He shook the Gerudo Mask from his face and pushed himself up to one knee, lurching forward and sinking his teeth into Venjack's bare ankle (the problem that came with sandals). Venjack noisily screamed as he became the bearer of pain, and Rail wasn't done. With his teeth firmly around the crybaby's foot, Rail stood up, toppling Venjack onto his back, his sickle and chain loosely clutched in his hands. Not giving his enemy a chance to recover, Rail released the bleeding ankle and his teeth descended on the fallen man's throat. Malon turned away and closed her eyes as the audience roared. When she was somewhat certain it was safe to look, she took a peek to see Venjack pressing his hands against the side of his neck (a nonfatal injury, but painful all the same), his blood seeping between his fingers as he begged for mercy. Rail spat something from his mouth (Malon didn't dare identity what it was) and demanded his opponent's surrender.

The stadium was consumed by a sky-filling applause, cheering harder than ever before, their misconceptions about Rail's previous victories blown away. After all, why would a rupee mongering killer willingly forfeit a bountiful prize? There was no cheating, bribery, or foul play, only a fair-and-square victory.

The leaders of the Big Three themselves came down to the sandy arena to congratulate Rail, who was wiping the blood from his mouth. While Zladimir immediately started kicking his fallen subordinate, Isaac and Natasha praised Rail's efforts (Natasha's face was still a creepy slab of stone, unmoving and emotionless).

"Well done!" Isaac boomed as the people filling the coliseum settled down. "Kid, how old are you?"

"Fifteen," Rail replied, his voice suddenly magnified when he was in proximity of Isaac (it occurred to Malon that the leader of the Golden Sky guild must've had a magical device which amplified his voice; no wonder he was so loud).

"Amazing! Such tenacity at such a young age! You are, without a doubt, the rightful victor of this year's tournament!" Isaac's declaration was met with another round of ovation. By his command, a referee brought in a large sack of rupees (500, if Malon remembered correctly), as well as the option to choose a new weapon, a scroll which let him shop anywhere in Koon City at a discount, or a year's supply of ale. Rail accepted none of these gifts, saying the championship alone was enough for him. He hastily changed his mind when Malon shouted: "Get the discount!"

"I'll take the discount," Rail corrected, inciting a squall of playful laughter.

"You have a very handsome face," Natasha said, stroking Rail's chin to lift his head so she could get a better look at him (it was creepy to hear her say that while looking like a blank doll). "Why did you wear a mask?"

"For fun?" Rail wondered aloud; another round of merry cheering followed.

"I must ask you," Isaac stepped in, brushing away Natasha's ashen hands and handing Rail the discount scroll (which Malon would be prying from his fingers in a few minutes). "What pushed you to continue? What made you seek victory so badly you used your teeth to finish off your foe? Do not worry about the snake you step on, he deserved it." Zladimir shot Isaac an ugly glare.

"I wanted to win."

"One does not risk life and limb for a single victory," Natasha said. "You have underlying goals driving you. Feel free to speak them, for you are today's champion, and this city is here to praise you."

"It's … it's nothing complicated," Rail stammered, his face a little rosy. Did he have to be embarrassed _every_ time a girl complimented him, even by someone probably ten years his senior? "I'm traveling with a group, a really extraordinary group. They do things I wouldn't have dreamt of accomplishing, and they fight with strength and valor I've never had. If I couldn't win against someone like that—" Rail jerked his head at Venjack, who was being carried out on a stretcher, "—then I didn't have any right to travel with them."

"Well said!" Isaac approved, clapping his wide together. "Kid—no—Rail! Though it is customary for us to _give_ you a chance to join one of our guilds, the Golden Sky, Red Shadow, or Silver Moon, this time, I _insist_ that you do! Become a member of the Golden Sky! I would be honored to have you join us!"

"Ludicrous," Natasha said, wrapping her arms around Rail and pulling him close to her, so the back of his head was cushioned by her breasts. Really now, watching him go red over something like that. Boys. "You will join the Red Shadow guild. Tenacity is a major aspect required in spies, for if they are kidnapped, you must have the willpower to keep vital information from enemy hands despite all forms of torture." Malon giggled as Rail's blushing face turned as pale as Natasha's.

"Bah! You're always like this, Natasha! Steal all the capable ones for yourself!" Isaac barked, pulling Rail away from her. "Ever since we were children, you always had to take what was mine!"  
"Only because you could not keep a proper eye on your belongings," Natasha replied in her same monotone voice, grabbing Rail's right hand and tugging on him.

Issac grabbed Rail's other arm and pulled as well. "Then this is one battle I shall not lose!"

As their friend became the unwilling rope in a tug of war battle between two of Koon City's most powerful guild leaders, the stadium hooted at the childish display. Many stood up to leave, while the few who placed their bets on Rail went home with overflowing wallets. Malon and her friends agreed to wait outside the coliseum for Rail, who'd doubtlessly be here for a long time. After Fairy Boy moved Zelda into her wheelchair, a sudden river of people walked their way and swallowed them all. Malon held Lina's hand and tried to reach for Fairy Boy's so they wouldn't get separated, but mistakenly caught onto one of the handles on Zelda's wheelchair, dragging the princess along as they were separated from Fairy Boy and Suvi.

* * *

"Hold, fair haired maiden!"

Malon, Lina, and Zelda were waiting on the side of the street outside the emptying coliseum, scanning the tides of leaving people for Fairy Boy or Suvi, when the voice interrupted her concentration. At first, she didn't realize she was the "fair haired maiden," so she tried looking for the maiden with hair so fair. After the persistent chanting refused to cease, she realized she was the one the voice was speaking to and tried to locate the source.

An involuntary, "You!" escape her mouth when she saw the boy with flaxen hair, chubby cheeks, a miss front tooth, and the unforgettable mole staring at her from between his nose and lips. Lavin the Scary Stalker was on the other side of the street, and was wading his way through the torrent of people exiting the stadium.

The moment he reached them, bending over to catch his breath, Zelda saw his face and cried, "You!"

"Who are you two—?" Lina asked after seeing their open mouths, but when she also saw who they were gaping at, she yelled, "—You!"

This was apparently the common reaction when faced with Lavin the Bad Liar.

"I've been search for you everywhere!" Lavin said to Malon, ignoring Zelda and Lina (whose Bunny Hood was twitching in disbelief).

"M-Me? Why me? I thought you were stalk—I mean—tracking Princess Zelda to save her from her kidnappers," Malon stuttered, bewildered as to how Lavin followed them from the Kakariko to Koon. "A-And I think you have the wrong person!" _Doh, I should've said that to begin with!_ Malon chided herself, smacking her Goron Mask.

"I cannot be mistaken! Your flaming curtain of hair is unmistakable!"

"I remember you!" Lina interjected, angrily stepping between Malon and Lavin.

"Who do you think you are, peasant?" Lavin demanded, but when he saw who he was talking to, he jumped back with a yelp. "O-O-O-O-O-O-O-Oh! It's y-y-you!"

"You know this boy?" Malon asked her enraged friend.

"I know him _very_ well," Lina grinned widely, baring all her teeth. "We met a few months back in the middle of Hyrule Field when my teacher was trying to discover whether or not a Peahat's blade can cure hemorrhoids if shoved right in."

"Pardon?"

"Regardless, that experiment proved … unsuccessful. I personally found out by testing the theory on a willing volunteer. Anyways, when I met _this _boy, he said he was a precious disciple of my teacher. What was your title back then? Lavin the Awesome Student of the Poe Hunter?"

"U-U-U-U-Um!" Lavin stuttered.

"Anyways, he stuck with us as we traveled to a village with a sick baby in desperate need of medicine. My teacher could cook it up in a heartbeat with the right ingredients, but the flower he needed was in a valley infested by a host of Peahats. Lavin here runs right along, saying he's '_Lavin the Peahat Exterminator_.' Because my teacher needed to stay at the village to make sure the baby's condition remained stable, I went after Lavin. What to know how I found him?"

"Shivering in a lonely corner with his tail between his legs?" Zelda guessed.

"Exactly. Since he was nothing but a fibber, I took care of the Peahats with my crossbow and retrieved the flower my master needed. After I exterminated them all, _he_ steps forward, saying there were thousands more before I arrived, which he killed _before_ I got there. He said the only reason he couldn't finish off the rest was because he had a sudden—" Lina's eyes glinted fondly, "—hemorrhoid."

Lavin shivered, and Malon got a vague idea about what happened next.

"However! There was another host of Peahats in the distance, and they'd just raided a caravan of goods. All of them were sleeping, and the biggest Peahat had a silver rupee stuck in one of its blades. I could've cared less about the rupee, so I hurried back to my teacher to give him the flower, which he used to create a potion that healed the baby. Moments later, _he_ comes running into the village with enough Peahats to block out the sky right behind him, and in his hand was a silver rupee. My teacher and I managed to fend them off, but much of the village was razed in the process. When the villagers demanded to know why the Peahats had attacked, _he _says it was my fault, saying I was the Spawn of the Fiend and that I summoned them here! He even _dared _to accuse me of stealing the medical herb from him!"

"That wasn't me!" Lavin insisted, while his sweating armpits, staining his travel tunic, told otherwise. "That was my twin brother, Kavin! I'm Lavin, the Totally Truthful, the Disciple of Glen the Courageous, the Slayer of Dragons, and the Mortal Enemy of the Spawn of the Fiend! I would never falsely accuse you!"

"I'm going to plug a bolt in your hole," Lina said pleasantly, drawing her crossbow. "I'll leave it to your imagination as to which one."

"Wait," Zelda ordered before Lina could do so. "There are things I must ask him before you discipline him."

"Can I have my way with him _after _you're done talking?"

"So long as you let me watch."  
"Excellent."

"Lavin, what are you doing in this city?" Zelda inquired, glaring at Lavin the Lair through her Skull Mask. "Were you not tracking Princess Zelda? So what brought you here?"

"Ah, I'm glad you asked, peasant!" Lavin chuckled with his usual gusto. "If you knew who I was, you would not be speaking to the might me so rudely! I am Lavin the Man You Should Speak Respectfully To! Know your place!"

"Lina?" Zelda asked.

"On it," Lina grinned, arming her crossbow.

"I was following her!" He hurriedly replied, holding one hand over his butt while pointing at Malon with the other. "I saw her protecting Princess Zelda in the Kakariko Village's windmill and knew she was the princess's attendant, kidnapped from Hyrule Castle along with the princess!"

"I'm an attendant?" Malon murmured, wondered when her status fell so low.

"Why were you following Malon?" Zelda asked sharply, using her words like a whip; she really had no love for Lavin the Poor. "Why were you not following Princess Zelda?"

"I … um … that is …"

"Because you didn't know what she looked like, so you followed a face you recognized?" Zelda deduced, her speculation spot on judging from Lavin's reaction.

"O-O-O-O-O-Of course not, peasant! Do you not see all the paintings and statues of our fair princess spreading to the four corners of Hyrule?" Lavin shouted, indicating a nearby thirty-foot tall figurine which was the spitting image of the princess. "It is thanks to me such masterpieces exist! I am Lavin, the White Knight of Princess Zelda, her Right Hand Man, and Trust Advisor! I have always known what she looked like! Be in awe! I fought by her side when she was in Denion fighting—!"

"Yes, yes, I know your stories," Zelda sighed, then started grinning when she said, "But if I remember correctly, you spoke to Princess Zelda back at Denion when she was referring to herself as Saria. If you've always known Princess Zelda's face, why didn't you recognize her then?"

Lavin backed away in horror. "P-Peasant, how do y-you know—?" Zelda lifted the bottom of her Skull Mask for only a second, letting Lavin see her face during that brief moment. "P-P-P-PRINCESS ZEL—!"

Lina shoved the front of her crossbow into Lavin's wide mouth. "You breathe a word of this to anyone, and '_click_', you get my meaning?"

Slowly nodding his head, Lina eased her crossbow out from Lavin's dropped jaw, which continued to hang open before he could say, "The one you met at Denion was my triple, Mavin. He was a fool for not recognizing you, my princess!"

"Oh, for the love of the Goddesses, I thought you said you were only a twin!" Zelda shouted.

"Certainly not! I am a quintuplet!"

"Lina, if you'd please."

"Finally!"

"Wait, wait!" Lavin pleaded as Lina raised her mini-ballista. "There is nothing left to fear, my princess, for your future husband has come to rescue you and bring you back to Hyrule Castle!"

"Lina, any day now."

"Right, sorry."

"I've come to save you from the Spawn of the Fiend, my princess!"

Lavin's words gave Lina a pause, and Zelda froze while Malon felt a black pit gnaw at her stomach. She'd come to realize something far too late: Lavin had seen Fairy Boy before, and there was no way he hadn't seen the alert notices labeling Fairy Boy as the Spawn of the Fiend.

"Lina!" Zelda cried, hoping to stir the stunned girl with urgency.

"Huh? Oh, right," she breathed, shaking her head to discard Lavin's words from her head. "Enough of your lies, it's time to vent my pent up anger!"

"It's true! I saw the Spawn of the Fiend! I saw him kidnap Princess Zelda in Hyrule Market, and I met him in the Kakariko Village! I would've slain him where he stood, but the cowardly demon took my dear future wife and her attendant before I could deliver the finishing blow!"

Malon saw it was already too late to stop the tragedy that was destined to occur; Lina lowered her arbalest and let it hang in one hand, asking, "You're … you're telling the truth?"

"Of course! I'm Lavin the Truthful! I would never lie! Why, the Spawn is here, in this very city!"

Malon's heart almost jumped out of her chest; of all the times for Lavin to start telling the truth, why did it have to be _now_? "L-Lina, he can't be trusted! I don't think he knows how to tell the truth!"

"Malon is correct," Zelda added, though her voice was straining at the mistake she made (not silencing Lavin the moment they saw him). "We should not believe him! When has he ever been honest?"

"Where is he?" Lina screamed, ignoring them both as she grabbed the front of Lavin's tunic and pulled him so close their noses touched. "Where's the Spawn?"

"I-I know where he is! I can show you !"

"Do it!" Lina ordered, freeing the perpetual liar and kicking his back until he started wobbling down the street, weakling beckoning for them to follow. "I'm sorry, Zelda, Malon." She said to the two of them. "I know we should be looking for Link, Suvica, and Rail, but this is too important to me. You don't have to come with me."

"No, we must," Zelda said firmly, "We will be there with you should Lavin be telling the truth."

"We're friends, we need to see this through together," Malon whispered, holding Lina's hand, feeling it tremble and sweat. If Lavin really was going to lead them to Fairy Boy, they all had a lot of explaining to do.

As Lavin clumsily navigated the streets of Koon, with the noon sun steadily shifting into an afternoon glow, Malon wondered what she should say when Lina knew Fairy Boy was her relative. Though Lina said she'd welcome him with open arms, reality and speculation were two different things. There was no way to prepare for the unexpected except to deal with it to the best of their abilities.

After getting lost in several dead-ends, Malon was starting to worry. The crowds on the streets were thinning out, and she saw less and less people as they continued to progress. Her suspicions made an uneasy tingle in her tummy; Lina was undeniably glaring at Lavin's back in distrust, but her desire outweighed her instincts as she pressed on, leaving Malon to push Zelda's wheelchair as they followed.

When he stopped, Malon had no idea where they were. They stood in front of a grand building constructed from silver stone with black tarps adorning the windows, each representing a crescent silver moon with a rupee in the center. Not a soul was in sight.

"No … no!" Lina shouting, raising her crossbow and pointing it at Lavin, who yelped at the sudden aggression. "This is the guild house of the Silver Moon mercenaries! I thought you said you'd take me to the son of the Fiend! _Why _are we here?"

"H-Hold your Tektite tails, I'll take you to him," Lavin stammered. "I just have to settle something first. Don't worry!"

"Settle what? Wait, what're you … no, DON'T!"

Too late. Lina couldn't stop Lavin before he inhaled and screamed, "Lavin the Awesome Deal Maker is back, you miserable PEASANTS! Come on out and show your miserable faces!"

They came out alright, right out of nowhere. One second, there wasn't a soul to be seen, and the next, mercenaries materialized out of thin air, their weapons drawn and completely surrounding them. The guild doors opened, and out stepped Zladimir, his smug expression more profound than ever.

Lavin, oblivious to their perilous situation, stepped forward with a triumphant smile. "See, peasant? You dared to mock me when you said I was lying about being Princess Zelda's knight of valor, but I've come back to prove you wrong! Observe, for this is the Princess of Hyrule, and I am her faith vassal and future husband!"

"That idiot!" Lina seethed, pointing her arbalest at the closest Silver Moon thug and whispering to Malon. "Get your bow out!"

"B-But I can't shoot!"

"_They_ don't know that! Bluff if you have to, but don't give up!"

Malon weakly nodded, her hands shaking as she got her used bow and struggled to notch an arrow with her wobbling hands. She continued to shift her aim from one mercenary to another, but from the way they snickered at her feeble stance, all these killers knew she'd never manage to hit any of them.

"Princess Zelda," Zladimir whispered. "Is it really you? I must see for myself. Din's Sword." For no perceptible reason, Malon and Zelda's masks split in half like they were cleaved by an invisible blade, clattering to the street and revealing their faces. An excited murmur came from the Silver Moon mercenaries as they beheld their target: Zelda. To make matters worse, Zladimir could use magic.

"Ha! See for yourselves! It is the Princess of Hyrule!" Lavin cockily laughed, his hands on his waist and his nose high. "It is as I said before, I am Lavin, the Guardian of Princess Zelda and her Knight in Shining Armor! Now that I've put you maggots in your place, you will let us leave!"

Zladimir cackled so hard he almost fell over. "Leave? Foolish twerp. Your stupidity astounds me. With Princess Zelda as my prisoner, you are no longer needed. Please feel free to die any time you wish."

Lavin's face grew long as he slowly picked up what he was missing. "B-But … you promised. You s-said all I had to d-do was show y-you Princess Zelda w-was with me and y-you'd let us leave."

"HA! And you believed me? Naïve fool! Children have always sickened me, but your idiocy amuses me to no end! The underling I sent to the Kakariko said Princess Zelda would be coming to Koon City. I could not believe my luck, and when you showed up, an idiot with half a ReDead's brain, boasting about how you were acquainted with the Princess, I knew the Goddesses were smiling on me! With the King's daughter as my hostage, all of Hyrule will have no choice but to kneel before the Silver Moon guild!"

"Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Your lying! I-I-I-I-It's not t-t-t-true! I'm Lavin the—!"

"Sniveling whelp. Farore's Rage." It was the same spell magician Lief used on Rail during the Grand Tournament, but five times more powerful. Poor Lavin was thrown back so hard he crash through the wall of the building behind him, and Malon couldn't tell if he was alive or not. Things were really bad; from what she'd seen, Zladimir was a very powerful magician, far different from Lief. "Now, bring the princess to me. We have _much _to discuss about her future as the Silver Moon's cash cow!"

"As you command, Lord Zladimir," a mercenary pledged. "What of the other two, shall we kill them as well?"

"No. If I recall correctly, that little cur is Lina, the only student of the nameless sage. He must have a treasure trove of knowledge and magical artifacts, and he adores the girl as a daughter. The other is Malon, daughter of Talon, proprietor of Lon Lon Ranch. All of them have value as hostages. Bring them to me, undamaged as possible."

"You cur!" Lina fired a bolt at the Silver Moon leader, but he froze it in midair with more magic. She cried in frustration, shooting one bolt after another, but each was as useless as the first. One of the Silver Moon mercenaries got behind her and struck her head with the pommel of his sword, dropping her instantly.

"Lina!" Malon cried, unable to do anything as her bow and arrow were knocked from her hands. She tried to fight back, but an armored villain kicked her across the face with his metal boot, sending her to the ground. Her mouth filled with blood from a cut inside her cheek, and she whimpered as her assailant held her down by pining his foot against her head.

"Are you scared, girlie?"

"Yes, I'm scared …" Malon whispered, causing the mercenary to throw back his head in maniacal mirth, missing the rest of her sentence "… scared about what Fairy Boy and Suvi are going to do to you all."

* * *

EDIT: Thus ends chapter 25 of my fanfiction. It's been a while since I wrote a chapter this long, and from Malon's perspective, no less. I grew a little frustrated with this chapter, so it's not at its best. Sorry about that.

As always, please review and let me know if there's anything you like, find strange, or spot a plot hole I can fix. Thank you.


	26. Chapter 26, Until Someone Get's Hurt!

**Chapter 26**

**… Until Someone Get's Hurt!**

Suvica's nose twitched, his blood changing to fire as he smelled blood, Malon's blood. Malon, the Princess, and Link's egg-mate had been pushed away by the gossiping wave of humans, and though he didn't know why the girls had left without them, he placed his concerns on the Who-Cares shelf in his head. Now, his three hearts were pounding as the undeniable waft of Malon's injury pervaded over the stench of battle and corpses in the sandy arena.

He'd been impatiently waiting for the two quarreling mules calling themselves guild leaders to stop fighting over Rail, waiting from the empty stands, when the smell hit him. He didn't stop to think, reacting only on a protective instinct as his wings and tail pushed out from his bare back and pummeled the ground, shooting him fifty feet into the air as he ignored the terrified faces below. Immediately tracing the source of the smell, he took off, his progress marked by the pursuing line of screams coming from everyone who saw him soaring overhead.

The moment the scent of blood was directly below him, he folded his wings against his body and crashed, fracturing the stone street with his impact. He'd landed in front of a human structure with black tarps flapping over the silver walls and long windows, watching as Malon, the Princess, and Forest Boy's relative were dragged into the front doors.

A trickle of blood marked their trail, stemming from Malon's mouth.

"GET BACK HERE!" He threw open his wings and charged, zipping headlong into the men carrying the girls. His outreaching hand was inches away from the soon-to-be-dead sacks of meat when someone barked an incantation, discharging a wall of pressurized air and sending him flying. Pressing his wings flat against his body so they couldn't be used against him, Suvica flipped in midair, landed on the ground several yards away from the silver building's entrance, and dug his fingers into his stone street as the magical gale continued to force him back. He ripped open ten small grooves in the ground as his fingers anchored him down, enduring the remainder of the summoned storm.

When the magic ended, the spell caster responsible, the silk-wearing rat called Zladimir, gasped in disbelief. "That's not possible!"

"Move it, human!" Suvica lunged again, but was pummeled with another torrent of wind, unable to take another step.

"Get them inside and into our secret passage! I want them out of the city and at rendezvous point C!" The rat ordered to his men carrying the girls as he stepped down the front stairs of his guild building to directly confront Suvica.

"Yes, master Zladimir!" The mercenaries chanted, disappearing into their guild and closing the door behind them. The last thing Suvica saw was Malon's pleading look for help, and his rage doubled over. "I shall be your opponent, demon! Prepare to face—!"

"MOVE!" Suvica charged again, not caring how many times he was repelled.

The rat put up a magic shield to intercept Suvica's punches, gloating, "Brainless fool! No matter how much brute force you possess, you cannot break—!"

_Crack!_

The rodent paled as Suvica's flurry of punches cause a crack to appear in his shield, followed by another, then another, and then a far larger break. "I-I-Impossible! You cannot—!"

_SMASH!_

His fist sunk into Zladimir's nose, cratered his face, and then slammed him against the staircase. Ignoring the meager victory, Suvica stomped on the rat's chest as he stepped over him and approached the closed door, raising a fist to obliterate the redundant obstacle.

"Nayru's Decree!" Chains of dark-blue light suddenly sprung out from behind him, binding Suvica's arms, wings, and legs, yanking him away from his destination and onto the street in front of the pesky magician, who was profoundly bleeding from his bent nose as he wheezed. The restraints binding Suvica were summoned from and linked to the rat's hands. "I have you now, beast! No matter how physically powerful you are, you cannot break these chains of magic! They are—!"

"Then I'll break YOU!" He grabbed the bindings and pulled, yanking Zladimir off his feet and towards him. Drawing his shackled fist back, Suvica drove a heavy punch into the nuisance's chest, feeling several ribs break the same time the spell did.

The pest fell, but refused to die so easily, placing his hands on his shattered body, wincing on contact, and sputtered, "N-Nayru's Touch!"

"Hurry up and die!" Suvica jumped, prepared to stomp on the rat's face so hard his head would resemble a squashed pumpkin. He never got a chance, as someone lassoed a length of rope around his neck and tugged, hauling him off course so the heels of his feet were planted directly beside Zladimir's sweating face.

"Master! Run!" The perpetrator shouted his last words as Suvica grabbed the rope, ripped it off his neck, and pulled the fool towards him to treat him to a skull-shattering head-butt.

"We will take care of him!" Another idiot cried, rushing at him from behind and stabbing Suvica in the back, right between his wings. He snarled as the steel sunk an inch into his flesh, wrapping his tail around the assailant's leg, swinging him in a circle, and slamming the mercenary into the stone street.

"Attack! ATTACK! Protect the master!" In his fit of rage, Suvica was so consumed over Malon's safety he hadn't realized he'd dropped himself into the middle of a small army, who were too dumbstruck to move at first. After seeing their guild master go down, they spurred into action to attack him at once.

A handful of the mercenaries went to Zladimir's side, picking him up and carrying him into the guild house as the magician slowly healed himself. Suvica tried to pursue, but was stopped when four individual swords stabbed his chest, held by four humans who clearly didn't value their lives. He scattered the weapons with a sweep from his hand and dispatched the four fools with a lash from his tail, but more of these idiotic mercenaries attacked him while he did. He vaguely remembered this scenario after being vastly outnumbered by Dodongos in Goron City; alone they were nothing, but as a group they were annoying as all hell.

Knowing how much time he'd waste if he made the same mistake twice, he spread his wings, throwing aside the closest mercenaries, and took to the air. From above, he showered them with lightning, hammering down their active numbers. Though his mask was disintegrated from the electricity pouring from his mouth, he could hardly bring himself to care. After only a handful remained, he dropped to the ground and thrashed them all with extreme violence.

As the last mercenary fell, leaving Suvica in a small field of bloody and electrically burnt bodies, he flew to the front door of the Silver Moon guild and smashed his fist against it. He howled as the wood repelled him, grim-red runes of protective magic flashing from the very spot he struck and running a dagger of pain up his arm. Outraged at such a cowardly tactic, he coated his arms with his scales and resumed his onslaught; the pain could no longer stop him, but the defensive markings continued to oppose him, leaving the door unscratched. He tried gripping the handle and yanking the door free, but a cobweb of reinforcement magic shrouded around the knob and rooted the entrance in place. Suvica angrily blasted it with a lightning bolt, yet when it remained defiant to the end, he flew back and relocated his assault on the walls and windows. Nothing. The entirety of the building was shielded with preplaced defensive runes powerful enough to repel even him. Finally, he landed on the rooftop, futilely stomped on the three-story-tall guild's roof, and furiously released a resounding bellow of thunder as he screamed in outrage.

"What's going on here?"

It was the Brown Badger, Isaac, followed by Stone-Face Natasha. Each of them were accompanied by a small squadron of men and women, each of which bore one of two symbols somewhere on their bodies: A yellow orb surrounded by a starry sky or a red hand clawing out of a puddle of black; members of the Golden Sky and Red Shadow guilds. In the front were Forest Boy and Rail, and all of them were dreadfully inspecting the carnage Suvica wrought.

"What is the meaning of this?" Stone-Face demanded as Suvica glided from the rooftop and angrily landed in front of them.

"I think the more appropriate question is: What are you?" Isaac growled, pulling out a pair of daggers from inside his coat; they were longer than the average knife yet shorter than the standard sword. No doubt the Brown Badger was referring to Suvica's wings, tail, and scales, which he irritably withdrew.

"Seriously, what were you thinking?" Rail shouted, his tunic caked with drying blood but his underlying wounds healed (probably thanks to Blue Fluffy). "Didn't you hear what Lina said to us before? We don't want to be enemies with any of the Big Three guilds, yet here you are, beating up Silver Moon mercenaries for the fun of it!"

"They took them!" Suvica roared, grinding his sandal into the stone pavement in anger, causing cracks to form from the pressure. "Those scum took them!"

"Took who?" Forest Boy demanded.

"Malon! Your cousin! The Princess! Those spineless cowards calling themselves Silver Moon sell-swords took them!" Rail's arrogance dropped, and Forest Boy scowled as the three of them were finally on the same scroll.

"Why?" Rail shouted, pushing past Suvica and running up to the front door; the protective runes shoved him back the moment he touched it. "What is this?"

"It's magic! Stupid, cowardly magic!" Suvica snapped, opening his mouth wide and blasting the building with a flash of lightning; not a scratch or smidge of ash. "You think I'd still be here if I could've broken in?"

"Move, Rail!" Forest Boy ordered, drawing his toothpick weapon as Rail stepped aside. He shot off a lance of blue magic, yet it couldn't do anything against the spells protecting the guild. Rail got out his Hylian Shield and smashed the door with it, yet the shield which could scratch Hyrulean Steel was powerless against these mystic forces.

"But _why _would they take them?" Rail repeated, running back to the rest of them.

"It's because she's Princess Zelda, the daughter of King Ceylon," Stone-Face replied, stepping into their conversation uninvited. "The Silver Moon will do anything for wealth and power, and now they have their hands on the most valuable person in Hyrule. Why wouldn't they kidnap her? As for your other two friends, they are either hostages or corpses by now."

Suvica smashed his heel into the ground, forming a spider-web of cracks in the stone street as he pushed out the unwanted image. "We've got to go after them!"

"No, you won't," Brown Badger Isaac interrupted, moving with his guild members to standing in a line between them and the Silver Moon guild house. "I'm sorry, but please turn back. No matter your reasons or the actions of the Silver Moon, we are their allies, and we cannot idly stand by while you act against them. I do not know why you are traveling with the Princess of Hyrule, nor do I know what sort of monster you are, but we cannot let you raise a hand against our allies anymore. Forfeit your friends, because the moment they were taken by Zladimir and his men, they were lost to you."

Suvica howled in sheer anger, enraged by Isaac's threats; though his mercenaries flinched, the guild leader was unmoving. "You think you can stop _me_?"

"Wrong," Forest Boy said as he and Rail stood beside Suvica, weapons raised. "You think you can stop _us_?"

"My men and I will do what we must," Brown Bastard replied, his stance changing to prepare himself for combat. "It matters not what powers you have, nor what your strength is. Silver Moon is our ally, and I protect my comrades! Natasha! Come, together we can best these three!"

"No."

Suvica couldn't tell who was more surprised: Them or Brown Bastard. "What do you mean, '_No_'? Do you not remember what the Nobles supporting Zladimir and his guild will do to us if we do not defend Silver Moon? We cannot let these three advance any further!"

"I remember perfectly," Stone-Face replied, motioning for her own guild members to disperse, which they did in seconds. "However, I have an oath more important to uphold. I will not stop these children. Link, Suvica, Rail, you are free to do as you please."

Everyone was startled by Stone-Face's knowledge of their names, and Brown Bastard demanded, "How do you know their names, Natasha? What is it that you know that I do not?"

"I know much. After all, assassination is a secondary skill for my guild. We specialize in information. These children are Link H. Skyloft, son of the Fiend, Suvica the Thunder Dragon, and Rail Grand, a child of Lost Hylian Royalty. Plus, one of the children kidnapped by the Silver Moon was Lina H. Skyloft, and I owe her master a great deal for saving my life. You wish to stand against these children, Isaac? Then you do so alone. Red Shadow will not be a part of this." At the mention of their names and titles, Brown Bastard's men took several steps back in fear.

"The Spawn … of the Fiend?" Brown Bastard choked, fighting against his disbelief. "No … that child is nothing more than a legend! He does not exist!"

"Believe or disbelieve, but stand aside all the same. You waste their precious time," Stone-Face said, turning to walk away. "However, know that if you harm the son of Cross, the Red Shadow guild will become your enemies, Isaac."

"N-Natasha! Wait! What do you mean?"

"WAIT!" Forest Boy ordered, halting Stone-Face in her tracks. "There's more you're not saying, I know it! Don't harm a hair on my head? What aren't you telling me?"

"I owe your father a debt which exceeds my life. Is that not enough?"

"You knew my dad? How? When?"

Stone-Face turned to them, and this time there was a genuine smile, her eyes replaying a memory of fondness. "I believe you are in a rush, but I am not. I will be here, should you wish to find me. Until then, good luck with your rescue." She left, leaving Forest Boy to ponder on her words.

Like they had time for that. "Well?" Suvica barked at Brown Bastard at his mercenaries. "You going to get in our way or what?" He let a visible shower of sparks crackle from his mouth to emphasize the point, and the mercenaries flinched.

"Bah!" Brown Bastard yelled, roughly jamming his weapons back into their scabbards, hidden in his wide coat. "That was the first time I've seen Natasha smile, and I value her friendship over the tenuous alliance with the Silver Moon. Fine! Do as you please, but know the repercussions we suffer will be all on you! Men, dismissed!" The Golden Sky guild did the smart thing, putting away their weapon and leaving, while Brown Bastard fired them one last glare of reminder before walking away.

"Now what?" Suvica demanded, failing to see how their situation was any better than before. The two annoyances might have left, but they still had no way to enter the Silver Moon base.

"We find a way in," Rail said, a suggestion which was almost painfully obvious to hear.

Blue Fluffy appeared after the mercenaries were well out of sight and observed their dilemma. "Whoa, that's some serious business. It must've taken months or years to set up a magical defense this powerful. Only a veteran mage, someone who knows _exactly_ what he's doing, can break that!"

"And where do you suggest we find one?" Suvica snapped, growing ever more impatient with each useless suggestion.

Forest Boy walked over to the discarded crossbow his cousin was carrying, which was next to the Princess's wheelchair and the shoddy bow Malon purchased. He picked up the weapon with ease, probably thinking about his lost egg-mate, when he said, "I know just the person. Wait, here, I'm getting some backup. Farore's Wind!" His body shimmered with green magic as he sprinted away with the crossbow in tow, leaving a trail of emerald in his path.

It was good to see Forest Boy had something productive in mind, because Suvica couldn't stand the amount of time it was taking him. Already, the afternoon sun was disappearing into a fading haze of red at the horizon.

Then, for no apparent reason, Rail asked, "Suvica, what do you think of Malon?"

"What do you mean?" He growled, impatiently stomping on the same spot over and over again to create an ever-widening crater.

"I mean … do you like her?"

"You're asking me this now? NOW?"

"I know, I know! Malon was kidnapped, along with Zelda and Lina, so it's not the best time to be asking stuff like this. I just wanted to know, that's all."

"I'm a dragon, she's a human brat. Happy?"

"That's not an answer!"

"Then what do you want me to say?" Suvcia snarled, crashing his heel into the already-weakened ground, making a narrow fissure spanning the courtyard.

"The truth!" Rail shouted, utterly unfazed. Why was _everyone_ totally unafraid of him these days? He was losing some serious rep.

"I already said the truth!"

"I don't want to know what your automatic dragon-pride reason is! I want to know what your heart says!"

His heart? Suvica didn't know whether or not those three organs could speak, but right now, they were filled with one desire; Rescue Malon, and kill everyone who got in his way.

Forest Boy came running back, with a recognizable old man riding on his shoulders. When Suvica saw who it was, he broke open a grin. "I totally forgot about that old geezer!"

* * *

No one knew what hit them

For the first time since the guild's founding, the magical defenses set by their great master were breached, and intruders stormed in. Borin was a veteran mercenary, and had been working for Master Zladimir the longest. Thus, to hear that the defenses had been broken through locked his mind on pause. He snapped to attention when he heard violent crashes and shouting coming from the men rushing to subdue the trespassers. Master Zladimir had taken a large majority of the Silver Moon mercenaries to help him guard and transport their Princess of Prizes to a safe-house far from Koon, which meant it was up to everyone else to make sure no one pursued them.

A crash occurred in the spacious lobby room beneath him, and he stared down from the second-floor balcony as the wall caved in to reveal their foes. Borin almost laughed when he saw who they were: Three kids and an old man even shorter than the children. He ordered his men to hurry up and handle them while he returned to his afternoon drink, but that was the biggest mistake in his life.

The black-haired boy was a monster, with demonic wings and a serpentine tail spawning from his back. Everyone who challenged him was beaten and broken senseless by his black-scaled arms and outrageous strength. The boy in green was a user of black magic, just like Master Zladimir, launching blue rings from his sword, mowing down everything in his path. Borin recognized the redhead as this year's Grand Tournament champion, defeating all who opposed him with nothing more than his shield. But by far, the old man was the most terrifying. Undead spirits screeched as they circled him, shoving themselves down the throats of Silver Moon's men and turning their bodies into pale lifeless husks. Those that attacked the old man were swallowed and left barren by the evil spirits he controlled, and those who ran were dragged back to have the life sucked out of them.

"You!" The winged-demon was suddenly flying in front of the balcony and glaring into Borin's eyes. "Where are they? WHERE?"

When Borin managed to find his voice, he went for the sword on his waist and shouted, "For the glory of the Silver Moon, I shall never—!"

The next instant, he was a crumpled heap of broken bones on the first floor; the winged-demon had grabbed him by the face and flung him at the flooring without mercy or remorse. Now he was standing over Borin's pain-wracked body, hissing, "Let me ask you again!"

* * *

Suvica kicked aside the pathetic mercenary when the fool fainted, screaming angrily when there was no one else to attack him. Forest Boy's cousin said Silver Moon had the largest fighting force, yet there was barely anyone here.

"They must be escorting Zladimir as they leave the city!" Link said, reading the situation. "They has to be a secret passage which leads outside the city walls! Find it!" Forest Boy, Blue Fluffy, and Rail split up to search the base top to bottom, but Suvica took a more direct approach. One of the cowardly sell-swords had only pretended to take a beating, and was making a run for the exit. Suvica wrapped his tail around the gutless wimp's leg and dragged the coward towards him, ignoring the pathetic human's pleads for mercy. He grabbed the front of the mercenary's tunic and pulled him up until they were face to face.

"Where are they? Where's your hidden passage?" Suvica growled, breathing sparks onto the mercenary's face.

"I-I-I have my pride as a member of the S-Silver Moon! You shall not—!"

Suvica punched the stubborn fool in the mouth with a _WHAM_, causing the human's eyes to roll and his mouth to bleed. "Where are they?"

"Never … tell …"

_WHAM!_

"Where are they?"

"… Not …"

_WHAM!_

"Where are they?"

_WHAM!_

"Where are they?"

_WHAM!_

"WHERE ARE THEY?"

"Enough!" His next punch was stopped by Purple Poe, who jabbed the end of his dragon-horn staff into his wrist. "The man is unconscious! Do you wish to kill him?"

"Yeah, I do!" Suvica shouted, tossing aside the blood lump which once resembled a man. "While we're wasting time, that rat could be miles away from here! I've tried to sniff them out, but their scent disappeared the moment I stepped inside this dump!"

"Calm down!" Purple chided. "Anger will achieve nothing! It is useful for battle, but worthless in investigation! Take it from an old fool who knows it!"

Suvica would've loved nothing more than to take Purple Poe's wise words of wisdom and stuff them back down his gullet, but not with Malon's pleading stare fogging his mind. He had to find her, and arguing with an old geezer wouldn't get him anywhere.

"You're … too … late!"

He snapped his head at the voice. It was the mercenary who'd been standing on the balcony, the one he chucked to the ground; guess he didn't stay unconscious for long. "Please, keep speaking! Maybe you'll say something useful!"

"You fools … have dug … your graves! _Cough_! The moment night arrives … Master Zladimir and the rest of the Silver Moon shall move … with the darkness as their cover! You cannot smell them, demon … because of our master's spell! No blood hound can follow them now! Once he uses the princess … as a bargaining chip to empower the Silver Moon with riches and authority … a new power shall rule over Hyrule! You shall regret this day … the day you made Master Zladimir your enemy!"

Suvica cackled, walking over to the motionless mercenary and leering down at him. "You're a bit mistaken, human! I'll regret the day I made that rat my enemy? NO! HE'LL REGRET THE DAY HE MADE AN ENEMY OUT OF ME!" He withdrew his wings and tail, crouched down, and took the most direct way to the roof: Straight up. His jump sent him crashing through the second and third floor, arriving at the rooftop to watch the sun dip at the horizon. This was bad; if he couldn't smell that rat Zladimir, then he'd have to use his eyes to find him, but that would be exceedingly difficult with night approaching so quickly.

"Suvica? What's wrong?" Forest Boy and Rail were beside him, having climbed the stairs to see what the ruckus was about.

"The rat who has Malon, the Princess, and your cousin is hiding until night comes! The moment it does, he'll use the darkness to his advantage and make his escape! I can't smell him, and I won't be able to find them in the dark! We have to do _something_!"

"Leave it to me." Forest Boy reached into his pouch, but Suvica failed to see how any of his items could help them in this situation.

"What're you planning, Forest Boy?" Suvica asked as the sun disappeared and night arrived.

"I'm the Spawn of the Fiend, remember? I may not be able to control undead, but ordering around the sun and moon is something I can do." With that, he pulled out his ocarina, and Suvica snickered as he realized what Forest Boy intended to do. Note by note, Link play the Sun's Song, and Suvica vividly remembered its effects in the Kakariko Graveyard. The pillar of sun light emanated from the ocarina, swirling around Forest Boy as a wide mantle before shooting skyward and piercing the heavens. Because they'd been underground before, none of them had a chance to witness the day-changing effects, but with the open sky above, Suvica couldn't quell his feelings of awestruck revelation. The musical beacon started to fall from the clouds, curving inward until everything in a two mile radius was surrounded by a dome. As the song progressed, Suvica braced his hand against the bottom of his mouth to physically stop his jaw from dropping. The world outside moved in fast forward while everyone within watched time race ahead of them. The moon and dark clouds shot across the sky at an impossible speed, and when Forest Boy increased the tempo of his performance, time raced ahead even faster. In less than thirty-seconds, the sun was reaching out from the horizon, and the ocarina's light exploded once it hit the end of the song and the apex of its brightness, sending out a wall of musically divine energy which tore down the dome of time around them.

When Forest Boy put away his ocarina, it was late morning.

"Impressive," Purple Poe breathed (Suvica went straight to scrutinizing the surrounding land with the renewed brightness of the sun, hoping to spot the Silver Moon snakes). "One of the lost songs, sang and imbued with incomprehensible powers by the Goddesses. You continue to impress me, Link. Might I convince you to join me and Lina as we uncover the other mysteries of Hyrule? I would relish the chance to speak with you, as would your cousin, Lina."

"So you already know who I am," Forest Boy said, not the least bit disturbed. "Since when?"

"Since I analyzed and studied a strand of your hair. You'd be surprised how much data one can gleam from something so inconsequential. So, what do you say?"

"I have to decline. I have other matters to settle first."

"There!" Suvica jabbed a finger to the west. A caravan of black-cloaked figures was paused in the faraway field, maybe a mile and a half away. While their dark robes would've been an advantageous at the dead of night, they stuck out like sore zits during the day. "Let's go! You kicked the moon out of the sky, so let me tear _this _Silver Moon a new one!"

"There's a lot of them," Forest Boy said, his eyes annoying more acute than Suvica's. "We can't just jump right in."

"Why not? They're nothing more than punks with attitudes! I'll destroy them all!"

"Yes, you will, but only with a plan!"

"What's your problem?" Suvica angrily grabbed the front of Forest Boy's collar. "They took our friends! _Hurt _them! We should rescue them as fast as possible then send the Silver Moon into extinction! Aren't you angry? Aren't you pissed off these low lives screwed with us?"

Forest Boy wrapped his hand around Suvica's wrist and squeezed, peeling off his grip. The surge of strength was enough to startle Suvica for a second, but then he realized Link wasn't being powered only by his Goron Bracelet, but also by his own raging desires. "I _am_ pissed! I'm pissed at the Silver Moon for abducting our friends, and I'm pissed at Zladimir for hurt them, but the one I can't forgive is myself! While Zelda's recuperating, _I'm _supposed to protect her! When Malon was hurt, _I_ should've been there! When Lina got captured, _I _should've killed every mercenary who stood in my way. I made the mistake of letting them get kidnapped, but I won't do the same while rescuing them! I will _not_ underestimate these mercenaries, but I _will_ save our friends!"

Suvica ripped his arm out of Forest Boy's grasp, rubbing the lightly-trembling limb. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he partially blamed himself for what happened to. Malon and the others were in his sights, yet he let them breeze past his open fingers. He didn't want to let it happen again. "Fine, you made your point! So after all your cocky talk, I assume this means you have a plan?"

Forest Boy stared into his right hand, murmuring a soft chant and letting a small candle-flicker of flame puff into existence above the index finger. Suvica had no idea what he hoped to accomplish with such a pitifully small version of Din's Fire, but Link grinned in success. "Oh yeah, I've got a plan. C'mon, I'll explain it along the way."

"I can't."

Suvica's wings were mid-spread when he stopped to glare at Rail. "What do you mean, you _can't_?"

"I'm saying I can't help you guys like this," Rail explained, looking to the frantically moving black-cloaked rats in the distance. "I'm not as strong as either of you two, not yet. I can't help you guys by rushing into the enemy and letting my anger rip them apart. No, I can do much better right here. There's something I can do, in Koon, which can help you two."

Though Suvica wanted to punch Rail a few times and demand to know why he was acting so weak-willed, Forest Boy asked, "You're sure?"

"I'm sure. Good luck, you two." With that, Rail turned tail and sprinted away; Suvica's hateful glare followed him. He didn't know what good the redhead would be running _away_ from the problem, but it only went to show how weak Rail was.

"What about you, old man?" Suvica scowled at Purple Poe, who was drinking in another pleading Poe begging for its ghostly soul to quell the tremble rocking his aged body.

"I cannot join," Purple Poe said with a burp. "My body is not what it used to be in its prime, and every minute of magic I use saps away a month of my borrowed time. Go, go and destroy that fool, Zladimir. I will stay here and await your return."

"So, Forest Boy? What's your plan? As long as it ends with Zladimir's head in my hands, I'll do what you say."

"First, fly us both to the outside of Koon City's gate, but drop me off before you attack the Silver Moon. From there, do _exactly _what I tell you to."

* * *

As Suvica circled the sky above the Silver Moon's convoy, high enough to be mistaken for a bird, he watched Forest Boy sprint towards their enemies from the east with his green-body-moving magic. The moment Forest Boy was the proper distance away, Suvica folded his wings and spiraled downward, plummeting towards the hysterically fleeing Silver Moon army (no doubt they were baffled over the sudden change from day to night).

Then never saw him coming as he tore down the middle of their forces, throwing open his wings at the last moment to carve a clean line down the center of their amassed bodies. He retreated back into the sky, followed by a disarrayed volley of arrows from the terrified mercenaries below.

_Remember, get their attention!_ Forest Boy's words buzzed in the back of his head. _Throw some horses, shoot some lightning, roar at them, do _anything_ you have to do to scare the wits out of them!_

"That I can do!" Suvica barrel rolled to the right, avoiding the arrows chasing him and circling back to the Silver Moon's men. This time, instead of flying low to sweep the humans off their feet with his wings, he glided several yards above ground level while dragging a torrent of lightning into the idiots below. Three arrows managed to puncture his wings as he passed overhead, but the bleeding gaps easily sealed the meager damage. He could've caused so much more destruction if he still had his horns, but he wasn't going to start crying over split beer.

He glanced back down at the earth. Forest Boy was still a quarter of a mile away from the Silver Moon's army, so he dove back down to strafe the enemy. As he attacked, he grabbed two of the humans, one by the face and the other by his leg, while shooting back for the sky. His wings strained from the additional weight of the two fatties, but he ignored the burden and ordered himself to work harder.

"S-S-S-Spare us! Please!" One of the humans cried, dribbling tears, drool, and mucus onto the others below. "W-We m-m-mean you no harm!"

"Mmmmff!" The other muffled past Suvica's hand clamping over his mouth.

"Spare you? Why don't you start praying to your beloved master instead?" Suvica snarled, hurling them both back at the ground. He repeated the tactic twice more, picking up four other bawling humans who pleaded for their lives; how disgusting.

However, the Silver Moon gradually started to regroup as unknown orders were passed amongst their ranks. The bulkiest mercs raised their shields and formed several circles around their supply-storing wagons, keeping their spears pointed at him even as he taunted at them from above. Archers (or anyone with a good throwing arm) formed ranks behind their protective guild mates and started pecking at him with their arrows. There were even five mages (how many magic users were there outside Hyrule Castle?) trying to pellet him with wimpy spitballs of fire and gales of wind meant to knock him out of the sky.

Someone was giving these grunts orders, and he had a pretty good idea who it was. The largest, thickest, and most defensive ring of mercenaries was guarding a silver carriage, tied to two frightfully snickering horses. He was sure Zladimir was in there, and would've tested the theory with a lightning bolt if there wasn't the possibility of Malon, the Princess, and Link's cousin also being inside.

Suvica wanted nothing more than to land on the ground and terrorize these weaklings on even footing. As it was now, with his hit-and-run tactics, these fools actually thought they had a chance in beating him; he saw it on their smug faces as he swooped down for another attack, only to be driven off by a collective bush of spears. While it made frustration crackle inside his chest, he also knew it was all part of the plan. These fools _needed_ to be overconfident, because it was the moment they'd let their guard down for the unexpected surprise.

Forest Boy was only five seconds away, his left hand reaching for an object in his pouch. In order to make sure no stray eyes found the Forest Boy, Suvica roared, "I'm Suvica, the Thunder Dragon of Ash Mountain! If you value your pitiful lives, you'll flee from my sight and never return!"

These conceited mercenaries only tightened their defenses while replying with another volley of arrows or magic. Regardless, the damage was done. With all eyes riveted upon him, no one bothered to look down and notice the speeding Forest Boy, darting between their ranks while dropping bombs off at their feet, lighting the fuses with his miniature Din's Fire.

"BOOM!" Suvica laughed the same time the explosives went off, scattering their enemies, breaking formations, and taking out handfuls of mercs at a time. Utter confusion swept into the Silver Moon's grunts due to the unexpected attack, fogging their judgment and causing each man to fend for themselves while ignoring Zladimir's orders.

They initiated part two of their plan. As the Silver Moon fools were scattered and thrown into disarray by the frequent interval of explosions, Suvica flew low and towards Forest Boy, who threw him his magic pouch containing the remainder of the bombs. Armed and dangerous, Suvica took to the air, pulling out one bomb at a time, lightning their fuses with a spark, and dropping them into rabble of mercenaries. While he distracted the vast majority of humans with his new toys, watching them get blown away with a widening sneer, Forest Boy knock over the silver carriage with a Disk Attack and leap inside. When he jumped back out, Malon and his cousin were wrapped under his arms and the Princess was hanging onto his back; their wrists were tied together, their feet bound, and their mouths gagged, but the relief in their eyes was undeniable. Zladimir lumbered out of the pushed-over carriage, screaming as Forest Boy used his Farore's Wind to dash away. Suvica discovered there was only one bomb left in the pouch, and he knew exactly who to use it on. He lit the wick and threw the explosive at the guild leader, relishing the satisfaction coursing throughout his body from the resulting explosive.

Time for part three: Escape. While Suvica would've been more than happy to stay behind to wet the field with the blood of mercenary scum, Malon's safety came first.

_We don't have to get far to escape,_ Forest Boy's voice said in his head. _The moment the Silver Moon mercenaries believe they'll never be able to catch us, they'll give up on their own, and we've won. While I might be fast with Farore's Wind, I still can't outrun a horse. Therefore, you need to pick us all up and fly us away. I know your limit. Before, you could only carry one person while flying, but you raise the limit to two back at Goron City, against the King Dodongo. Now you've got to fly four of us to safety. It won't be easy. You'll be testing the limits of your strength._

"Limits are made to be broken!" Suvica roared down at Forest Boy, who stopped running the moment Suvica gave him the signal. With the disorganized Silver Moon goons hurriedly calming down their frightened mares in order to pursue them, Forest Boy put the girls down and used his protective spell to create a prism of magic around them all. While the shield was primarily a defensive spell used to protect the user from physical force, it had an aspect they were going to use to their advantage: It was touchable, meaning it didn't repel or push away foreign objects, but formed a graspable barrier.

He dove, summoning the scales on his arms to turn the tips of his fingers into claws while colliding into Forest Boy's magic shield. He buried his nails into the force field, slightly denting the magic material, as he flapped his wings and pulled. While they were moving, Suvica could only drag the protective prism against the ground, failing to pick it up. Behind, he could already hear the Silver Moon scum on their mounts and galloping towards them. Arrows descended on him as the mercenaries tried to shoot him down, piercing his wings and embedding the flying sticks into his back.

_Please! _Suvica begged, for the first time in his life, to the witch; he didn't care whether she heard him or not. _Please, let me to do this! Please give me the strength to do this!_

_In order for portions of my spell to unravel, Suvica _must_ want to protect someone else, and it cannot be just anyone, it has to be someone he deeply cares about._

_ I want to protect them! I want to protect _her_! _Suvica shouted at the inner voice in his mind, reminding him of what the witch said in Denion. He glanced down at the magic shield's occupants, all of them watching his efforts with pleading eyes. The ones which captured him were Malon's; she wasn't praying for him to succeed, because her eyes said he would prevail, without any trace of doubt in her blue pupils. _Please, let another part of the seal break, I don't care which! Just give me the strength to do just this!_

Nothing happened.

At first, the lack of results brought him despair, yet that despair sparked his outrage, directed at the witch, his curse, and his lack of strength.

"AUGH! SCREW IT! SCREW IT! SCREW IT! SCREW IT! SCREW IT! SCREW IT! SCREW IT!"

Screw the witch!

Screw the curse!

Screw his weakness!

He pushed himself harder than ever, forced his wings to thrust faster than before, and screamed until he was hoarse.

They took off.

Inch by inch, Forest Boy's magic shield lifted off the ground, and Suvica yelled in triumph as they made for the clouds. He'd definitely feel the strain in the morning, as his wings threatened to rip off his back, but right now, victory was his! The ground grew more distant as they gained height; arrows, daggers, and rocks harmlessly bounced off the bottom of the magic shield. Some of the smarter idiots continued to aim for his wings, threatening to drop him with each with new puncture, but soon they were flying out of range.

Until: "NAYRU'S VERDICT!"

Lightning dropped on them, striking Suvica and heating up the metal arrowheads embedded in his back. As a Thunder Dragon, he was immune to fire _and_ lightning, meaning the vigorous spell did nothing against him. However, it tore apart Forest Boy's magic shield like a bubble.

They fell, and Forest Boy couldn't use his midair Spin Attack to save them all. Howling, Suvica dropped after them, grabbing Forest Boy's cousin with his right hand, the Princess with his left, grabbing the back of Malon's dress with his teeth, and feeling Forest Boy grab his ankle. He clamped down a scream as he threw open his wings, feeling the muscles snap and the bones dislocate from the unbearable strain. His sacrifice spared the others a painful bone-breaking landing, allowing them to roughly drop onto the grass, but it rendered his wings useless.

As the girls squirmed against their bonds (which were imbued with more damn magic to make them harder break), Forest Boy immediately got to his feet with his toothpick and tree-bark shield drawn. Suvica tried to stand, but doubled over as pain radiated from his wings. He craned his head to check their condition, and knew flying was banned for at least a week. He gingerly withdrew them, wincing as they _cracked _and _snapped_ into his back one shattered bone at a time. He kept his arm-scales and tail out, because the fight was nowhere near over.

The Silver Moon mercenaries, or what was left of them, slowly gathered around to form a large circle around them; no doubt they gave them a wide berth after seeing what they were capable of. While their numbers still ranged in the low hundreds, and Suvica wouldn't go down until every last one of them was bleeding at his feet, he didn't know how he'd accomplish that while protecting the three girls. A bloody slugfest he could manage with ease, but protecting someone else at the same time?

The mercenaries parted as Zladimir stepped forward, obviously enraged. Suvica bet the rat used magic to protect himself from the present he gave him, but not soon enough; the guild leader's fancy robe was a mess of smoking patches, while his right eyebrow was burned clean off. Good thing the baldy never had hair to begin with, or else he'd have a major hairdo on his head.

"You pompous whelps _dare_ to stand against the Silver Moon?" Zladimir roared, coughing a bushel of ash at the same time. "Even rodents know their place better than you brats! Nayru's VERDICT!"

Suvica reacted before the others could, leaping over them to intercept the bolt of lightning crashing towards them; the spell was nowhere near as powerful or fast as the electricity he naturally breathed, but it still numbed his arms as it pounded him back into the ground.

His daring actions gave the rat a pause. "Interesting. You said you were a dragon, little cur?" Zladimir said as Suvica teetered to his feet; the rat's spell couldn't harm him, but it still felt _wrong_ to feel a force of nature he so frequently used turned against him. "I cannot imagine why a dragon would have a human body, but your defensive nature intrigues me the most! Why would a ruthless beast such as you care so much about these twerps? Is there someone here you're protecting? The Princess? No. Perhaps the assistant of the nameless sage? Can't be. Or is it the daughter of Talon, owner of Lon Lon Ranch?" Suvica tensed, and the conceited pest laughed. "It is, isn't it? Oh, how rich! Why do you protect her so? Is she related to the reason why you appear human? Did you and her share a tragic moment which binds you? You cannot be in love, for I doubt mindless creatures like you are capable of feeling emotions towards lowly fleas such as her."

Suvica snarled as the rat insulted Malon. "Keep talking, I dare you!"

"Then I shall! Work for me, oh mighty dragon! Together, with you at my side, I can rule Hyrule! With the rupees gained from Princess Zelda's ransom and your strength, no one can oppose us! Your twin is more than welcome to join as well! I shall even overlook the … escapade, you two have caused."

"We're not twins!" Suvica and Forest Boy said as one.

"And why the hell would I work for you? I'm here to kill you!" Suvica added.

"Really? A pity, then. I was thinking of sparing the red-haired girl with your cooperation. After suffering such loses to my men, I must release my anger and test my spells on _someone_, and as the hostage with least value, she makes a suitable subject. Serve me, and I'll let her live on a leash. I'll even feed her scraps from time to—!"

Suvica fired a shot of lightning, snarling as Zladimir easily anticipated it and threw up a magic shield to protect him. "I'll kill you!"

"Too bad. Men, reclaim our baggage, and eliminate the two rodents. We have ground to cover and demands to make. The dragon can no longer fly, and they have depleted the last of their bombs. Eliminate them." Zladimir arrogantly swished his robe as he turned his back to them and walked away. His men, augmented by their leader's words, charged in from all around them with eager revenge.

"Suvica!" Forest Boy's shout caught his attention, and he turned to see an orb of crimson levitating in the center of his left palm. Immediately recognizing it as the spell which cooked the King Dodongo from the inside out, he knew what he had to do. Knowing how painful it would be and not really giving a damn anyways, Suvica threw out one shredded wing, smoldering a howl as the pain burned him, and shielded the girls with what was left of the fire-proof membrane. "Din's FIRE!"

The spell exploded, expanding a dome of fire from the spot where Forest Boy slammed the magic orb into the ground. The mercenaries were only given a second to portray their fear and regret before being engulfed by the inferno, while Suvica enjoyed the pleasant warmth licking his body and brushing his crumpled wing. When the spell died, all the grass within a thirty-feet radius was burnt black, and a fourth of the Silver Moon's remaining fighting force was charred and barely breathing.

Zladimir's flummoxed face was the best. "Wha—?"

"Get him!" Forest Boy ordered, releasing one Disk Attack after another into the unharmed mercenaries, who were motionless from shock.

"With pleasure!" Suvica stampeded into the bumbling fools in his way, punching, kicking, and elbowing them as he ran towards Zladimir. The rat thought Suvica was merely rushing headlong into another spell, but Suvica wasn't that stupid. The moment Zladimir moved his lips to work his magic, Suvica jumped, feeling the wind spell, Farore's Rage, blast a column of air beneath his feet. As he soared over the off-guard rat, he snaked his tail around the mage's neck, and when he landed on his feet, pulled Zladimir close to make the pest his personal punching bag.

"D-Din's Origin!" Zladimir coughed before Suvica could throw his first punch; a flash of red light, almost as powerful as a deku nut, seared his eyes. Suvica screamed at the eye-blinding pain, but refused to loosen his tail from the slippery rat's neck. Instead, he felt something smash his tail beneath a hundred pounds of pressure after the snake shouted, "Din's Might!" causing the limb to go limp and release the crafty bastard. Suvica returned his broken tail back into his body, blindly throwing his punches into the darkness.

"Din's Sword!" A series of cuts bleed open all across Suvica's chest, prompting him to cover himself with his scaled arms, intercepting the invisible blades and blindly running towards the general source of the attacks. "Farore's Rage!" He was blown back, tumbling into lost space before hitting the grass, where he pushed himself back up. It was infuriating, but he still couldn't smell the rat, probably due to the spell one of those underlings mentioned before.

"Let us assist you, Master Zladimir!" A mercenary shouted, followed by several other approving shouts. "Allow us to slay the dragon!"

"By all means, entertain yourselves!"

The idiots cheers, and Suvica heard them bumble towards him with careless charges because of his handicap. They underestimated him far too much; when one of their swords slashed across his back, Suvica spun around and punched, feel the opponent's bones crumble beneath his fist. Another fool stabbed him in the chest, but he merely pulled the weapon out, stepped forward, and struck again; the second mercenary went down with ease. The process of get-hit-and-retaliate continued until all the attacks stopped and Suvica's vision blurrily returned. His wounds were healing, but slower than before; he'd sustained too much damage as it was.

"Din's Might!" He turned to see Zladimir waving a staff made from an Earth Dragon's horn, using it to amplify his spells and tear a chuck of hardened dirt from the field and magically throw it at Suvica, who broke it apart with his fists.

"That all you got?"

"Hardly! Din's Sword!" Zladimir pulled out another staff from his robes, throwing transparent blades of red with each swing. Suvica battered aside the annoying attacks as he charged, undeterred. Right as he was about to put his fist in Zladimir's face, the mage jabbed his Earth Dragon staff into the ground and pulled out a rod carved from a Wind Dragon's horn, yelling, "Farore's Rage!"

This hurricane of wind was incomparable to the gusts summoned before, its power multiplied because of Zladimir's tools. Suvica braced himself as the jet of air-slicing wind slammed into him, peeling off droves of his skin before flinging him away. He landed hard on his back, and Zladimir progressed to his next spell, using Din's Might to form a small mountain over Suvica and send it plummeting down. Suvica rolled to his feet and dashed out from beneath the mound of earth before it could flatten him, falling victim to the next incantation. The rat used the Fire Dragon staff to cast Din's Fire, which darted across the field as a magnified spot of sunshine before stopping beneath Suvica, where it turned into a geyser of fire.

He stepped out from the current of flames unharmed, but realized something was off. He'd sparred with Forest Boy plenty of times, watched the Princess cast her magic at every opportunity; each time these two used their powers, Suvica always noticed a small, almost unnoticeable, drop in their strength. Yet after all Zladimir's spells and flamboyant magic, there wasn't a bead of sweat on his forehead.

"How much magic do you have?"

"Plenty enough," Zladimir chortled, using Din's Might over and over again to watch Suvica struggle to pulverize each flying slab of earth he hurled. "Did you know magic can be stored into specially prepared items? It's like a spare container of energy, waiting to be used at the appropriate time!" He used his Wind staff to toss Suvica back with another Farore's Rage after he tried to get close. "I have been in possession of one such container, and I have concentrated a _decade's _worth of my magic into it! Do you think you can defeat me by forcing me to expend myself? Foolish! I am still brimming with power! I can continue casting my spell for weeks! Months! You caught me off guard before, but now I cannot be stopped! Why, even if you fought me as a complete dragon, you would be at my mercy!"  
A vein pulsed on Suvica's head.

"You will fall, pathetic reptile! Preparation is the ultimate advantage! As I am now, nothing can defeat me, not even a thunder of dragons! Your frail race is nothing to me! Why, perhaps I should visit your cowardly species and harvest their horns! They say a dragon is the embodiment of power? Ha! They are only good as corpses, where their harvested horns can be used to magnify my powers! Your defeat today will be proof of my dominance! DIN'S MIGHT!"

Suvica stopped running, swatting aside the lame excuse of a spell with one hand. Sure, the dragons were a dying species, their bloodlust tamed by mounting years of inactivity, but they were still _his _race. Frail? Cowardly? This rat was pissing him off all day long, but now he'd crossed the second forbidden line: _No one _mocked his race.

His rage had never been so high.

His hate had never been so deep.

And his bloodlust was never so clear.

"My defeat will prove what? That you can beat a dragon?" Suvica said, his voice personified by so much wrath it sounded calm. His slowly strode towards Zladimir, who used his Din's Fire on him to achieve absolutely nothing. "I'll admit, I'm pathetic. Years ago, I thought I was the strongest, but I couldn't even bring down Hyrule Castle."

"Din's Sword!" The see-through blade slashed across Suvica's chest, but it didn't put a pause in his steps as he continued.

"I was defeated by a Hylian Knight, and then turned into a human by a witch."

"Nayru's Verdict!" The lightning spell did nothing but tickle his skin.

"I tried to prove I was still strong as a human, but got my ass handed to me by the witch's son, and then got beaten around by a Dodongo."

"Nayru's Decree!" The blue chains of magic tethered onto every inch of Suvica's body, and the opposite ends of the links were fastened into the earth to hold him down. It didn't work, as Suvica continued walking uninterrupted, pulling out masses of dirt, stray rocks, and a nearby tree as he did.

"But the weakest thing I've ever done… was fall for a human girl." Suvica's three hearts ached as he admitted to the truth he so adamantly denied for so long. "I'm weak. The lowest of the low. If my family could see me now, they'd disown me for being so pathetic. But you know what that also means? If you can't beat me, how're you even going to dream about facing the rest of my race? SO COME ON! BRING IT! SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!"

"Arrogant cur! Din's Fire! Din's Might! Nayru's Decree! Din's Origin! Farore's Rage! Nayru's Verdict! Din's Sword! Din's Sword! Din's Sword! Din's Fire! Din's Sword! Nayru's Decree! Nayru's Verdict! Nayru's Decree! Din's Fire! Farore's Rage! Din's Fire! Nayru's Verdict! Din's Sword! Din's Might! Din's Sword! Din's Might!"

Suvica didn't bother raising his arms to defend himself. He'd long since used up his regenerative powers, so now all the additional and extra injuries bleed without restraint. The Din's Swords slashed open his skin, the Din's Might crashed and pummeled him until half his body was black and blue, and the Nayru's Decree chained him down with a hundred pounds of useless weight.

And he took it all.

Soon, Zladimir was growing pale with fright, shouting only, "Farore's Rage! Farore's Rage! Farore's Rage! Farore's Rage! Farore's Rage! Farore's Rage! Farore's Rage!" The wind magic battered him without remorse, whipping the blood from his wounds and splaying it into the grass below.

He persisted, and finally stood only a foot away from Zladimir, who was root to place by disbelief, a bead of sweat stirred by fear trickling down the side of his head.

"What's up?"

_SLAM!_

He put everything into this one kick, placing it right between Zladimir's legs. The rat kneeled over as his pain surpassed unbearable heights, his eye popping, mouth gagging, and bones (and more) breaking. He tripped backwards to flee, grasping his wounded area, but Suvica grabbed the guild leader's robe and pulled him close. "I'm sorry I'm nothing more than the weakest member of my frail, cowardly, and dying race, so please—" He cracked his blood-soaked knuckles, "—bear with me until the end!"

_POW! SLAM! CRASH! SMASH! SMACK! BREAK! SHATTER! CRUSH!_

He dropped the disfigured rodent with immense fulfillment. While his battle with the King Dodongo was far more exciting, this little beat down won in terms of satisfaction.

A muck of screams caught his fading attention, and he blankly saw Forest Boy running towards him while carrying Malon, the Princess, and the cousin in his arms. Their limbs were still bound, by their non-enchanted mouth gags were removed. Forest Boy had been fending off Silver Moon mercenaries and protecting the girls while Suvica duked it out with Zladimir, so he was looking equally worn down. He was barely injured, yet his green tunic was a dark olive from the amassed sweat.

"Suvi!" Malon cried when Forest Boy put them all down, wiping sweat and blood from his face to catch his breath. "Are you okay?"

He refrained from laughing; even breathing hurt. "Do I look okay? Why aren't you idiots running?"

"Run and leave you behind?" Forest Boy panted. "I don't hate you _that_ much. You beat Zladimir." It was more of a statement than a question.

"I crushed his future," Suvica cackled, liking how appropriate it sounded. From a short distance away, the remainder of the Silver Moon mercenaries saw their fallen guild master. While Suvica would've preferred it if the idiots ran away, the morons only started shouting more nonsense about avenging their leader and charged with renewed gusto. "Well this sucks."

"Think you can still fight?" Forest Boy asked, struggling to keep his own toothpick and shield steady while pushing the girls behind them.

Suvica refrained from looking down at his body, already knowing how bad it was. "I'll take half, you take half?"

"Really? I thought I'd take the rest of them while you rest," Forest Boy joked; the kid was obviously running almost on empty, using banter to distract him from his lack of energy.

"Psh, you'd only get in the way. Leave this to me and get out of here."

"Why do we not all run for safety?" The Princess asked.

Suvica and Forest Boy stared at each other, and then laughed; each of them saw that the other was barely standing.

"How many do you think you can take down, lizard?"

"Before you, Forest Boy? Thirty, easily."

"Bring it on."

"Oh, I will."

"Boys," Forest Boy's cousin groaned.

To be perfectly honest, Suvica didn't have enough strength to chew on Blue Fluffy, and Forest Boy was on the verge of falling down. It'd be interesting to see how things were going to turn out.

Then: _thawng!_ An arrow landed in the grass between them and the Silver Moon mercenaries, prompting the sell-swords to stop in their tracks. From the low crescent ridge to the north, a small squadron of mercenaries appeared, galloping towards them on their battle-ready mounts.

"FOR GOLDEN SKY!"

"FOR RED SHADOW!"

It was Brown Badger (he was promoted from Bastard) and Stone-Face, leading their troops into battle, and riding on the white stallion between them was Rail. So _this_ was the reason he stayed at Koon. The remaining enemies went whitish, eventually screaming while they ran for their lives as the two guilds took them down.

Whether it was from reprieve or exhaustion (let's say exhaustion, it sounded better), Suvica fell onto his back, where Malon was there to catch him. As the sound of the one-sided battle echoed in his ears, Malon rested his head on her lap and brushed his blood-stained black hair from his eyes.

"You were amazing, Suvi."

"Damn straight. When am I not?"

"Every other day, I think."

"Gee, thanks."

"I should be saying thanks, for rescuing us with Fairy Boy. Who knows what would've happened to us if you hadn't come when you did."

"Who knows, who cares."

"So do you really like me that much?"

Suvica almost gagged on his sagging tongue. "W-What're you saying?"

"Well, I heard you say you fell for a '_human girl_' before you taught Zladimir a lesson in manners. Since I don't think it's Zelda, it's me, right?"

"C-C-Course not! I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Aw, you don't like me one bit?"

"Not one bit!" Confessing about the girl he liked to someone he could beat the children out of was different from admitting it to the very girl he had feelings for.

"Then why were you so desperate to rescue us? Don't pretend, I saw your face when you tried to save us back at the guild house."

"Erg … because … I … I liked Zelda and Lina's cooking, so I couldn't let anything happen to them, yeah!"

"You're a terrible liar."

"Fine! I'll say it! I was desperate to save you, happy?"

"Very! Can you tell me why you were so desperate?"

"Um … because … you … I … you're mine! You belong to me, and I take care of what's mine!"

"That's a terrible pick up line, Suvi."

"Ugh, give me a break. I saved your life! It's not like I'm some boastfully stupid human knight in shining armor!"

"Nope, you're better. You're my Black Knight, Suvica the Thunder Dragon." With that, she gave him a little peck on the forehead.

As the blood (which wasn't rushing out of his numerous wounds) flooded his face, Suvica groaned. "Damn it, someone get me a pancake."

* * *

EDIT: I'd like to say I'm proud of this chapter, but then I'd be lying. I don't know what's up with me, but this chapter didn't come out as I hoped, so I'm sorry for the poor read. I'm still in the experimental stages with my writing. Sorry for everything.


	27. Chapter 27, Return

**Chapter 27**

**Return**

Rail paced his steps as he walked down the open-wall coliseum, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere which came with his solitude. He did pass the occasional janitor responsible for tidying up the expansive arena, greeting him with, "Hello, little champion!" or "Good afternoon, mini champ!" and sometimes "Bah, you only won because you didn't fight me!" He didn't know how much self-confidence a toilet-scrubber needed to say that, but moved on all the same.

The vacant air, unpolluted by noise or words, helped settle his occupied mind. He always thought Malon was out of his league, holding his tongue and hiding his frequent stares ever since he joined Link's party back at the foot of Death Mountain, but he really thought he had a chance if he gathered his resolution and came out with it. Koon seemed like the ideal opportunity, a city filled with festivity and fun times. When he gave Malon his first gift to her, he wanted to ask if there was a chance he could come visit her at Lon Lon Ranch when Ganondorf was taken care of; instead, her sun-rivaling smile forced him to walk in the opposite direction, his face tanned by his burning blush. He knew he was a little timid around girls, but never like this. Sure, Malon was still a kid, while he was a teenager, but she was the first girl he'd met who was perfectly honest, frequently cheerful, and always trying her best to make others happy. How often did you meet a girl like that?

Then he witnessed her kiss to Suvica, the lightning newt with no respect for anyone but himself. He always knew there was something going on between Malon and Suvica, but never this. Either way, it was the defining hammer which nailed Rail's hopes against the bleak reality he didn't approve of. He couldn't tell whether Malon's kiss was a "Thank You" kiss, a "Sisterly" kiss, or "I'm so happy it's you," kiss, but Suvica's attraction was obvious to the thickest of idiots. Rail knew his place; he was the third wheel, the unwanted distraction that could only complicate matters. He knew one when he saw one; after all, he only needed to look in the mirror.

Giving up on Malon was the logical choice. He'd bury his petty crush with ignorance and denial, to make it look like his attraction never existed in the first place. After all, this course of action would work best for everyone. Still, he openly sighed as he dragged his feet deeper into the coliseum, hearing his forfeited voice echo off the walls darkened by afternoon shadows. It was just as his honorable father said so long ago; the first girl would be the one, while everyone who followed was a cheap substitution. He had no idea what his father was getting at back then, but now it was painful obvious.

"Troubled?"

Rail had walked into a long aisle where statues of the previous tournament champions were held, and Lina was sitting at the base of a bare-chested sculpture holding his opponent's decapitated head in his hand. Her unfittingly large crossbow was at her feet, her knees to her chest, and her arms wrapped around her legs so she was curled into a ball. Her blue eyes were puffy, and her cheeks streaked with dried tears.

"I could ask you the same," Rail replied, taking a seat beside her. "I guess Link really dropped a Bomb Flower on you, didn't he?"

"You should know. After all, you were there."

_Half an hour prior._

_ Back at the ramshackle Silver Moon guild house, Elderly sage Poe undid the last of the magical manacles, and the three hostages stretched their arms and legs, expressing their thankful liberation with tight hugs and joyous gratitude. The Golden Sky and Red Shadow mercenaries were busy rounding up the remnants of the Silver Moon, announcing Zladimir's defeat and forcing the guild to disband._

_ "You guys really are incredible," Lina praised after giving Poe an embrace so firm she almost strangled the poor chap. "Sure, Suvica did a good job beating up Zladimir, but he's a dragon, he doesn't know how to lose."_

_ "Damn straight," the lightning newt cackled as Poe healed his excessive injuries. ("Learn how to evade properly, foolish dragon!" The elder chided)_

_ "But Link! You held off more than seventy men all on your own, even while protecting the three of us!" Lina held Zelda and Malon tightly, pulling them close. "The way you used your magic, as well as your strength and cunning! You had those mercenaries dancing in the palms of your hands! I bet you could've beaten them all if you weren't so concerned about watching over us!"_

_ "I doubt it, I'm not that strong," Link said modestly. "But Lina, there's something I have to tell you, something important. I heard how you, Zelda, and Malon got kidnapped, and if I'd told you this sooner, it could've been avoided."_

_ Rail's gut hit the floor, while everyone else stared at Link in horror. Suvica was the only one who looked like he was going to enjoy what happened next._

_ "Believe me, I know how I put everyone in danger," Lina groaned, messing up her hair as she furiously scratched her scalp. "I let that little liar's words get to me, and he lured us all to the Silver Moon goons. If I hadn't been so stubborn, it all could've been avoided. Spawn of the Fiend? Here in Koon City? I'm the most gullible of fools. I'm sorry for putting your friends in danger, Link."_

_ "Everyone's fine now, so it's okay. By the way, I should give this back to you," Link pulled out Lina's mini-ballista from his pouch; it always fascinated Rail to see such large items get drawn from the tiny little leather bag. Though Lina was certainly surprised by the little performance, something else shocked her far more._

_ "T-That's mine … but … but that can't be! My teacher put a curse on that! Only _I_ can hold it! If anyone else tries to pick it up, it'd weight a thousand pounds, no matter how strong you are! So how—?"_

_ "Are you sure you're the only one who can hold this?" Link asked, holding out the crossbow for Lina to receive._

_ "Well …" She nervously glanced at Poe. "… sure, my teacher said he was a little sloppy with the curse, so there's a possibility for others to hold it. But for that to happen you'd have to be, I don't know, like my brother or sister, or maybe …" She paled when she came to the truth on her own._

_ "Maybe a cousin?" Link finished, dropping the crossbow in her stiffened arms. "I should reintroduce myself. When we first met, I said I was Link from the Kokiri Village. While that's true, it's not the whole truth. I'm also Link H. Skyloft, the son of Cross and Lillian Skyloft, the Fiend and the Savior."_

_ Lina didn't, _couldn't_, move. She took a step away from Link, and then ran out the guild house with a fleck of tears marking her steps._

"I didn't think you'd come here," Rail said, staring into the open windows of the coliseum, where the afternoon light was seeping in.

"It's the quietest place in Koon," Lina replied, her eyes locked onto her weapon. "When it's not the yearly tournament, this place is as barren as a grave, since it's not used for anything except the annual occasion. It's also strictly off limits until then, but only if you get caught."

"Huh, think we'll get caught?"

"I think it doesn't really matter, not right now."

Rail couldn't argue with that; he could be tossed into the darkest of dungeon ceils and still feel just as disheartened as he did now. Before the silence settling down on them could turn to discomfort, he asked, "So, what're you going to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Before, you said if you ever met the Spawn of the Fiend, you'd welcome him with open arms. Instead, you ran away. Pretty contradictory if you ask me."  
"Ha, no doubt. Ladies and gentlemen, Hyrule's biggest hypocrite is on display. One green rupee to insult her, one blue rupee to chuck a rock at her face."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Rail said, nudging Lina's shoulder. "You can still go back and make it up to him."

"You can see a person's true nature by how they react to unexpected situations, and you saw mine. I ran. I thought I was a brave little girl who could handle anything Hyrule had to throw at me, but not this. Never this. You want to know what I did after running away? I went straight to the Red Shadow guild and demanded they give me everything they had on the Fiend's son, and this is what they gave me." Lina opened one clenched hand, tossing a crumbled-up sheet of paper to Rail. When he unfolded it and flattened out the creases, he saw it was Link's alert notice, showing his bounty, his title as the Spawn of the Fiend, his mistreatment of Zelda, and his powers to control the undead. "You've been traveling with my cousin for a while now, right? Tell me, how much of it this true?"

"None," Rail replied, balling the parchment back up and tossing it aside. Then he knew how much trouble they'd be in if a curious janitor found and unfolded the alert notice, so he picked it back up and tucked it into his pocket. "Link's a one of a kind guy, that's for sure, but he's not out to destroy Hyrule, he's trying to save it."

"How? By kidnapping the Princess of Hyrule?"

"Isn't this stuff you should be asking Link, not me?"

"I … I can't, at least not yet. I came here to put my head on straight, so I won't rashly say something I'll regret. I want to know more about my cousin first. I don't want to barge in on him and start accusing him of things he never did. I want the truth, not the commonly believed lie. I won't make a fool out of myself by acting like I know who he really is when I actually haven't got a clue. I don't want to hate myself anymore than I have to."

"Sure, I'll be glad to fill you in, but I'll only tell you the things I'm sure of. I'll tell you everything we've been up to and what we hope to do, but I won't say any of my own assumptions or opinions. Those are for you to decide."

"Thank you."

"Still, I don't know _everything _Link and the others have been up to. I first met them before arriving at Denion, when—"

* * *

"—and that's how we ended up at Koon." Rail finished.

By the time he was done, the sun was gone, and the twilight brightened room was taken over by the shine of the moon. He pulled no punches, unwilling to lie by omission. He told her about his "grandfather," King Halden, the Denion Rebellion, the surprise appearance of Lillian the Wise, his journey to catch up with Link at Death Mountain, the Curse of the Ltula Family, the Composer Brothers, their exploration of the Royal Family Tomb, the discovery of the Sun's Song, their imprisonment at Goron City, their meeting with King Darunia, the battle against the King Dodongo, Cross the Fallen's innocence, their escape from Glen the Courageous and his knights, the reason for Zelda's condition, and then their frantic race to reach Koon for Zelda's sake. All the while, he reminded Lina why they did what they did: To retrieve the three Spiritual Stones and stop Ganondorf from claiming the wish-granting Triforce.

When Rail was done with his narration, Lina burst out in laughter, a response he hadn't been expecting. "What's so funny?"

"How is it _not_ funny?" She asked, picking up her crossbow and dancing to her feet, inciting Rail to chase after her as she strolled further down the aisle of statues. "I don't really care about Ganondorf or the Triforce. All this time, I thought I was the last of the Skyloft family, the one who'd have to scrub clean a name I never wanted. Then I learn my cousin _and _my aunt, Lillian, are both alive, and to make things all the more hilarious, the Fiend is innocent! Ha! If life had a sense of humor, this would be its idea of a bad joke. I've lived my entire life thinking the hate people threw at me was justified, that it all came down to me to carry the burden of the Skyloft name, to live with the dishonor of my family, only to discover there's nothing to ashamed about, and that I … I'm no longer alone."

Lina paused, standing at the feet of last year's tournament champion, and it took Rail a moment to see she was on the verge of tears; he hated it when girls suddenly started crying, because he had no idea how to deal with them. "W-What's wrong? S-Something in your eyes?"

Her response was another round of laughter. "You really have no idea how to treat a girl, do you?"

"I do! I … I just haven't …"

"Don't mind, don't mind," Lina waved him off. "But thank you for telling me everything. It's nice knowing I have a sibling I can be proud of. Save Hyrule by stopping Ganondorf, right? Tall order to fill."

"Believe me, I know. You want to help us? I'm sure everyone, especially Link, would love to have you come along."

His question managed to unsettle Lina. "Sorry, but I don't. I'm glad to see Link is working with Zelda to save Hyrule, to help other people, but it's … it's not something I can do."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, let's take you, for example. You're helping them out to fulfill a debt, right?"

"And to become someone I can be proud of, yeah."

"And you think you can do that by helping Link and Zelda save Hyrule."

"Of course," Rail affirmed. "I'm a man. I stick to my word and follow my guts, and I won't give up, no matter what we go through."

"Do you think you're doing the right thing, by saving Hyrule?"

"Yes."

"Then that's the difference between you and me. You see, I don't care what happens to Hyrule. In fact, I _hate_ the kingdom. My life has been ruled by a family I was born into and a past I've been forced to carry against my will. No matter how hard I cried or how much I begged, no one wanted to help the niece of the Fiend. I've been hunted and nearly killed many times to rid Hyrule of my '_taint_,' and the only one who bothered to save me was my teacher, who could care less about what happens to this kingdom. I was born into a world that's always hated me, and I hate it just as much. If Hyrule started burning to the ground tomorrow morning, the only reason I'd bother to help put out the fire is because Zelda's my friend. I only reason I want Link to succeed in stopping Ganondorf is because he's family. If those two didn't exist in my life, I'd be rooting for the Gerudo King. If I didn't meet my teacher, I'd be growing up as a bandit plotting Hyrule's downfall. That's the truth."

Though her stance was cold, Rail understood where she was coming from. He also experienced what Lina was feeling, that deep hatred towards the kingdom, the same anger he felt when his family was killed by Hylian Nobles. However, he legitimately wished to save Hyrule with Link and Zelda, because after traveling and getting to know his cousin, he believed the kingdom could change for the better when she became Queen. He might hate Hyrule's Noble class, but that didn't mean he hated Hyrule in general. It was something Nabooru taught him through her actions; just as you couldn't judge one person by their race, Rail couldn't condemn all of Hyrule for the criminal actions of a few men.

"So what do you want then?" Rail asked. "You hate Hyrule, you don't want to help save the kingdom, so then what? Are you going to spend the rest of your life with your teacher?"

"Don't think so small scale, Rail. Hyrule isn't the whole world. I'm always listening to my teacher speak of lands beyond the kingdom, of nations and countries far different from our own, with exotic cultures, people, and races that push the boundaries of our imagination! While he's never taken me to any of these nations before, always traveling within the confines of Hyrule as of late, I've seen enough to know there has to be more out there. Once I'm old and experienced enough, I'm leaving. I'll turn my back to Hyrule without looking twice! I'll see what the world has to offer, travel lands and seas not charted by any map, and discovering things other people can only dream about. You could come with me, you know."

Rail felt a little tingle of embarrassment when Lina winked at him, but found it was easily dissipated with a small chuckle. "You're an adventurer, but I'm not. When Ganondorf is dead and buried, and my debt is settled, I'm going to make sure Hyrule changes for the better. I know Zelda will make a wonderful Queen, but I'm going to personally make sure the poverty and injustice caused by Hyrule's thieving Noble class ends. I don't care if I do it through politics or force, with a diplomatic talk or a kingdom-wide rebellion. Hyrule will change, and when you come back from you're journeys, maybe you won't hate it as much as before."

"Can't say I'll be holding my breath, but it's something to look forward to," Lina smiled. "Thanks for the talk, Rail. I think I can look Link in the eyes when I see him. C'mon, let's go find the others. I'm betting we've got a lot more to talk about."

* * *

The Silver Moon guild (or what was left of it) was vacated, and so was Poe's bigger-on-the-inside house. Though Rail and Lina struggled to find their friends under the starlight, their problems were solved when Navi appeared (almost scaring the wits out of Lina when the fairy intentionally snuck up behind them). After they got the pleasantries out of the way, Link's partner led them to the Red Shadow guild, a dreary place resembling a large stone cube with several floors, one entrance, no windows, and the Red Shadow crest painted onto the four walls of the guild house.

The inside was as unimpressive as the outside; the bleak hallways were barely lit with dying candles, and the passageways themselves were long and narrow. Navi was a welcoming source of light, and for a good reason too. While Rail thought the corridors were simplistic in design, Lina showed him otherwise by revealing rotating-walls, hidden trapdoors, and secret chambers every two steps they took. There were even motion-triggered spike pits scattered about the outwardly normal floor, string-triggered crossbows tucked into the corners of the walls, and weight sensitive tiles which released poisonous gases when stepped on. If it weren't for the fairy's light and the aspiring-adventurer's guidance, he would've died fifteen times.

"Why all the traps?" Rail hissed quietly, fearing his voice could set something off.

"This is a guild specializing in gathering important information, so they've got to keep their secrets safe somehow. Watch out for that tile, it releases rabid raccoons when stepped on."

Rail bit down a curse when he almost activated the unperceivable trap. "Rabid raccoons? You've got to be pulling my leg!"

"You're welcome to find out."

"Just lead the way. And won't those raccoons starve if they're stuck in the walls, waiting for someone to chomp on all day long?"

"Not really. The Red Shadow guild gets lots of naïve intruders, so they're pretty well fed. Some of them are massive, and believe me, I've seen them."

Rail shut up, not wanting to dwell further into the morbid meaning of Lina's words.

After he failed to avoid a pressure-sensitive trigger which sprayed his face with a gas causing him to uncontrollably laugh like a maniac, Lina was sufficiently amused and showed him a secret passageway which circumvented the remaining ambushes.

"You couldn't … _ha ha_ … have used one of these … _chuckle_ … before?" Rail demanded, struggling to reel in his revolting giggles while squeezing through the narrow funnel hidden in the walls.

"Where's the fun in that?" Lina grinned.

They arrived at the main lobby room with relative ease, entering a square-shaped compartment filled with busy Red Shadow spies. Some were accepting commissions sent to their guild at the front counter, others were discussing how they'd handle their current jobs, and the rest were hanging from the catwalk on the ceiling while nibbling on their supper. Everyone was eerily silence, even though their lips were constantly moving. It took Rail a while to realize these spies held a conversation by fluently reading each other's lips, to prevent any eavesdropping.

"These guys take secrets seriously," Rail whispered; even his quiet voice sounded way too loud in here.

"Actually, they only started lip reading recently," Lina replied casually, making him feel foolish for speaking in an undertone. "I came here to visit a few times in the past, and overheard quite a few things I wasn't supposed to. This is their countermeasure against me."

_That's right, she's got Link's crazy-good ears,_ Rail remembered.

Lina brought them to the corner of the lobby, where she knocked on the door with a specific series of taps. Accepting the secret code, the door opened from the other side to let them in, accepting them into a diminutive little space no larger than the small residence Lillian had back at Denion. Its only interior decorations were the desk, the lantern hanging from the ceiling, and the wide array of assassination tools clustering the walls (poisoned daggers, blowpipes, handheld crossbows, the works). The only occupants were Natasha, leader of the Red Shadow guild, and Link, whom Navi flew to as soon as they were reunited.

For some reason or the other, Natasha had tears streaming down her eyes, while her face remained faultlessly expressionless (Rail had never seen someone cry in such an odd fashion).

"Welcome. I would offer you both a chair, but I have none," Natasha said, closing the only door behind Rail and locking it shut.

"You're crying," Lina pointed out after giving Link a small wave. The two were still a little awkward around each other, and Rail knew they'd need a little one-on-one time to iron out their uncomfortable wrinkles.

"Yes. My relief to hear Cross's innocence releases a great burden on my heart, and I could not stop the tears," Natasha replied with a straight face, dabbing her tears with the back of her hands. "Last I cried so hard was when my pet squirrel Chuckles died."

"You had a pet—wait, never mind. None of my business," Rail stopped himself; he had a hard time believing someone as stoic as Natasha could have a pet she cared for so dearly she cried over, but he didn't want to pry. "Anyways, I see Link told you about Cross. Anything else you two have been talking about?"

"She knew my dad," Link replied. "They were childhood friends, and she was acquainted with my mom as well. She told me a whole bunch of stories about them, and it was … it was nice."

"She also tell you about the great obligation she owed your dad?"

"No," Natasha cut in. "That is a secret for me alone."

"Sorry, didn't mean to meddle," Rail said apologetically. "But I have to ask: How'd you know our names? When we were confronted by Isaac, you said them out of nowhere and then walked away. What was that about?"

"The Red Shadow guild has the most proficient information network in Hyrule. Naturally, when the Princess of Hyrule was kidnapped, I was one of the first to know. I've been tracking your movements, and reviewing your backgrounds, ever since."

Rail tensed, feeling slightly troubled knowing they had such a powerful stalker. "You've been tracking us? Doesn't that mean you've known where we've been the whole time?"

"Yes. Since Princess Zelda's abduction, you've visited Denion, Luxvil, Kakariko, Goron City, and then Koon. My men lost you a few times, but you easily resurfaced on each occasion."

"Okay, that's creepy. Still, if you've known all this, why haven't you sold the information to Hyrule Castle? You're a guild, which means you run on the rupees you earn through your work. If you'd given away our location, Zelda's location, to King Ceylon, he would've let you name whatever price you desired. So why withhold it?"

"This was obviously my first intention," Natasha agreed, flicking her teardrops to the floor, where Rail uncomfortably noticed a few dried blood stains. "However, before my men could deliver this message to the King of Hyrule, you entered Denion City, were we discovered that Lillian Skyloft was living there under the name Sheba Moontear. Also, we learned Link, the kidnapper of Princess Zelda, was the son of Cross and Lillian. Honoring my friendship with his parents, I decommissioned the letter to King Ceylon concerning your whereabouts and have kept a close eye on you all ever since."

"Wait, you had men in Denion who could freely send you updates?"

"Certainly."

"Then you knew the state Denion was in!" Rail shouted, a small explosion of anger smoldering in his chest. "You knew what Pavo was doing to the people in that city!"

"Yes."

"Then why didn't you do anything?"

"Because we were not commissioned or paid to take action."

Rail grinded his teeth; even if these mercenaries helped take out Silver Moon, sell-swords were still sell-swords, only working if the price was right. They only helped before, free of charge, because of their preexisting hate towards the Silver Moon guild.

"Easy there," Lina said, noticing his dark glare and slapping him on the back with a full palm. "Natasha and her guild helped us, and they deserve our thanks, not our scorn."

"I know," Rail growled, chewing down the stinging sensation stemming from his back. "Still, if you knew something was wrong in Denion, you should've helped."

"There was no reward, so there was no need."

"I hate you mercenaries."

"Noted. Let us move on. I have spoken and told Link what he wished to know, and I have answered your questions as well, Rail. Is there anything else either of you wish to ask? My information network is yours, no fee required, for tonight and tonight alone."

Rail was tempted to turn around now and storm out, but if what Natasha said about her guild was true, then this was a golden opportunity to learn a great deal more about the situation in Hyrule. "What's Ganondorf up to?"

"Commander Ganondorf? He is overworked and overburdened. He is currying favors from the Royal Council by perform their more menial tasks, such as handling the prisoners from the Denion Rebellion and sending envoys to the Gorons and Zoras to improve relations. He has also, for a few months now, taken over the Royal Court's duties, handling the kingdom's taxes, organizing military affairs to protect cities and towns from the undead, redirecting food supplies to needy villages, and much more. While the Royal Court is free to do as they please with their newfound free time, all these duties keep Ganondorf from leaving Hyrule Castle for any extended duration."

For a moment, Rail was disappointment. Ganondorf was their ultimate arch-nemesis, and to hear he was doing nothing more than scramble around while begging for favors like a power-mongering Noble left a bitter taste in the back of Rail's mouth. On the other hand, it meant there was no reason to fear the Gerudo King's involvement with their matters. Rail really was over thinking things.

"What about my mom?" Link asked. "Do you know where she is?"

"Simple. Lillian Skyloft is currently working as a medicine supplier to the sick and needy in Hyrule Market. She's well known for her potent medicine and low prices. Though many Hylian Nobles are suspecting her true identity, she disappears before they can confirm their suspicions and resurfaces when they leave."

"What about my granddad?" Rail added. "Do you know where he is?"

"Simpler. Griffin Grand, or Halden the first King of Hyrule, is traveling with Lillian Skyloft. He pretends to be the needy father while Lillian is the dutiful daughter. He helps her distribute her goods whenever needed. He is safe and well."

To know his grandfather was out of harm's way brought Rail an unexpected source of relief; he didn't realize he missed his story-rambling ancestor this much. "Can you … send him a message? Or rather, can you deliver him a letter I write?"

"Yes." Natasha picked up an envelope, with the seal of the Red Shadow guild stamped onto the parchment, and handed it to Rail. "Place your letter in here and give it to any of my men. Tell them who the recipient is, and they'll make sure its delivery is a top priority."

"Thank you."

"The shipment fee is five rupees."

"I thought you said it was for free!"

"The information is. Your delivery is not."

"Rupee mongering mercenary."

"You're welcome. Anything else?"

Link nodded. "How are the Gorons and Zoras doing?"

"The Gorons are well. Though many believed isolating them with the Red-Eagle Gate would severely threaten our alliance, the Gorons have proved otherwise. Their declining economy has mysteriously improved, and they are constantly sending notices to King Ceylon updating him on their condition and asking for an audience. While Commander Ganondorf is strangely defiant against lowering the Red-Eagle Gate to grant the Gorons a meeting, I suspect the gate will be taken down within the week."

Rail held down a grin; it was nice knowing their actions were putting a wrinkle in the Gerudo King's brow.

"However, the Zoras are preparing for war."

That killed Rail's smile all together; Link, Lina, and Navi reacted just as badly. "War? With who? Why? When?"

"With the demons and their offspring, for they are invading Zora territory, and the battle will most likely take place in a week," Natasha answered each of Rail's hectic questions. "I'm not surprised you do not know this, for I only received this information myself recently. No doubt all of Hyrule will be alerted within a day. No one knew why at first, but spider demons have been ambushed Zora sentries patrolling the lands around Lake Hylia for weeks. Then a few days ago, they realized the demons were killing their scouts to keep their massive arachnid army, approaching the lake from the west, hidden. With their rouse of anonymity compromised, the spider demons have begun marching towards Lake Hylia day and night. As you know, Lake Hylia is the most prominent source of water in Hyrule, so should the demons overrun and poison it, many will die of thirst. No one knows why these monsters have suddenly amassed to strike against the Zoras, but talks of peace and treaty propositions have already failed. War in inevitable."

"Can the Zoras win?" Rail demanded.

"No doubt King Ceylon will send reinforcements to Lake Hylia to support the Zoras, but it will be difficult for him to muster his armies when they are scattered all throughout Hyrule to protect the people from the undead. The Zora's reinforcements will be few, for certain. However, should the war take place at Lake Hylia, the Zoras will have the upper hand, for they are unparalleled in underwater warfare, and their King is an excellent commander when freed from distractions. They will not fall easily."

Rail and Link exchanged glances, and he knew they were both thinking the same thing: They needed to get the Spiritual Stone of Water, and fast. If the Zoras needed backup, then they were doubtlessly going to be there, for if the Zoras were wiped out, and the bearer of the Spiritual Stone of Water killed, retrieving the stone would become near impossible.

"We need to talk to Zelda," Link said. "Do you know where she is?"

"She is with your other two companions. I believe they are at Isaac's guild, celebrating our victory. Is your conversation with them a matter of great urgency?"

"Yes."

Natasha nodded, walking up to a specific dagger hanging from the wall and giving it a tug; it was actually a disguised handle, opening up another concealed passageway behind the desk. "This way. This will lead us directly to Isaac's guild."

"Wow, the two of you have a secret entrance connecting your two guilds? You guys must be close," Rail noted, following Link as he hurriedly disappeared into the unlit route.

He swore he almost saw Natasha smile as she said, "Who says he knows?"

* * *

Everything stopped the moment Rail and the others walked out the end of the underground route, emerging into the brightly lit atrium of the Golden Sky guild. The Red Shadow and Golden Sky guilds really were like night and day. While Natasha's was dark, dreary, and armed down to the last stone, Isaac's was brightened by energetic torches equally spaced to chase away every shadow, and was brimming with Golden Sun mercenaries eating, cheering, laughing, and generally having a good time.

Of course, everyone froze when the figurehead of Isaac in the middle of the chamber automatically moved aside to make way for Rail, Link, Lina, and Natasha. Dozens of stupefied and baffled faces locked onto them as they walked in, and Isaac's was the most precious of them all. As the guild room continued to lapse into silence, Rail searched for Zelda, Malon, and Suvica. He found them sitting at the table at the foot of Isaac's boastful statue, their half-eaten food puffing out their cheeks as they blankly registered Natasha's secret entrance.

"What's up?" Natasha said to the dumbstruck Isaac, pulling a small lever hidden within the decorations lavishing the base of the sculpture to move it back into place.

"N-Natasha … where?" Isaac tried to demand, dribbling ale down his chin.

"We came to talk. Take us to your room so we can speak in private."

"Uh … right. Yes, right! You have much to explain!" Isaac roared, slamming his mug against his table and assuring all his mercenaries everything was alright; Rail and Link quickly beckoned for Malon, Zelda, and Suvica to follow them.

Isaac's room was on the second floor, a grand room five times larger than Natasha's. It was fully equip with an ostentatious bed, a few crystal tables and chairs, a bookshelf packed with untouched books, a walk-through window leading to a balcony, and a small collective of frequently-dusted yet never-used weapons in display cases.

"Why's your room so much bigger than Natasha's?" Rail wondered aloud.

"It's called preference! I like big spaces, and she doesn't!" Isaac snapped, clearly irritated with their random appearance. "Is this important? We do not know whether or not the Nobles who once supported Silver Moon will act against us or not, so it is important my men satisfy themselves to prepare for the worst!"

"These books are untouched," Zelda noted, ignoring Isaac's protests as she steered her wheelchair to the bookcase and dragged a finger through the coating of dust. "Why keep them if you do not read them?"

"He wishes to appear wise before the women he brings in here," Natasha answered before Isaac could stop her. "In truth, he cannot read."

"My kind of comrade," Suvica nodded appreciatively.

"Argh! Are you here to talk or mock me? Which is it, Natasha?" Isaac yelled, angrily pacing his tiger-striped rug while everyone else made themselves comfortable. Link and Lina stood beside Zelda and her wheelchair, and Malon and Suvica sat on the rim of the enormous bed. Rail took a seat between the wheelchair and the divan. "And since when has one of your secret passageways led to _my _guild?"

"Ever since our guilds were built," Natasha replied; while her face was inexpressive, it was easy to tell she was enjoying herself. "I thought it'd be fun to check up on you without you knowing."

Isaac groaned heavily, banging his head against his weapons-display case and cracking the fragile glass. "Please tell me that's the only one."

"There are sixteen others."

"GODDESS!"

"Don't overreact, it's unbecoming. Plus, I am not here to talk to you. Link?" Natasha disregarded Isaac's small hissy fit while looking to Link. "I believe you have something you wish to say to your friends?"

"I do. Everyone, the Zoras are going to war."

Zelda and Malon looked sick from the dire news, but Suvica grinned widely, saying, "Dang, this day just keeps getting better and better!"

With as few words as possible, Link updated them all on the situation, then said, "I think we should get to Lake Hylia as fast as possible. The sooner we meet with the Zoras, the better."

"Absolutely not!" Zelda vehemently denied. "Link, you are still a wanted criminal. Walking into hostile territory with such a carefree demeanor is no different from forfeiting your life! We must prove to the Zoras we mean them no harm, despite whatever they may believe of us!"

"Then a war's perfect!" The lightning newt snickered, clapping his hands merrily. "Swoop in, save the day, and prove we're on their side while tearing the enemies apart! Sounds awesome!"

"We barge into the middle of such a large-scale conflict and there's a chance _both_ sides will attack us!" Zelda pointed out. "We cannot convince the Zoras we're their allies by defeating a few spider demons! We will only provoke the demons and undeniably make them our foe! Taking on one massive army is already out of the question, so how do you think we will fare against two?"

"Natasha, why haven't you told me any of this before?" Isaac growled.

"Because it does not concern us," she replied.

"Why don't you directly petition to the Zora King?" Lina offered, trying to input helpful ideas to lighten their load. "If you need to convince the Zora's you come in peace, going straight to their King is the way to go, right?"

"That's a great idea!" Malon cheered.

"If it were not impossible," Zelda countered. "There is only one known entrance to the Zora's Domain, and it lies beneath Lake Hylia, which is sure to be heavily guarded due to the threat of war."

"What if we let ourselves get captured and they take us before their King?" Rail suggested, not really trusting the validity of his own plan.

"It could work, but I do not wish to become the prisoners of the Zoras and subject ourselves to their whimsical mercy. Secretly meeting the Zora King without alerting suspicion is our best, if not slim, bet of success. However, such a feat is impossible."

"We've done the impossible before," Suvica objected. "Killing the King Dodongo, getting to Koon to save your life, stuff like that. Who says we can't do it again?"

"Because this is a _stealth _mission," Zelda greatly emphasized. "Even if we were only to send Link, I doubt he'd be able to set foot in Lake Hylia without being caught. Additionally, because the entrance is underwater, we'd have to somehow out-swim Hyrule's fastest swimmers. We would not stand a chance."

"Maybe we can find a backdoor?" Malon suggested half-heartedly.

"Impossible, such a convenient entrance does not exist."

"It exists." Everyone was staring at Natasha, who said the most ludicrous thing without twitching an eyebrow. "It is scarcely spoken in forgotten stories and withered legends, but many fables still speak of a secret passage leading into the Zora's Domain."

"How … how do you know this?" Zelda inquired.

"I like secret passageways, so I frequently read up on them."

"The Zoras have never spoken of such an entrance before."

"It would not be much of a secret if they confirmed its existence."

"Then you know where it is?"

"No."

It was hard to tell whether or not Natasha was yanking them around by their noses or not, especially with an unmoving face like hers. Rail said, "This information isn't much help if we don't know if this backdoor exists or not."

"I have told you what I do and do not know, and it is all I can do," Natasha replied. "Your curiosity would be better sated if you knew the location of the Hidden Records of the Ancient."

"The what?" Link asked.

"Oh, here we go again," Isaac mumbled. "It's a story Natasha grew up loving. They say a long time ago, a great deity watched over everything which took place across the land, as if his roots of wisdom reached the four corners of the world. There was nothing he didn't know, and was saddened by how sorely misinformed the other inhabitants of the world were. Thus, he wrote down everything he knew and learned onto thousands upon thousands of scrolls. However, innumerable two-faced thieves and scoundrels tried to pillage his trove of knowledge for their own gains, not caring for their overall value or what not. That's why he secluded himself deep within Hyrule's forests and used his vast wisdom to perform a miracle of life: He created children through magic. He made them immortal with eternal youth so they would never age, forever isolating them from the taint of an adult's duplicity. The legends say his vast safe house of knowledge exists to this very day, hidden within the Lost Woods, where the immortal children read it at their leisure. See, sounds ridiculous, right?" No one but Isaac thought so, because everyone else was too busy staring at Link with disbelief. A wise deity, immortal children, the Lost Woods; there was only one logical conclusion.

"Wait," Link breathed, trying to straighten his own bearings. "For starters, I really want to know where you heard this story from. Secondly, are you talking about the Kokiri Library?"

"The what?" Isaac grumbled.

"The Kokiri Library! The library of my village, the Kokiri Village! Everyone in Hyrule calls it the paradise hidden in the Lost Woods!"

Isaac was finally swept off his feet, and Natasha couldn't keep her impassive face together as her mouth dropped. "Boy … what are you …?"

"I was born in that paradise," Link swiftly explained. "Yes, it exists, and yes, it's filled with children who never age. And NO, you'll never find it!" He roared, catching the greedy look in Isaac's eyes. "The forests surrounding the village are cursed, so that all who enter with harmful intentions are turned into undead Stalfos."

"It's true, then!" Zelda squealed eagerly. "The Hidden Records do exist!"

"Yeah, I guess they do," Link nodded. "I've read a few of the scrolls there in my spare time when I still lived in the Kokiri Village."

"Then you know—?"

"No, I don't know where the Zora's secret entrance is. There are _millions_ of scrolls in that library. Sure, reading them all is no problem if you can live for hundreds of years like the Kokiri, but I don't think we've got that much free time on our hands."

"But it's our best bet!" Zelda said, almost bouncing in her wheelchair. "And should we be lucky enough to find the information we seek quickly, we can immediately head for the Zora's Domain! Link, it's the best we can come up with! Don't you wish to return to your village as well, even if it's only for a short time?"

"Of course I do, but—!"

"Yes!" Malon practically screamed, bouncing on the bed so high she almost her head on the ceiling. "The paradise in the Lost Woods! We're going to the paradise in the Lost Woods!"

"So the one who came up with the pancake lives there?" Suvica murmured, thinking only with his stomach. "If Forest Boy's right and his village has an endless supply of food … that means there's an endless supply of pancakes! What're we waiting for? Let's go!"

"I'll admit," Rail added, barely holding down his smile incited by the bubbling excitement rising from his rapidly beating heart. "I really want to see what your village looks like."

"Please take me too." Natasha was suddenly on her knees, her detached expression back in place, but her purple eyes pleadingly staring at Link. "Finding the Hidden Records of the Ancient has always been nothing more than a childhood dream for me, so to watch it become a reality before my very eyes is a chance I will not forgive myself for missing. Please take me."

"Natasha! What're you saying?" Isaac vividly yelled, grabbing her shoulder, forcing her to stand, and wheeling her around so he was glaring directly at her. "You're the guild leader of the Red Shadow! You can't drop your responsibilities at the tip of a hat!"

"You will watch over my guild regardless, wouldn't you?" Natasha replied. "I trust you, Isaac. You would never let anything bad happen to my men in my absence."

"That's not the point! I don't want anything bad to—!"

"I'll reveal the locations of all sixteen hidden passages in your guild upon my return."

"Deal. Hurry up and go."

Link turned to his cousin, Lina. "What about you? Thinking about coming along?"

To Rail's surprise, Lina turned down the prospect of an adventure. "No, I have to stay. You met my teacher, and you know what he'd do if I told him I was visiting the Lost Woods to meet its immortal children. Staying here and keeping him oblivious is the best thing I can do for you and your undying friends. Sure, I want to see the paradise, but for me, finding it on my own is half the fun. When will you be leaving?"

"First light."

"Then we've got time to talk."

"I look forward to it."

With everybody prancing and merrily anticipating their next destination, Rail prayed and hoped no one would get in their way.

* * *

"Lord Glen! Please wait! You're not fully healed yet"!  
Glen ignored the pesky physician, blocking out the bruising pain radiating from his chest with his emoting rage as he marched. He vividly remembered the Spawn striking him down, recalled each burning desire to get back up, and recollected every mountain of grief when his body could not meet his mind's demands.

He could sit still no longer.

As he stomped down the polished hallways of Hyrule Castle, storming past the stationed guards, paying no heed to the giggling Noble wrenches squealing his name, and shoving aside the annoying doctor who continuously tried to bring him back to the infirmary, he navigated his way to the castle's treasury. While the inner castle workings were gorgeous with the pastel moon illuminating the windowed hallway with its silver radiance, his fury refused to let him intake the beauty.

When he approached the heavily locked doors sealing the treasury, he growled at the small army, "Give me the keys!"

The commanding officer of the platoon strongly objected. "Lord Glen, access to the Royal Treasury is only given to those with the King's or Commander Ganondorf's written permission and Royal Seal of approval. Please, I must ask you to turn around and walk away."

"Give me the KEYS!" Glen roared, causing the soldiers to quiver in their armor. He'd never, ever, acted this way to his fellow brothers-in-arms, for his master taught him to respect his comrades, no matter how weak or strong, physically or politically. But now his patience was devoured by his glutinous need for revenge, his rationality a pathetic breeze ordering his mountain of rage to bow.

"Lord Glen, please understand! We cannot—!"

He couldn't take it anymore. Without hesitation, he bashed his elbow across the speaking guard's face and punched another with a clenched fist. Reacting to the provocation, the rest of the squad drew their weapons and attacked. Though Glen was wounded and outnumbered fifty-to-one, these men were unwilling to attack the man praised as the Courageous, and their empathy was their undoing. In a matter of second, Glen disarmed two of the soldiers, grasped their discarded blades in his hands, and became an unstoppable berserker, hacking and slashing all who opposed him. He saw the eyes of hurt and betrayal in the men he cut down, but their broken trust could not tame him. As he merciless defeated the last of the footmen, a group of archers were hesitantly arming their bows and preparing to fire, while two of the castle's mages regretfully prepared their magic. After seeing their fellow guards fall to Glen's fanatical wrath, these soldiers weren't so indecisive. They fired their arrows at their superior, yet these pointy sticks were nothing compared to the Spawn's Modified Magic; Glen smacked the arrows out of the air with his swords and plowed into the archers' ranks, dropping each of them with a frenzied slash. All that remained were the mages; their magic only reminded him of the Spawn's undeserved powers, and he avoided their frail spells and cut them down with barely an inch of their lives to hang onto.

His opposition defeated, Glen searched for the three keys which could open the treasury's doors. He found the first two with ease, hanging from the belts of two separate soldiers, but failed to spot the third.

"Lord Glen!" The last key was gripped in the hand of a fallen archer, and he held it over a drain pipe which would send it plummeting into the castle's moat, where it would take days to retrieve. This was a last resort used to prevent intruders from plundering the castle's sacred treasures.

"Hand it over, soldier," Glen growled threateningly, clutching his two keys in his hand with maddening ferocity.

"Please, regain your sanity Lord Glen!" The archer meaninglessly begged. "This is not you, my lord! You've always treated us soldiers fairly, regardless of our social standings! What has changed you? What demons have possessed you to strike down your fellow men?"

"GIVE ME THE KEY!"

"PLEASE STOP THIS LORD GLEN!"

Glen saw the soldier's fingers loosen around the key, threatening to drop it into the aqueducts leading to the castle's moats. He hurled his sword, impaling the man's arm against the wall and closing his fingers around the key in pain. Without a shred of remorse, Glen strode over to the rebellious subordinate, pried the key from his sweating fingers, and turned a deaf ear to the man's pleads as he used the three keys to unlock the treasury door.

The mountains of rupees within failed to divert his hardened glare as he kicked past the sea of wealth, storming to the opposite end of the treasure chamber and opening the next door.

This was where the castle's royal weapons were kept, where the kingdom's most magical and powerful armaments were stored until their time of need. Ignoring the fabled equipment lining the walls and failing to meet his standards, Glen made his way towards the three which he desired.

"GLEN!"

The majestic voice caused his skin to shiver as he recognized its owner: King Ceylon. Glen immediately spun around to face his sovereign, getting on one knee and bow his head so the red-carpet floor was all he could see.

"My King!"

"Glen, what is the meaning of this?" Glen couldn't see his King with his head bent so low, but could tell King Ceylon was approaching as his voice drew nearer. "The physicians say many of the good men you cut down may never be able to hold a weapon again. I can understand your frustration, but it does not give you the excuse to turn your blade against your comrades. Why have you attacked your fellow brothers and broken into this sacred room without my permission?"

Glen swallowed his self-loathing and regret. "I must bring her back, my King, I must bring back Princess Zelda! Twice, I've let her slip from my grasp, and twice, it was because of the Spawn of the Fiend! My pride and honor does not allow me to rest while Hyrule's Princess rests in the Spawn's claws!"

King Ceylon sighed, and Glen could detect the weakness in his voice. His liege lord had skipped so many meals, lost too many nights of sleep, worrying for his daughter, yet Glen failed to produce results time and time again. To make matters worse, King Ceylon never raised his voice, never punished Glen for his failures, making his self-anguish all the more unendurable.

"My faithful knight, you have done everything within your power to rescue my daughter, and your efforts lighten my burden of grief. However, you've been defeated twice by the Spawn of the Fiend, and rushing out now, injured and tired, will only ensure a third. Rest, my Courageous knight. Rest and beg for an apology to the men whose trust you've betrayed. This is an order."

"I cannot obey that command!" Glen shouted, his fists clenching until his nails drew blood from his palms. "I have failed you too many times, my King! Your suffering is my fault, and I shall correct it! Please, give me the order to resume my duties, and I shall return with Princess Zelda! I beg of you!"

"None of this is your fault," King Ceylon said with such kindness it made Glen loath himself all the more. "If anything, it is mine. When you sent me the message saying the Spawn of the Field was alive, I thought nothing of it. Many before have falsely labeled themselves as the child of Cross and Lillian, and all have been punished accordingly. I did not send you the proper reinforcements, for I did not believe the validity your claim. But when you came back from the Kakariko, defeated, I knew how grave my error was. If I'd only gotten over my hatred towards the Fiend for slaying my parents, if I'd only devoted more time searching for Lillian and her baby twelve years ago, they could be here now, living within Hyrule Castle under my rule and protection, and you would have your wish to train and fight beside the son of your master. Instead, Lillian's child has been tainted by evils unknown, and kidnapped by only daughter, my only family. If anyone has made a mistake, it was me."

"Never! You've only acted with Hyrule's best interests in mind! You are kind beyond measure, and your actions have never been more true! I swear on my title as the Courageous, the Spawn of the Fiend will pay for everything he's done!"

"Are you sure about this, Glen? He may be the Spawn, but he is also the son of your master. Are you sure it was not your personal feelings which fogged your judgment during your battle with him?"

"No!" Glen growled with utter certainty. "Master Lillian told me to reinforce my own sense of justice, to do what I believe is right with absolute conviction, and that is what I shall do! The Spawn of the Fiend is evil, and I shall slay him! The next time we meet, I will defeat him with Hyrule's greatest weapons, and I will bring back Princess Zelda without fail!"


	28. Chapter 28, Homecoming

**Chapter 28**

**Homecoming**

Link watched the city from the second-story balcony of Isaac's gaudy guild, observing the slow-flowing creaks of activity dancing at the stroke of midnight. He'd gotten used to seeing cities devoid of greenery, yet their next destination had his stomach dancing in jitters.

The Kokiri Village.

Yes, he'd always planned on returning home, inviting all his new friends to celebrate Ganondorf's timely demise, but not like this. The Gerudo King was still alive, and the Spiritual Stone of Water was in danger. He wanted to see his old friends, he wanted to see Saria, but not right now. If he went back home, the events taking place in Hyrule would force him to leave yet again, resulting in another painful farewell. He didn't want to go through that again.

"Hey there."

His cousin, Lina H. Skyloft, cautiously walked up to him, standing by his side as he leaned against the balcony's polished railing. She was doing her best to appear cheerful, but he still saw the small crusts of dried tears clinging to the corner of her eyes.

Though he didn't know how his cousin felt about him, he was glad to have met her. It was comforting to know there was another member of his shattered family, but one glance told him everything he needed to know about the harsh suffering she'd been through. She walked with caution, but couldn't conceal the stiff movements in her shoulders and legs, restricted by past injuries. The few times he saw the nape of her neck, he spotted a mess of scars clawing their way up her back, foreshadowing the devastated state her body was in. If he had to bet, he'd say more than half of Lina's body was covered in scars and burns which would torment her for the rest of her life. She took the full brunt of the Fiend's curse, while Link came out unscathed, protected from Hyrule's undeserving wrath within the safety of the Kokiri Village.

He didn't know how to face her without a modem of guilt in his heart.

"Hi," Link greeted, feeling Navi jingle slightly in his hood.

"Lovely night," Lina whispered, sitting on the balcony rail with more than a fair amount of distance separating them. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"You know what. You heard me say how I'd welcome you with open arms, but when you showed me who you really were, I freaked out and ran away."

Link didn't blame her; she'd been confronted by a cousin whose existence she denied all her life, yet had been obliviously living with for a few days. Who wouldn't be freaked out? But right now, he wanted to know how she was feeling, and was frustrated when he couldn't tell: Hate, joy, sorrow, delight, it could be any of these emotions. So he asked, "What about now? Do you feel like running away?"

"Not really. I talked to Rail. He told me some interesting things."

"Like?"

"Like how you can control the sun and moon with a song. I can't really doubt him when I saw it happen for myself. I'll never underestimate another street performer again."

"I'm pretty sure I remember the Composer Brothers asking us to keep their songs a secret."

Lina winked. "Don't worry, I'm good at that."

"What else did he say?"

"He told me what you and Zelda are up to. Saving Hyrule? If you weren't a part of the Skyloft family, I'd say you were way out of your league."

"You could help. You're also a part of our extraordinary family, so having you around would be a great help."

Lina shook her head, her short bullion hair waving with the night breeze. "I already told Rail, I'm not interested in saving Hyrule. Sorry if I sound selfish, but I really don't care about this kingdom."

"You're not selfish."

"Really?" Lina hopped down and held his hands until their noses were inches apart. "You know, most people would try and tell me to move past my anger and do what's right for the greater good. Most people would say I'm a selfish brat for turning away from a land in need. So why do you say different?"

"I'm not '_most people_'."

"I know that, but I want to know your reasons. Why do you say I'm not selfish?"

"Because I've seen you. You pass off your pain like it's nothing, but I can tell. You're constantly in agony, either from previous wounds that haven't healed or recently inflicted pain. You have every right to hate the land that's done nothing but hurt you. And you think Zelda and I are trying to save Hyrule? That's true for Zelda, but not for me. I don't care about this kingdom either. I didn't even know it existed until about a month ago, so why should I risk my neck for it? I don't have any noble intentions. I only want revenge, revenge against the man who killed the father who raised me, the same man who framed the father who could've loved me."

"Ganondorf."

"Yeah, Ganondorf. If anyone's going to save Hyrule, it's Zelda, not me. I'm not a hero, I don't think I ever will be." Link confessed his lack of sympathy for Hyrule's plight and its people. He saw firsthand what they were going through, he knew he could help them if he tried, yet he still didn't care. There was only one man, one target, on his mind, and his demise took precedence over everything else.

Lina laughed, her merry cry filling the night. "We really are pretty similar. Not a hero? I'm can relate."

Link tried to mimic her carefree jollity, but there was one thing he had to know for sure. "Lina, do you hate me?"

"Well that came out of nowhere. What makes you think I hate you?"

"Why wouldn't you hate me? You've had to endure as the niece of the Fiend all your life, while I lived in ignorant peace. Cross is _my_ dad, and if we'd been raised together, I would've been able to protect and spare you from all the grief Hyrule had to throw. Instead, I was nowhere."

"Ha!" Lina's fingers gently tightened around his hands, her head shaking in amusement. "You're too nice. I'm sure if you could go back in time, you'd do exactly that: Protect me. I'd be grateful for everything, but I wouldn't be _me_. I like who I am, believe it or not. While I can firmly say my life has—well—sucked, I've learned and matured a lot because of it. I got to meet the nameless sage and became his pupil, seeing so many wonders Hyrule has to offer and learning how small I really am. I saw the Festival of Twilight in the deepest caverns beneath Death Mountain, collected the aqua gems produced by a school of Golden Trout as they migrated through Lake Hylia, visited the lost temple belonging to the Spirit of Sand in the unexplored edges of the Gerudo Desert, and so much more. But above all else … I … I …" Lina's head leaned against Link's chest, so all he could see was her ruffled hair; nevertheless, her shivering shoulders spoke of the tears she held back, "… I got to know the joy of meeting my lost cousin. I don't hate you, Link, I could never hate you, not when I'm this happy to see you."

As Lina silently sobbed into his tunic, Link hugged his little cousin, feeling the scars beneath her clothes and wishing he could've done more for her. "I'm happy you're happy."

She pushed herself away, tiptoeing out of his arms with a giggle and dancing under the moonlight. "You're too smooth, big bro. No wonder Zelda's going heads over heels for you, and I can see why. If we weren't related, I would've totally fallen for you too."

"Huh?"

"Don't '_huh_' me. You should've told me we were cousins the moment we met. That way, I wouldn't feel so awkward about all my plans to date you. Goddess,_ ew_. Thinking back, knowing you're my cousin only makes things worse. What were you going to do if I confessed to you and then found out we were related?"

Link tried to reel in Lina's words, utterly perplexed by their elusive meaning. "Confess to me? Why? Did you do something wrong?"

Her face went long, her eyes reflecting her disbelief. "No. Oh, no, no, _no!_ Please tell me you're not the thick type."  
"The … what type?" He asked, annoyed to hear Navi muffling her laughs with his hair.

"Big bro … can I call you that? I've always wanted to say it."

"Sure."

"Thanks. Okay, Big Bro, tell me this. If a girl says she wants to go out with you, how do you reply?"

"Obviously, I say '_Where are we going?_' What else is there to say?"

His little cousin's eyes rolled into her head as she spun herself in dramatic circles. "Nayru's good graces, I can't believe boys like you actually exist! I feel so sorry for Zelda!"

"Sorry for Zelda?" Link demanded, on high alert. "Why? Is something wrong? Is she sick again?"

"Shut up, I'm thinking," Lina growled, silencing him with her spontaneous fierceness. "That's it, this requires drastic measures. For stupid boys like you, big steps are needed."

"I'm not stupid!" Link strongly protested, insulted at the notion. Sure, he wasn't the smartest boy around the corner, but he still had a bit of pride in his wits.

"You're right," she agreed. "Your idiocy takes things to the next level, meaning Hylian scholars haven't invented a word to describe your level of stupidity. Don't worry, I'll fix that. Listen up, Link!" Lina was suddenly very stern, leering at him with absolute authority. "Remember how I said staying here to make sure my teacher doesn't dissect your immortal friends is the best thing I can do for you? I lied. Getting you to accept Zelda's confession is the best I can do as your cousin."

"Her confession? Why? What's she guilty of?"

"Falling in love."

"That's great to hear! Who's her new best friend?"

Lina slapped herself so hard Link thought she knocked herself out. Instead, she marched back into Isaac's minute-villa and dragged out Zelda on her wheelchair.

"L-Lina! What is the meaning of this? I am in the middle of helping the others make preparations for our journey to the Lost Woods!" Zelda objected as Lina wheeled her towards the balcony. "Link, what in Goddess Hylia's name is going on?"

"I'm not really sure," Link admitted, wondering why his cousin was acting so sporadically. Next, Lina hauled Zelda out of her wheelchair so she was propped against the granite balustrade, ensuring the two of them (Link and Zelda) were side-by-side, their faces inches apart.

"W-What are you doing?" Zelda demanded, her cheeks mysteriously blushing upon Link's closer observation.

"Believe me, the two of you will thank me in the future," Lina assured. "Now, both of you, look towards the city."

"Why?" Link asked, but was whipped back into place by Lina's hiss. Instead of trying to rebel against his cousin's authority, he obediently did as he was told (as did Zelda), as Lina repeated, "Look at each other, now back at the city, now at each other, now back at the city."

The process was so dull, repetitive, and nonsensical that Link dropped his guard long enough for Lina to catch him unaware with her next command: "Now back at each other … now, KISS!" Link's head went blank, and Zelda's became a tomato. Before either of them could complain, Lina grabbed them by the backs of their heads and pressed their faces together, causing their lips to tenderly make contact.

Lightning rocket down Link's spine from the unintentionally passionate action, and for the first time in his life, he had no idea what he was supposed to do next. Zelda, on the other hand, knew perfectly well: She nearly tumbled off the side of the balcony, poured out an incoherent babble of words with her redder than red face, then threw herself back into her wheelchair and zoomed away.

"Aw, her reaction was so cute. That was definitely her first kiss," Lina sighed in appreciation, obviously proud of what she'd wrought. "So, how do you feel, Big Bro?"

"Um …" Link had no idea what he was feeling. His skin burned from a rush of heat, his fingers trembled to an unknown chill, and his brain was as empty as the overhead moon. "…why?"

" '_Why?_' Please, as if you didn't know. For thick fellows like you, this is the only way to jump start a relationship. Plus, having Zelda is an in-law in the future would be awesome. So tell me, how was your first kiss?"

"That was … a kiss?"

"What else would it be?"

"It was … nice?" He was seriously fumbling for his words, trying to fish out the right things to say from the typhoon brewing in his head. "B-But it wasn't my first. I guess … it was my second?"

The smugness was slapped of Lina's mouth. "Second? Wait, then who was your first?"

"Saria, a friend of mine living in the Kokiri Village."

"Saria … is she … a girl?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't she be?"

"Oops." Lina blanked; when she came to, she was profusely sweating. "I think I just made things seriously complicated. Hey! It was nice talking to you! Bye!" She disappeared, running so fast he wondered how she got caught by the Silver Moon in the first place.

"What … what was all that about?" Link murmured, barely registering the events of the last few minutes. "I guess Lina's still a bit confused about having me as her cousin, don't you think, Navi?" When his partner didn't reply, he took off his hood to find the fairy pouting, her arms crossed and her face adamantly turned away. "Navi?"

"I don't want to talk to you."

"Why not? Is something wrong?"

"Yes. You've turned into quite the playboy since we last met, Link."

Again, more confusing words he didn't understand. "Playboy? I don't get what you're saying! What's going on with everyone? I feel like I'm the only sane person left in the city!"

"You never told me you kissed Saria before," Navi grumbled, flapping her moon-reflecting wings until she was hovering above the balcony's paling.

"It was an accident, and it happened a long time ago! How was I supposed to know you wanted to know about every girl I've kissed?"

Navi shot him a furious glare. "You mean you've kissed _other _girls?"

"Of course not! Only Saria and …" His cheeks were suffused with warmth. "… and Zelda."

"Playboy."

"C'mon Navi! Tell me what's going on! Why's all this kissing a big deal? I mean, it _feels _like a big deal, but I don't know why!"

"I don't know, why don't you tell me, playboy? Next thing I know, you'll be smooching Malon, kissing all the girls we come across, and seducing the Zora Princess."

"You're starting to scare me."

"Hmph!" Navi tightened her little arms across her chest and folded her legs to staunchly sit down. "With everything that's been going on, you've been paying less and less attention to me. Do you remember the last time the two of us talked to each other?"

Link thought back hard, he really did, because he didn't want his hood to be the residence of an angry fairy; there was no telling what kind of vandalism she could concocted up there. "We … talked recently in Koon, didn't we?"

"Talked? More like you used me as a candle while you and your new buddies babbled on about Lina."

"Um … what about on our way to Koon, when Zelda needed help? I'm sure we talked then!"

"You were ordering everyone around, shouting at us to pick up the pace. I don't think that counts as a conversation."

"Goron City! When we were on our way to meet the Great Fairy, you talked a lot!"

"I talked to Rail more than I talked to you."

"Ah, that's right! The Kakariko! When you told me what really happened to my dad! We had a serious conversation then, didn't we?"

Navi smiled, but it was a harsh and calculating twist. "Yes, we did, didn't we? And how long ago was that? Almost a WEEK! We've barely talked to each other for a WEEK, and you're acting like it's no big deal! We're _partners_, but you've almost forgotten all about me!"

Link wanted to say he'd never forget about Navi, but he couldn't deny his negligence for the past few days. She was right; they were partners, and while Navi was doing her best to support him at every opportunity, he'd frequently denied her the same luxury. He was at fault, and needed to apologize, but he wasn't going to say, "I'm sorry." That overused phrase was losing its value.

Therefore, he tried a different approach. "Navi, are you jealous?"

This put a new spring to her wings. "J-Jealous? Why would I be jealous? I'm your partner! I'll always be closer to you than any other girl!"

"When did I ever say you were jealous about girls?"

Navi's stuttering mouth flapped up and down, and Link was starting to formulate a resolution. "I-I'm not jealous."

"Of course you're not," Link agreed, scooping Navi into his hand and letting her sit in his palm. "And you're right, I've been disregarding you for the past few days. So to make it up to you—" Cautious so he wouldn't accidentally bite of her head, he gave Navi a small kiss to her thumb-sized forehead. "—thanks for everything, Navi."

In response to his show of appreciation, Navi erratically started flashing all the colors of the rainbow as her emotions went out of whack. When she settled down, she was humming with an embarrassed pink. "I-It's not like you're forgiven with j-just that!"

"Don't worry, I'll make it up to you," Link chuckled, glad to see his partner was much more lively despite saying otherwise. Kisses really were a powerful tool of persuasion; he'd have to practice more later.

"Link!" Rail called from inside Isaac's room. "We've got plans to make for our trip to the Lost Woods! Think you can help?"

"Sure!" Link replied, placing the fidgeting Navi in his hair and donning his hood. "And Isaac, wait there for a moment! There's something I'd like to talk to you about!"

* * *

The morning sun reflected off the collective dew beading the field, letting the grass shine like a carpet of jewels. It was a sight Link frequently enjoyed in the Kokiri Village, causing his melancholy to rumble; he still had his doubts about returning before exacting his revenge. Outside Koon City's gates, Link and his friends, along with one additional travel companion, were being sent away by a small farewell party. Having Natasha tag along was an unexpected turn of events, but after all the heart-warming memories she shared with Link about his father and mother, he wanted to repay her; satisfying her childhood dream seemed like the best way to do it.

Additionally, thanks to Natasha's "adult supervision," they were allowed to bring and ride in one of her freight wagons, its neck yoke harnessed to four powerful mares. It was an immense improvement compared to the shabby transport they commandeered from Kikorim. Its iron tires and axles were oiled and shaped to perfection, and the bonnet wrapping around the wagon bow was in pristine condition, providing them with ample amounts of shade. It was also large enough for all of them to fit in comfortably, even though Link noticed the sideboards and flooring were hollow, probably fitted with an assortment of hidden weapons.

Zelda was in top condition, fully recovered from her shattered soul ordeal. She could stand and walk on her own, and was excited to see her handling of magic was as good as before, if not better. Malon was already sitting at the driver's seat, eagerly holding the reins and hyped to get going. Rail was polishing his Hylian Shield with a liquid substance Poe gave him, saying it would keep the unidentified metal shining brighter than a star. Suvica finally managed to find himself some clothes; he was no longer bare-chested thanks to his new short-sleeved black tunic, though he refused to change out of his torched, torn, and ash-scented pants. He wore his chain-necklace he got at Denion around his neck, while tying a new souvenir around his head; it was a long line of ripped cloth he took from Zladimir's fancy robe, particularly the strip sewn with the gilded dragon. Natasha changed out of her annual ceremonial dress, garbed in very short auburn pants revealing her colorless legs, along with a sleeveless shirt of the same color. Her black hair was tied into a bundle behind her head, and she still had her sheathed, one-sided curved sword (calling it a katana, a weapon made in a foreign land) strapped to her belt.

The ones bidding them farewell were Lina, Poe, and Isaac. Lina gave each of them a hug, apologetically bowing several times to Zelda as she frowned at her. Poe tried to get them to sign his documents giving him the right to dissect their bodies if they died: Everyone refused. Isaac gave Natasha a brutish slap to her shoulder as a gesture of goodbye.

"What's that?" Malon asked Lina, peering at her oversized arbalest; Link curiously glanced over to them to see a new set of letters carved into the dark wood.

"This? It's the name I decided to give my crossbow," Lina replied, holding out her weapon for Malon to see; the word "FIEND" was magically glowing on the underside. "What do you think?"

"I think you'll get a lot of grief for it."

"I've got nothing to be ashamed about, thanks to all of you."

The two friends smiled at each other, sharing one last hug of goodbye. Link met Lina's eyes, and his younger cousin gave him a wink.

"Isaac, we have a deal, right?" Link asked the guild leader, hoping last night's proceedings did not go unforgotten.

"You have bought our swords and more, so we will heed your request when the time comes," Isaac confirmed with a nod. "We are mercenaries, and our loyalty belongs to our client. I will honor our agreement."

"Thanks," Link said before jumping onto the back of Natasha's wagon with the rest of his friends. When Rail asked him what he'd bought, he replied, "A bit of insurance."

As Natasha let Malon spur their horses into a slow trot away from the city, Link heard Isaac shout to them: "Are you sure about the other matter, Link?"

"I am!" He yelled back, grinning as he remembered the second part of their conversation. "It'll confuse the Nobles long enough to keep them off your tails! Trust me!"

"What was that about?" Zelda asked as Koon City was engulfed by the rising sun emerging from the east.

"Don't worry, you'll find out soon."

* * *

The following morning, within the safety of Jent Village's pilled-sandbag walls, the owner of the grungy inn they were staying at dropped off the Hylian Bulletin (Zelda said this newspaper was how information, after being processed, censored, and controlled by the Royal Council, circulated the kingdom) as they ate breakfast beneath their borrowed masks (alert notices of Link and portraits of Zelda were still circulating the land, meaning their disguises were still necessary to avoid attention). While the foreboding war between the Zoras and Spider Demons took up the front page, Link couldn't help but laugh when he read the article filling the next.

_BREAKING NEWS:_

_SILVER MOON GUILD DEFEATED BY LONE BOY!_

_The Silver Moon guild, frequently referred to as one of the Big Three guilds of Hyrule, has been disbanded! Reports are streaming from Koon City, giving many a detailed picture of the guild's downfall! According to early reports, Silver Moon leader, Zladimir Hexken, was defeated by a young warrior going by the name of Lavin, the Disciple of Glen! After striking down the leader, Glen's disciple proceeded to overwhelm the remaining members. These outstanding and unbelievable reports have been confirmed by several eye witnesses who observed Silver Moon's destruction first hand! We have quotes coming directly from the boy in question!_

"_That's right! I, Lavin the Guild Destroyer, defeated these mercenary low-lives with only my pinky! I was only doing my duty as Princess Zelda's knight of valor, for I have served her before I was even born! These peasants wished to harm my fair bride-to-be, so I taught them all a lesson in shame and more! I'm positive they regret the day they made Lavin, Champion of Hyrule, their enemy! HA HA HA!"_

"Seriously? SERIOUSLY?" Rail shouted beneath his Gerudo Mask as he read the report, almost spitting his half-chewed eggs and bacon across their table. His little outburst caused all the other inhabitants in the badly-dusted and dimly-lit diner to tell him to shut it.

"Why? What does it say?" Suvica demanded, no longer bothering to hide his illiteracy.

"What is the meaning of this?" Zelda asked Link from across their creaking table; she was still having problems looking him in the eyes (which was another reason why their masks were a big help), but her question was unmistakably directed at him. "You must have planned this with Isaac, yes? So why give this … this … _thing_ the credit for the Silver Moon's destruction?"

"Because of the Nobles who funded Silver Moon, correct?" Natasha easily deduced.

Link swallowed his mashed potatoes and stabbed his fork into the bacon. "That's right. Lina said Silver Moon has some serious supporters in high places, so to throw the heat off Golden Sky and Red Shadow, we decided to twist Silver Moon's defeat. Isaac asked Natasha's spies to help spread the fabricated story, and soon all of Koon was buying it. Plus, we all know Lavin will say anything so long as it gets him attention, so if anyone asks him if all this is true, there's no way he'd say no."

"But won't the people who used to be Silver Moon mercenaries still tell the truth?" Malon asked as she sipped her milk, making a face at the sour brew; she swapped her drink with Suvica's empty mug when he wasn't paying attention, and the dragon downed the stale beverage without blinking.

"We have them locked in Red Shadow's dungeons," Natasha replied calmly, shooting down the flies buzzing around their table with metal needles hidden within the folds of her shirt; her aim was scary good. "If they know what's best for them, they will not attempt to escape. Should they try, our raccoons will only grow bigger with each meal."

"Your what?" Suvica asked, but Rail whispered, "You don't want to know."

"And the Nobles supporting Silver Moon can't exactly punish Golden Sky and Red Shadow for not stopping a big-mouth liar," Link laughed. "Isaac and Natasha's guilds helped us, so it's the least I could do for them in return."

"By the way, what happened to Zladimir? Is he also sulking in a dungeon somewhere in Koon?" Rail asked, finishing his breakfast plate and asking the disgruntled chef for seconds, while Suvica proceeded to his fourteenth helping.

"Zladimir is a prisoner of the Red Shadow, but I doubt a cage is needed to hold him. After Suvica's punishment—" Natasha stabbed her knife into one of her boiled eggs. "—Zladimir has not been the same."

"It still troubles me to see _his _face taking credit for all your hard work," Zelda fumed, pointedly looking away from Lavin's grinning face printed beneath the article. "I understand it was all for the best, but nevertheless, it irks me. I pray our paths never cross with Lavin's again."

"I doubt we'll be that lucky," Link chuckled.

"There's something _I_ want to know to," Suvica spat past a mouthful of scrambled eggs, causing everyone sitting opposite from him (Link, Natasha, and Rail) to raise the newspaper and shield themselves from the spray. "What happened to that punk's staffs, the ones made from dragon horns? I'm pretty sure those are supposed to be super rare and hard to get your hands on, so why'd he have so many?"

"They've been confiscated and are being held within the vault beneath Golden Sky's guild," Natasha answered, folding the egg-soggy newspaper and tossing it into a cobweb clustered corner of the inn's eatery. "Also, I believe they were gifts to Zladimir from some of the Nobles who frequently called upon his services, for all of them bear the seal of Hyrule."

Zelda choked on her drink. "Do you mean the artifacts Zladimir used were taken from the castle's Royal Treasury? Outrageous! Those are priceless tools under constant and heavy guard! They cannot be taken without my father's express permission!"

"Not entirely true," Natasha countered, passing Zelda a napkin. "As of late, King Ceylon has given Commander Ganondorf the same right. Either one of them can sanction the release of the treasury's sacred weapons. It was also Commander Ganondorf who certified the deliverance of the dragon horn staffs, where they found their way into Noble hands before being gifted to Zladimir."

"Hyrule's most precious relics, passed around like trinkets," Zelda groaned, her face/mask in her hands. "Another act of treason Ganondorf will have to answer for."

"But dragon horns are really cool," Malon praised, patting Suvica's hair as she searched for anything protruding out of his forehead. "I never knew they could make spells stronger. That's really neat!"

"I guess it's kind of cool," Suvica shrugged, taking a bite out of his plate and using the wooden shard as a toothpick.

"I'm surprised," Zelda said. "I thought you'd be outraged to see your race's horns being used in such a matter, yet you're oddly composed."

"It just goes to show how weak you humans are, again. You need to salvage parts from a dead dragon to make yourselves feel stronger? Ha!" Suvica mocked, but then grudgingly admitted to everyone's surprise, "But using them in a way to strengthen spells is pretty smart, I'll give you that."

"I think the lightning newt just complimented humans," Rail mumbled, trying to suppress his disbelief. "I never knew the end of the world was coming this soon." Suvica flew across the table and tackled Rail, where the two of them wrestled each other as they rolled across the inch of dust coating on the floor.

Link had a question, so he broke up their fight by pushing them apart and asking, "If a human can use your horns to strengthen their spells, how does a dragon use them? I doubt they're just for decoration."

"Of course not!" Suvica coughed as he dusted his clothes. "You think human magicians are impressive with dragon horns? You should see an actual dragon! We use our horns to control the element we were born with! Fire Dragons can direct flames like an extension of their bodies, even causing inactive volcanoes to erupt without warning! An Earth Dragon can start earthquakes and avalanches, and Wind Dragons can summon tornadoes that can wipe a city off the face of Hyrule in seconds! And the larger the dragon's horns, the more powerful they are! You should hear the stories about Volvagia! His horns were so long they were manes of fire! He could make the skies burn, the earth erupt, and the air combust! He was the ultimate dragon, the symbol of power!"

"And you're his ultimate fanboy," Rail snickered; Suvica didn't bother attacking him this time, for he was too busy fantasizing about his hero.

"I don't see your horns anywhere," Link said to Suvica as the inn's chef demanded a king's ransom for their breakfast; Natasha persuaded him to give them a discount by lifting the hem of her shirt and tossing a concealed dagger into the wall centimeters to the left of the cook's neck. The chef paid for their meal in full with his generosity.

"Your witch-mom sealed me, remember?" Suvica said, pointing at his forehead like there was a lock around it. "Besides, things are better this way. If I had my horns, nothing in this world would be able to stand against me, not the King Dodongo, Zladimir, or even you Forest Boy. Things are more challenging this way."

* * *

As soon as breakfast was pleasantly settling within everyone's stomachs, they resumed city hoping, planning to travel from one settlement to another so their horses and wagon would have someplace safe to stay from the rummaging undead. Natasha handed Link a map (a cluster of lines, dots, labels, and numbers) to show him their progress. After Jent Village, they planned on staying at Polen, Florin, and then Oron, before reaching the Lost Woods.

Suvica was obstinately ordering them to skip Oron, and when they asked why, he said, "Because that's where the Thunder Wings live! Do you think I want to meet them? No! Skip Oron and let's head straight for the Lost Woods!"

"If we do, we'll have to travel throughout the night, during the reign of the undead," Natasha said as Malon steered their wagon down the worn out trail with impeccable precision. "I have no wish to put any of my horses in harm's way. We will stay at Oron."

"Don't you want to meet your old friends, Suvi?" Malon asked.

"No! I don't care about the Thunder Wings, and if I visit them again, they'll get all clingy on me and never let go!"

Malon saw past his lies. "Aw, you miss them, don't you?"

"Erg … well, maybe."

"He's going soft," Rail laughed.

Link pondered the topic as Suvica jumped Rail and the two tried to strangle each other for a second time. Yes, the changes were there: Suvica was complaining less about his seal, acting more comfortably around Malon, and was admitting to things he would've normally denied. He was still arrogant, talked trash, and was always itching for an excuse to hit someone, but was undeniably maturing.

His most perceptible alterations came with his fighting style, when Natasha parked their ride within Polen City while Link and Suvica stayed outside the afternoon-shaded walls for a little sparing match. When they got in their battle positions, and Zelda (their stern referee) signaled for them to begin, Link expected the dragon to charge like an enraged Moblin. Instead, Suvica calmly summoned the scales on his arms and patiently waited for Link to make the first move. He shot a Disk Attack as a preemptive strike, but instead of ramming himself into it head-on as before, Suvica stepped aside and let the magic swish past him before lunging. Even his attacks were unusually composed; the dragon reduced his actions to swift and short jabs instead of the wide open swings he favored so much. Just once, Link dropped his guard, letting Suvica hit the Kokiri Sword from his hand before punching at Link's face, yet instead of socking him square in the jaw, Suvica stopped his attack right before impact.

"Gotcha, sucker," he smirked, stepping back and ramming his scaled knuckles together to celebrate his small victory. "C'mon! Let's go again!"

"This is new," Link admitted, shaking the aches from his fingers and picking up his sword. "I thought for sure you'd hit me with everything you had."

Suvica sneered, cracking his knuckles with resounding _pops_. "I've learned a few things too, Forest Boy. I always wondered why watching you get stronger and stronger bugged me all the time, and then it struck me!" He dashed forward and punched, which Link avoided by leaning back. "I want to get stronger too! I've always been at the top of the food chain, I've always been the strongest! But after being kicked down a few notches, getting beaten time and time again, I finally know what it's like, the desire to become better than I already am!" Suvica added a few kicks to his attack combination, copying Link's moves by sweeping his feet out from under him before trying to pummel his face into the ground with an armored fist. "And the day I defeat you, the day I use every fiber of strength I have to beat you down, is the day reclaim my title as the strongest!"

"Really?" Link used a bit of footwork to navigate his way past Suvica's attacks and get behind him, placing his Kokiri Sword against the dragon's neck. "Then it looks like you've got ways to go."

"Ha! Bring it!"

They sparred until the moon took over the sun's domain; Suvica told Link to use the Sun's Song so they could keep fighting, but Link turned him down, saying he wanted a night of rest. However, the tavern they were staying at tonight was infested with massive rodents and roaches, inciting Zelda and Malon to cower against each other in terror. Neither batted an eyelid until every last pest was driven out or killed, and even then, Zelda refused to sleep without protecting herself and Malon within a Nayru's Love, which she sustained until morning came.

"Your magic's gotten better," Link noted as they threw their belongings into Natasha's wagon and got ready to leave. "You kept your Nayru's Love activated even as you slept. Been practicing?"

"Studiously," Zelda affirmed as Malon cracked the reins, urging their rested horses into a gallop. "How about you? Do you remember everything I taught you in our previous lesson?"

Link struggled to hold in a groan. Zelda stayed true to her word and was rigorously tutoring him in the ways of magic. They started immediately after leaving Koon, and whenever Link had a moment of free time, Zelda was drilling magical formulas, tetra-dimensional-arcane theories, and more, into his brain. He preferred it when all he had to do was trust his instincts to use his magic, not when he had a thousand theories and hundreds of practiced procedures noisily clogging his head. Half the time, Link was pretty sure Zelda was meticulously lecturing him to keep her mind off the kiss they shared, because whenever she had a moment to pause and think, he saw her face flush, an effect she tried to bury beneath arcane procedures and magical diagnostics.

While some of her teachings were fun bits of information to keep in mind, Zelda's lessons made him feel dumber by the minute. Most of the time, all he could do was nod and say "Yes, I understand" when she paused to breathe. When they stopped for lunch after leaving Polen City, Link scurried up the tallest tree he could find when Zelda said she'd explain "Lundene's Evolutionary Theory of Magical Dialysis."

After he managed to secure himself to the highest branch which could support his weight, he almost jumped out of the tree when Natasha said, "You are enjoying yourself." The guild leader was sitting on the bough on the opposite side of the tree from where he was sitting.

"What're you doing here?" Link asked, regaining his balance and peering down to see Zelda hopelessly searching for him below. "You didn't follow me up here, did you?"

"Certainly not, I was here first, keeping a lookout for trouble. Thank you for coming up to keep me company."

"You're welcome."

While he was thankful for the transport Natasha was offering them, Link hoped she had no plans on sticking around. She was fun to speak with and was an excellent story teller, but when she didn't have anything to do, Link frequently found her kneeling over her drawn sword, sharpening its edge with a whetstone while creepily muttering, "Soon … soon …soon."

"Natasha, how long do you plan on staying with us?"

"Five rupees."

"Huh?"

"Pay me five rupees, and I shall give you the information you seek concerning me."

"Five rupees … to know how long you're staying with us?"

"Yes." Since it was a minimal amount, Link dropped a blue rupee into Natasha's expectant hand. "I will stay until I see the Hidden Records of the Ancient, or the Kokiri Library as you call it, with my own eyes. It will realize a dream I've long since forfeited, and I will be happy to return to my guild in Koon." Natasha drew a dagger from inside her shin-high boots and threw it into the distance, where the blade struck a faraway bird with a "_thunk_."

Link handed her another rupee for another question. "Why are you so expressionless? You say you'll be happy, but I've only seen you smile once, and it was barely for a moment."

Natasha pocketed her earnings and juggled another dagger, tossing and hitting a second flying speck in the distance. "I lived through the reign of the Fiend and watched the man I cared for be called the Fiend. Many people were afflicted in different ways, and this is mine."

"The man you cared for?" Link repeated after paying her again. "You and my dad were best friends?"

"In a way. Pay me."

"Hm? What for? I already gave you another blue rupee."

"I know, but you must pay me another for what I am about to say next. If you do not, I shall remain silent."

"She's like a toy dispenser who eats your rupees so she can talk," Navi whispered. Link grinned at the analogy, but tossed Natasha her requested fee all the same.

"There is a reason I formed the Red Shadow guild," Natasha continued, catching the rupee and pocketing her prize. "I wanted to know the reason why Cross became the Fiend, so I gathered the most promising spies I could find and trained their skills to perfection. Because I needed funding, I had my men take small time commissions, selling valuable information to wealthy customers. Inadvertently, my guild became Hyrule's greatest web of information, yet despite this, I could not uncover the truth I wished to find. It is why I so diligently tracked you and your friends, not because you traveled with Princess Zelda, but because I hoped you could tell me what I wished to hear, and you did. I am indebted to your courtesy."

"If that's so, why do I still have to pay you for you to talk about yourself?"

"I have given you a discount. I would normally charge twenty rupees, but for you, it's five." Link laughed, quite drawn to Natasha's unique character. "Do it again."  
"Do what?" He asked when he calmed down, feeling their tree sway to a gust of prairie wind.

"Laugh."

"It's kind of hard to laugh on command."

"Then smile." Wondering where Natasha was getting at, Link lifted the corners of his lips all the same. Next thing he knew, she yanked him from his branch and was smothering his face in her chest with a hug. "You greatly resemble Cross when you smile. How adorable. I wish I could keep you."  
"_Muffle! Cough!_"

Natasha didn't release him, but spun him around so his back was pressed against her so he could breathe freely. "For being so cute, I will give you another piece of information for free: Be careful."

"What do … _cough _… you mean?"

"After I discovered you were Cross's son, I had my best men retrace your steps and actions. I know Oron is the first Hylian city you've visited, and that you traveled to Lon Lon Ranch and Hyrule Market immediately afterwards. There are too many coincidences surrounding you. Luck has been on your side so many times it cannot be good fortune or chance. I believe someone is secretly aiding you from the shadows."

"I'm not following."

"You were able to reach Hyrule Market because your friend, Malon, happened to be at Oron the same day you were, the same city were Thunder Dragon Suvica resided. You snuck into Hyrule Castle because the guards were preoccupied by a different group of intruders, granting you your audience with Princess Zelda. You received your magical abilities because a Fountain Fairy from Hyrule Castle was in Suvica's possession. And of all the cities to take Princess Zelda, you took her to the most corrupt in all of Hyrule, Denion, where you mother happened to reside. Must I go on?"

When Natasha listed them like that, Link had to admit things were a little fishy. One stroke of good luck after another, what were the chances? Then he remembered it was Owl Kae, a friend of Pinky, who told him to visit Oron, and it was Owl Kae who informed him of the additional intruders who wished to infiltrate Hyrule Castle. The owl was even there when Link, Zelda, and Rail were at the top of Death Mountain and needed a ride down. The old bird was a mysterious one, but Link knew he was trustworthy all the same. If he really did have a guardian angel watching him from above, it could only be one person/owl.

"Don't worry," Link replied, happy to know Owl Kae was watching their backs from above. "I've got a feathery friend helping out."

"Then my worries are for naught," Natasha said, unwrapping her arms from Link and hopping back to the ground one branch at a time. "However, keep your vigilance. Just because you know there is a helping hand guiding your path, does not mean that hand belongs to a friend."

* * *

They stopped at Florin and continued without incident. As they made their way to Oron, a spark of entertainment arrived in the form of a bandit attack. The small gang galloped towards them on their worn-down mounts, waving heavy axes and maces while trying to intimidate the wagon transporting a woman and a small group of children.

Naturally, the exact opposite occurred.

Link and Zelda used their magic, Suvica fired his lightning, while Natasha and Rail opened the wagon's hidden compartment of weapons to fend off their attackers with crossbows and daggers. Even Malon managed to chase away one of the thugs by pegging him between the eyes with a dull arrow.

"I hit him! I hit him!" She gasped, barely believing her own accomplishment.

"You're getting better," Zelda generously praised. "Why don't you try aiming for that fellow, the one with the double-sided axe? He is a fair distance away."  
"Take your time to line up your shot," Rail added as Malon notched another arrow, allowing Natasha to take over the reins.

The next three minutes turned into Malon's private shooting gallery, where she playfully chasing away the baffled goons with her harmless projectiles. Only three of her eleven arrows hit their marks, and the bandits turned tail before she could fire a twelfth.

"You're getting better," Link commended. "Your practice is starting to pay off. I still think your aim will improve with a better bow."

"Nah, I like this one," Malon assured, cradling her worn down weapon.

As Oron approached with the coming nightfall, Suvica's pretentious objections grew more exaggerated with each passing minute.

"I thought you said you missed the Thunder Wings," Link said when the dragon's bickering reached intolerable levels (he was threatening to smash Oron's gates to prevent them from entering the city).

"I … I do, sort of!" Suvica fumed, struggling to use his tiny brain to put his feelings into words. "But I'm … I'm not the same as I was before!"

"Really? You're still as crabby as ever in my opinion," Rail noted.

"Shut up, shut up! Damn it! I don't want to explain myself, so I won't! C'mon, Link! Use your Sun's Song! If we're only stopping at Oron because of the undead, you can make it morning by playing a few notes!"

"Such a sudden change could disorient and disturb the horses," Natasha warned from up front. "We shall also lose a night of sleep, which means we may have to spend an extra and unnecessary day resting in Link's village. Is this acceptable?"

No one could forge a strong argument against Suvica's case, though Malon really wanted to meet the Thunder Wing gang and thank them for their help against the Gerudos so long ago, so Link took out Saria's Fairy Ocarina and performed the mystic song. Closing his eyes and letting the familiar sense of heavenly dominance flow from his body, he commanded the river of time to transform into a raging rapid. When he opened his eyes, the moon was gone, and the early morning sun was peeking at them from the horizon.

Suvica thanked Link for his efforts by clamping his mouth shut as Oron City passed by. Driven by their lack of sleep and their excitement to see the Kokiri Village, Natasha pressed their horses to the point of exhaustion. The Kokiri Forest appeared as a hazy line of deep jade by afternoon's time. While everyone else was excitedly prancing about the back of the wagon (Natasha's right leg was shaking in anticipation), Link tried to think of something to say when he saw his Kokiri friends again. He disappeared the day the Great Deku Tree died, only saying farewell to Saria and Tatl. Additionally, the last time he saw the village's self-proclaimed leader, Mido, was when he went screaming into the village, shouting to everyone that Link killed their father. There was no telling how much things had changed. Link said he was prepared to have the village hate him for what he'd done, and now was the time to see how resolute he was.

"Are you okay?" Navi whispered in his ear. "You're awfully quiet. Aren't you happy to be home?"

"Not really. I was hoping to come back after getting my revenge against Ganondorf. I thought killing him would help me face the Kokiri, but he's still alive, and I've come back regardless. I'm a little scared to know how everyone will react after seeing me."

"Hey, cheer up. You left to keep your promise with the Great Deku Tree, and you've come back to help fulfill it. The Kokiri will understand, and even if they don't, there's someone who'll always be on your side regardless, remember?"

"Saria, right?"

Navi pouted, and Link winced as she yanked on his hair. "I was referring to _me_, but sure, Saria counts too. And don't forget your new friends. If you get kicked out of the Kokiri Village, I'm sure Zelda will find you a room to live in at her large and magnificent Hyrule Castle. Of course, this is after you beat Ganondorf and accuse him of trying to destroy Hyrule to clear your own name."

Link chuckled, feeling the fog of doubt dissipate in his mind. "Think you could get use to castle life?"

"Well, I don't know. The fluffy beds, numerous servants, and good food might be too much for me to endure, but I'll try not to regret it."

"I don't know. Zelda's dad might not welcome the Spawn of the Fiend with open arms, even after we take Ganondorf down."

"Look, you know what I mean. No matter how the Kokiri feel about you, it's not the end of the world. You've still got a mother and cousin who love you and friends who trust you. If you don't have a home in the Kokiri Village, you can find a new one in Hyrule."

He appreciatively embraced his partner's words; if he did lose his place amongst the Kokiri, the pain would be great, but it wouldn't kill him. He had a family he could turn to and friends he relied on. And if everything did work out for the best, his old friends could meet his new ones, and he would continue to live and protect the people he loved.

"You're right, there's no point in worrying about things I can't be certain about," Link laughed lightly, his insecurity brushing off his heart. "I'll handle things as they come, like I always have."

"That sounds more like the Link I know," Navi approved.

"Fairy Boy?" Malon whispered. "Is the forest … supposed to look like that?"

Link turned his focus away from his fairy partner, standing up to see they'd come to a stop at the edge of the Kokiri Forest. The outer woods were as spooky as always, the warped branches, distorted trunks, and mantle of thorny leaves reaching out to threateningly warn away all intruders.

But something was wrong.

Before them, leading into the heart of the forest, was a gaping path of cut down lumber, fallen trees which had been unceremoniously chopped down to leave a wreckage of stumps and withering timber.

Link's heart hardened into ice, pumping out arctic trepidation. "Go. GO!"

His roar commanded Natasha to force their horses into the woods, down the manmade route where no sunlight could reach. Seeing the trees which once protected the village fall to axes and steel was so wrong the frost in his chest froze until it burned. Their wagon's wheels clumped and jarred as it traversed the uneven trail piercing the woods, accurately directing them towards the Kokiri Village. Yet upon seeing his home, Link's world broke apart, feeding his eyes an impossible sight as a blaring screech of disbelief swallowed his ears. A section of the Wall, the cluster of magnificently tall trees protecting the Kokiri Village, had been torn down, and an alien haze that should've never existed in the forest encompassed his home.

The Kokiri Village was burning.


	29. Chapter 29, Unwilling Encounter

**Chapter 29**

**Unwilling Encounter**

Zelda watched the village burn, witnessing its destruction through the perforation in the forest barrier around it. Trees snapped and fell to the ravenous fires, and burning houses collapsed to spew gaudy embers from their remains. Through the crackling of fire and destruction, Zelda could hear the perpetrators at work, their enthusiastic whooping mingling with the devastated screaming of children. Link's old friends, the immortal Kokiri, were being smoked out from their homes as the avaricious group of trespassers set their abodes aflame. They rounded up all the Kokiri in sight, herding them like cattle as they threw lassoes of rope around the fleeing children before tossing them into portable cages-on-wheels. The fairies did everything they could to ensure the safety of their partners, but managed little when the lowly thugs ensnared them in bug nets before corking them in individual bottles.

These acts of evil were so malicious Zelda could barely watch any longer.

Yet out of all her companions' reactions of shock and dismay, only one of them harbored unbound rage: Link. At first, he was as alarmed as the rest of them, but within seconds, his expression transfigured into a deformed mask of anger. He leapt from Natasha's wagon and charged into his village without a word, his sword and shield drawn, his rage forcing him to move faster than normal.

"Do not harm a single hair on any of their heads!" A bandit within the village screamed at his fellow lowlifes; this was undoubtedly the leader, with his oversized cape to compensate for his lack of regality and a sword so heavily encrusted with gems he could barely swing it. "All of these things are merchandise! They're not children, nor are they human! They're our tickets for an easy life for generations to come! So if you want your great-great-great-great grandchildren to still have enough wealth to make the King of Hyrule green with envy, don't let a single paycheck escape! If you—!"

Link's Disk Attack crashed into the lead bandit, striking him in the neck and dropping him instantly. The crook grasped at his collapsed throat with wide eyes and a soundless scream, yet could do nothing when Link raised and plunged his sword into the fallen thug; Zelda averted her stare, flinching when she reopened them to see the red weapon in Link's hand.

This one act froze the village, causing the intruders to stop herding and the Kokiri to cease running. Even the already imprisoned children struggled no more, their mouths gaping at Link's timely arrival.

Link's spared these men no words, using his actions to channel his undying fury. When three of the ruffians tried to group up and take him down, Link repelled them all with a Spin Attack. After that, the outraged howl echoing from his throat was all the warning these intruders had before Link threw himself onto them, cutting their flesh with his sword, breaking their bones with his strength, and leaving them with an inch of life with his magic. He was without mercy, blinded by so much rage his fighting style better resembled Suvica's than his own; he wildly attacked the ones who dared to raze his village, abandoning all signs of control or composure. Watching him lose himself to a frenzy of blood made Zelda wonder if this was what the Spawn of the Fiend would look like, a demon soaked in the gore of others while slaying those who desperately tried to hide from his wrath.

She violently shook her head, unwilling to let the monster before her compromise the boy she knew; right now was the time for action. Tumbling off the back of Natasha's transport, Zelda scampered into the burning village with her friends right behind her. With her magic enhanced by her recent soul rending ordeal, she flawlessly weaved together a spell.

"Nayru's Embrace!" Her magic gave her absolute control over the lukewarm river snaking across the village, allowing her to guide its flow with her hands. The water reared out of its waterbed like a cornered animal, crashing against the fires consuming the forest settlement. One by one, Zelda doused the roaring flames, and after quenching the last of the fires, she redirected her magically-control current to swoop down and swallow up the intruders. As she worked, her friends routed the remainder of the resistance. Suvica pounced on one enemy after another, incapacitating them with a single punch to their face before moving to another. Rail liberated the caged and tied up Kokiri, bashing aside all who stood in his way. Malon found herself a suitable vantage point before loosening her arrows upon the opposition; the dire situation somehow improved her accuracy. When Zelda spotted Natasha fighting, there was no denying her skills. The mercenary didn't draw her sword (perhaps to avoid shedding anymore blood before the eyes of the forest's children), yet all who opposed her fell within seconds. Her movements were ridiculously simple yet proficient; she refrained from using any graceful or overly-fancy moves like many performing swordswomen Zelda saw, opting to end each encounter with a quick blow from her scabbard to her foe's chin; those who tried to flee from the guild leader were crippled by her hidden weapons.

But the one these men feared the most was Link. There was no compassion, no control, no mercy, left within him. He channeled his magic without restraint, randomly blasting away anyone his maddened state deemed as his enemy. Zelda barely recognized the boy who wrathfully destroyed the ones who ruined his home, stabbing them as they begged for mercy, destroying their bodies with magic when they ran. She thought she knew everything there was to know about Link, but his rage, his hatred, transformed him into a monster unlike any other. Even as the blood of his enemies painted his tunic scarlet, his ravenous sword screamed for more.

Zelda wanted to stop him. She didn't like this Link, she didn't want to see him like this. However, she knew there was only one way to calm him down, and that was by routing the enemy. Her scattered focus momentarily allowed one of the bandits to easily approach her as he screamed at her to get out of his way; she hastily entrapped his head in an orb of water, only releasing her spell when the man was a second from suffocation. When no one else attacked her, she calmly got a hold of the village's status. Nearly all the bandits were beaten unconscious, leaving only bubbles of resistance. In comparison to the many dangers she and her friends faced together, a large group of outlaws was no match against their combined might. Suvica and Natasha stomped out the last sputters of defiance while Rail and Malon freed the incarcerated Kokiri (the forest children still gave these two a wide berth after being liberated, their caution fresh on their faces).

Link, however, did nothing. He was spellbound, his gaze fixated onto a single girl, whose engrossed expression mirrored his own. She was a Kokiri around Zelda's height, her emerald hair as lush as summer leaves, her skin richer than tree sap. There was no doubt: This was Saria. One glance was all it took for Link to discard his mantle of hate, his snarl relaxing into an overjoyed grin. With the situation settling back into normality, the two friends ran towards each other, ready to embrace the moment they were in reach of one another. A barb of jealousy sank into Zelda's heart, but she didn't want her selfish ego to get in the way of these two acquaintances.

Then she saw it. Because she was watching from a distance, she spotted the flurry of movement before anyone else. A cloaked figure jumped out of hiding, pulled out a dagger, and hurled it directly at Saria. Link's ignorant back was facing the incoming steel, and Saria's eyes were too absorbed to notice the danger.

"Nayru's Love!" Zelda cried, throwing up a protective prism between Link and the dagger. Her yell alerted him to the danger, and he spun around to see the ebony blade make contact with Zelda's shield. Her confidence in her magic shattered the same time her barrier did, dropping her into a pit of horror as the dagger broke her spell like glass, fly past Link's face, and embed itself in the center of Saria's chest. The knife severed the girl's life upon contact, dropping her like a string-less puppet as her lifeless body collapsed against the burnt grass.

Link screamed. He knelt down and desperately shook Saria's body, hoping to jostle out a small flare of life. There was nothing. Zelda quickly teleported to Link's side with Farore's Wind, praying that there was still something she could do. One look was all she needed to get an answer, for there wasn't a spell in the world which could revive the dead. Saria's jade eyes were already dimming into unmoving wells, her complexion paling as the warmth of life abandoned her. Link's anguish and Zelda's mortification nearly drowned her in a pit of distress, but a closer look at the murderous weapon kept her afloat. As Link hunched over his deceased friend, body trembling in unmentionable emotions, Zelda slowly pulled the dagger from Saria's body. There was no blood; in fact, when the weapon slipped free, there wasn't even a wound. The dagger itself was nothing more than an onyx fragment shaped and carved into the crude shape of a weapon, its edges adorned in a language she couldn't decipher. Then she noticed the emblem between the blade and the hilt, and her breathing halted: The Demon King's mark, the image of a double-sided blade. This was a Ceremonial Gerudo Dagger, supposedly fashioned from a fragment which came from the seal that entrapped the Demon King. Even though it was only a small piece of the original seal, one cut from this weapon could lock away deities of immense power, trapping them in mortal forms. However, if used against a normal person, such as Saria, the dagger would entrap the victim's flame of life, killing them without a chance of survival. These fragments could only be used one, and already Zelda could feel the lingering fumes of the weapon's dark magic dissipate into nothingness: Now it was nothing more than a crudely fashioned weapon, a dull one at that.

However, the weapon's presence begged an even greater question: Why did a nameless hooligan possess such an invaluable artifact? Fragments of the Demon King's seal were revered treasures amongst the Gerudos, and the desert pirates would sooner tear out their hearts than let these sacred pieces fall into the hands of strangers.

At this moment, there was only one thing Zelda could: Find answers. Why was the Ceremonial Dagger used against Saria, a harmless girl, and not Link? As his friend, Zelda needed to bring Saria's murderer to justice, so she ignored the enlarging circle of terrified Kokiri surrounding Link and Saria, teleporting towards the gaping hole breaching the village's defenses. From there, she flew from one location to another in order to pursue Saria's killer. While she couldn't physically see her target, a trace amount of the dagger's dark powers clung to its former owner; it was a nauseating residue she could track from a mile away. Right now, the murderer was already far from the village and was leisurely strolling towards the borders of the Lost Woods.

Zelda wouldn't let the perpetrator get away. While her Farore's Wind failed to teleport her great distances, re-casting it over and over again was child's play. Using this method, Zelda zigzagged and navigated the dense forest, soaring above the brambles, darting between wrangled branches, and eventually materializing several feet above the cloaked bandit. She chucked the harmless dagger at the murderer, intending to stab the villain in the shoulder; instead, her novice aim buried the weapon several feet off target, hilt-deep into the dry grass. Her poor choice of preemptive attacks alerted the disguised villain, causing him to wheel around and glare up at Zelda, who used Farore's Wind one more time to safely transport herself to the ground.

They were near the border of the Lost Woods, where the trees were not as plentiful and frequent rays of sunlight slipped past the branches concealing the sky to light up their surroundings.

"Princess Zelda," the killer said in an unmistakably female voice. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?"

"You killed an innocent denizen of the Kokiri Village, a precious friend of Link's! I will not allow you to escape unpunished!" Zelda shouted, summoning an extra-large fireball with Din's Fire. Instead of roasting the arrogant criminal, she used her magic to draw a ring of fire into the ground, encircling them both within a cage of flames. "Now answer me this! Why were you in possession of that dagger? That is the property of the Gerudos, and they would never allow the likes of you to take it from them! Who are you?"

The murderer laughed in a high and shrill voice that made Zelda's skin crawl. "Ah, to be young and curious, how charming. Little princess, your persistence for the truth is as futile as your attempt to save your kingdom. You should be thankful, for King Ganondorf has ordered that you live long enough to see your pitiful father crumble beneath the ruins of his castle."

_Ganondorf._ The name alone made Zelda want to cower in the darkest shadow available, yet its utterance gave her the answer she so wistfully desired. "You're a Gerudo."

"What is it to you?" The Gerudo cooed, playfully shooing Zelda away as if she were an unwanted distraction. "Now run along, little girl. Continue living your petty fantasy for as long as you can, for all dreams come to an end, but nightmares never die." The desert pirate raised one hand and snapped her fingers, immediately dispelling the imprisoning circle of fire Zelda created.

"You can use magic," Zelda murmured. To make matters worse, dispersing her spell so easily meant this Gerudo was proficient to a very high degree, a piece of information which caused Zelda to involuntarily swallow her apprehension.

"Walk away," the Gerudo advised, absorbed in her superiority. "You were pampered in a castle, while I've braved the trials of the desert. The difference between you and me is so great it cannot be measure, so why struggle against the inevitable? Accept your fate. You are not worthy enough to stand before me as my foe."

"That has yet to be decided! Din's Fire!" Zelda called forth a pair of fireballs and threw them at the Gerudo.

"Charming. Demon King's Fire!" The desert pirate brought out a pair of onyx staffs, each embellished with shimmering words of power. Upon her bidding, a torrent of black flames spewed out from the tip of one of the artifacts, devouring Zelda's fireballs faster than rolls of cotton tossed into a fireplace. The Gerudo's spell stopped inches away from Zelda, scorching the ground black with soot while leaving her unharmed.

A Demon King Spell. Zelda's palms trembled as she struggled to understand what she'd just witnessed. She'd read the myths and legends, but she never truly believed it actually existed: The magic of the Demon King. Anyone, from the vilest of scum to the most honorable man, could master Goddess Spells and use them with varying effects, but learning lost magic, Demon King magic, was an entirely different story. There were too many rumors, too many fables, too many hypothetical theories about _real _dark magic to completely understand its capabilities. Only one thing was for certain: To face a user of such depraved capabilities was not good.

"What's wrong, little princess?" The Gerudo giggled, playfully swinging her enlarged wands in carefree circles. "Demon King got your tongue? Leave and live what's left of your life in ignorance. It is your destiny to bow before our King, so why fight against it?"

"Because I don't like it! Din's Fire!" Zelda recast her spell, this time summoning dozens of flaming spheres, letting them swirl around her as a hurricane of fire before directing them at the Gerudo, attacking the pirate from every direction.

"Your simplicity is almost endearing. Demon King's Ice." The Gerudo raised her second staff and pointed it directly at the sky. Almost at once, the temperature dropped, and Zelda found her teeth clattering as her fireballs were frozen in midair, tumbling to the ground as chucks of ice. "Your defiance, your assumed sense of strength, your ceaseless belief that there is still a chance for your kingdom to be saved… it's such a pity you do not serve Hyrule's true king!" Another tunnel of black fire was directed towards Zelda, a dark spell she easily evaded with Farore's Wind. However, her evasion only elated the Gerudo with a mirthful laugh, tempting the desert pirate to blast her with a gust of subzero air from her icy staff. Again, Zelda dodged with relative ease, though her arms and legs shivered as the arctic temperature formed icicles on the branches of nearby trees.

Zelda directed all her attention into avoiding the Gerudo mage's attacks, knowing the enemy's dark magic could easily render her protective spells inept. From what she could tell, dark magic was superior to Goddess Spells in terms of sheer destructive force. Not only that, but this Gerudo didn't even consider her, the Princess of Hyrule, a threat. After teleporting to steer clear of the Gerudo's eighth dark spell, Zelda knew the pirate was only toying with her, casting her black magic with deliberate slowness to give Zelda time to dodge. This knowledge was both comforting and infuriating; it meant this Gerudo truly held no intention of killing her, yet at the same time barely registered her as a threat to be concerned about. Zelda felt her rarely tapped puddle of anger broil; she wanted to take this pirate down, hard and fast, for what she'd done to Link's precious home, yet in her enemy's eyes, Zelda was little more than a distraction.

She wanted to win, and that required a plan. As the Gerudo's next ice beam threatened to transform Zelda into an ice sculpture, she changed dodging tactics, avoiding the icy spell by teleporting towards the Gerudo and materializing right in front of the pirate's hooded face. Her sudden alteration caught the dark mage off guard, and using that pocket of free time to her advantage, Zelda pointed her right hand at the Gerudo's face and shielded her eyes with her left before shouting, "Din's Origin!" The spell exploded in the pirate's face with the intensity of a deku nut, effectively blinding the Gerudo with a flare of crimson light.

The sightless mage hissed in a mixture of pain and irritation, wildly casting her two dark spells to set ablaze and freeze everything around her in a hasty attempt to hit Zelda, who'd already distanced herself from the rampaging mage with another Farore's Wind. Still, not wanting to miss such a glorious opportunity, Zelda attacked the blinded Gerudo to see just how effective her Goddess Spells were. As much as she loathed to do so, Zelda borrowed another page from Zladimir's book, easily casting this spell for the first time.

"Nayru's Verdict!" Lightning erupted from Zelda's fingertips, fully enveloping the pirate with jagged bolts of electricity. While she hadn't been expecting much, she couldn't have dreamed her spells would've been so ineffective; the Gerudo walked out of the lightning's wreckage unharmed, her ragged cloak humming with black defensive runes.

"A blinding tactic? Your desire for victory, no matter what the method, is beginning to earn my respect!" The Gerudo laughed as she continuously blasted her surroundings with fire and ice. "But is that all, little princess? Is this as far as your thirst for victory can bring you?"

Zelda ducked behind a rock and curled into a ball, covering her face with her arms as a random wave of black fire splashed against the boulder she hid behind. With a cautious peak, she glanced at the sightless Gerudo to see half the forest around the pirate was burning while the other half was a frozen portrait of ice.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead, perspiration caused by the flames devouring the forest and the tension of her situation. The pirate was in a league of her own, and the only reason Zelda was still alive was because Ganondorf had sadistically given his lackey express orders not to kill her. The Gerudo's restrictive orders were a one-time advantage, an upper hand Zelda couldn't afford to ignore. If she wanted to defeat this black mage, now was the only chance.

As far as she could tell, there were three major factors which usually decided the outcome of a battle between two users of magic: Magical capacity, arcane combat experience, and Original Spells. If you had more useable magic than your foe, overpowering them was a simple matter of casting numerous spells. However, if you knew how to counter your opponent's magic, you could still defeat an enemy with greater magical capacity. However, these rules held no ground against the opponent Zelda faced right now. Trying to judge the Gerudo's limits was equivalent to staring into a bottomless well, trying to guess how deep the water went, and in the face of dark magic, all Zelda's prior experience was worthless. As it stood, she was left with one viable option: Original Spells. These could decide the victor of a magician's battle because each was unique to every individual, meaning it was impossible to tell what someone's Original Spell was without prior knowledge.

Yet that was the rub: Zelda didn't have an Original Spell. Creating an Original Spell involved liberating the imagination, letting your magic obey your instinctual will in order to give it form. Since Zelda had suffered the life of a puppet within the prison called Hyrule Castle, expressing her free will was a luxury others denied her. She could use Goddess Spells because the knowledge of how to do so was already imprinted in her mind, but giving her psyche free reign was something she didn't know how to do.

"Peek-a-Boo!"

A cold sweat streamed down Zelda's back as a shadow suddenly towered over her. She threw herself forward before a claw of black fire could grab a hold of her, tumbling into a crispy bush of brambles. When the shrub's numerous thorns clung to her outfit, she hurriedly used Farore's Wind to teleport out of her predicament, avoiding the Gerudo's following blast of ice by seconds. She reappeared directly behind the cloaked pirate, panting slightly as her numerous spells began to take their toll.

"Come now," the Gerudo sighed, twirling her two staffs and letting circles of fire and ice dance around her magical weapons. "Your efforts are starting to bore me, and I still have much to do in order to prepare for my king's coming reign, and dealing with you is not one of them. Surrender, Princess of Hyrule, and show me how this kingdom's royalty grovels."

"You think far too highly of yourself," Zelda retorted, hoping to maintain an image of power with a bluff. "After razing my friend's home and insulting my people, _you _should be groveling before _me_!"

Beneath the Gerudo's hood, Zelda spotted a wide smile growing on the pirate's face. "Ah, your fiery demeanor makes my skin tingle! Demon King's Fire!"

It was now or never. Although she greatly loathed what she was about to do next, she didn't have much of a choice. Reaching into her dress's pocket, Zelda clenched her left hand around a small silver trinket in the shape of a crescent moon and tapped into its power. This was the very artifact Zladimir used against Suvica, a battery of magical power he'd stored over the decade. Though around a third of the energy had already been depleted, there was still enough magic amassed within the ornament for Zelda to take on a small army.

However, Zladimir's magical energy was foul and corrupt, mirroring its previous owner's fraudulent personality. Using the ex-guild leader's magic was like bathing in a pit of tar and manure, making Zelda sick in the stomach. On the other hand, it was still an immense source of magic, filling Zelda with more energy she could've ever imagined.

As the Gerudo's black fire loomed towards her, Zelda raised her free hand and cast Din's Fire, fueling her spell with an abundance of power derived from the confiscated amulet. The resulting fireball was far bigger than anything she'd ever casted before, nearly as large as the meteors the King Dodongo spewed. Tongues of flames lashed out as her spell smashed against the Gerudo's torrent of fire, causing their spells to clash against one another in an unmoving deadlock. For several burning seconds, Zelda continued to empower her enormous Din's Fire with a wealth of magic from Zladimir's trinket, straining her mind to enforce the spell. In the end, neither of them could overwhelm the other, ending the stalemate with a small "_Bang!_" as their conjured flames imploded against one another. As the fires cleared, Zelda could easily see the Gerudo's astonishment through the pirate's body language.

"How unexpected," the Gerudo said softly, almost as if she admired Zelda's efforts. "So the kitten has fangs after all. You are strong, very much so."

The praise was unexpected, but Zelda kept on a mask of hardened determination. "I did not think a Gerudo could commend someone who was not one of their own."

The pirate laughed coyly. "Make no mistake, little princess. Gerudos value one thing: Strength! We will dominate Hyrule because its kingdom is weak, its castle built upon a fragile structure of lies and vulnerability! But you … you are unexpectedly powerful. The strong will always dine upon the weak, for that is the law of the desert! King Ganondorf said he wanted you to live, and for once I agree. Come, little princess! Join our cause! Swear fealty to Hyrule's future ruler, and watched our king bring about a new age!"

The Gerudo's offer nearly derailed Zelda all together, forcing her to clench her teeth and conceal her surprise. "You cannot fool me, pirate! Do you hope to confuse me with words? It will not work!"

"Confuse you? My youthful little princess, how wrong you are. The ranks of the Gerudos are filled with those who have relinquished their claim as Hylians, warriors who once called themselves _your _people! Our fortress, hidden deep within the desert, is brimming with new recruits, and where do you think we got them? They are your kingdom's outcasts, people you've thrown away and warrior's we've deemed strong enough to join our ranks!"

Dread threatened to overtake Zelda as the Gerudo's information drove a stake into her chest. "You lie! The Gerudos consist only of female members! If you were recruiting the wronged civilians of Hyrule, there would be men as well!"

"Men? Hilarious. King Ganondorf is the only man worthy enough to be a part of the Gerudos, the only one fit to be our king! The men who wish to join our cause are driven away and executed, for all males are feeble minded cowards! Women are the ones who hold great inner strength, women such as you! You are a child, but your determination is great, and your powers greater! You waste your potential defending a worthless cause! Join the Gerudos! Proclaim your faith and loyalty to King Ganondorf!"

"Never!" Zelda shouted, not giving the Gerudo's suggestion a second of thought. "If what you say is true, that your ranks are bolstered by victimized people of Hyrule, then you sadden me greatly. HOWEVER! I love my kingdom! I will never betray it!"

"So you will strike down the very people you vowed to protect in order to defend your precious '_kingdom_'?"

Zelda gnawed on her lower lip in a moment of doubt, but only for a second. "My father said there are many harsh choices a monarch must make for the sake of the land, and I see how true his words are now. If I cannot convince your converted Gerudos to raise the flag of Hyrule once more, then yes, I will end them in my kingdom's name. But I can prevent such a tragedy from ever occurring again by becoming a better ruler, by responding to the cries of my people and doing everything in my power to help them! I know their pain, I've felt their suffering, and I can save them all! I thank you, Gerudo, for telling me this, for you've strengthened my resolve to save my kingdom! I will destroy your king, and I will protect my land, for that is my duty as Hyrule's princess!"

For a moment, the Gerudo was silenced by Zelda's words, a minor victory that brightened her heart. Then, "I see now what I must do. My king wishes to spare your life, but that is an order I cannot follow. Let this forest be your grave! Demon King's Ice!"

"Din's Fire!"

Their spells exploded against one another, the opposite elements sending crystallized vapors of air and clusters of embers showering down upon both of them. Zelda casted her next spell before the magical debris settled, launching a Farore's Gale, an arch of intense jade wind, at the pirate. Her amped up magic scattered harmlessly against the Gerudo's enchanted cloak, but it knocked the pirate back by a few steps all the same.

"Why the sudden change in heart?" Zelda demanded, continuously barraging the Gerudo with one Farore's Gale after another, forcing the dark mage to stand her ground. "First you did not wish to kill me, and now you do?"

"You are dangerous, little princess!" The Gerudo shouted back, freezing Zelda's magical projectiles with her Demon King's Ice before redirecting the frosty stream at Zelda, who used a powered-up Nayru's Love to protective herself from the bitter chill. "I see now that you have something your father does not! You could rally the people like he never could! You could give Hyrule the most dangerous force of all: HOPE! Should you ever step up to become Queen of Hyrule, you will be an enemy we cannot ignore! I must crush you now, for the sake of my king's ambition, for the sake of Hyrule's destruction!"

"You will never succeed!" Zelda rejected, casting her largest Din's Fire yet to melt the Gerudo's beam of ice; her overcharged spells were seriously taxing Zladimir's saved up magic, causing the amulet to near depletion with every spell, but limits were a boundary Zelda could not afford to worry about. "I will never fall, not until I bring Hyrule and its people the glory and peace they all deserve! Even if you defeat me here, another can rise to take my place!"

"Ignorant child!" The dark mage knocked aside Zelda's Din's Fire with her staff. "You represent hope, a light which cannot exist in the darkness to come! Hope may be shallow, hollow, and false, but it can still rally the clueless!" The pirate retaliated with a Demon King's Fire; Zelda avoided with Farore's Wind. "You are a rare breed, little princess! There are none who are as self-sacrificing as yourself, none who share your high ideals, and that alone makes you dangerous! If you will not serve us, then die for us!"

"Hope is never hollow! Hope is never false, not when those who bring it stay true to their ideals! I am true! I will save Hyrule, and neither you nor Ganondorf can stop me! Din's Fire! Farore's Rage!" Zelda enlarged her fireball with a gush of air, proliferating the blaze until it expanded into a continuous inferno that engulfed the Gerudo. For a moment, Zelda believed she had won, but her victory was premature when she spotted the Gerudo simultaneously using her black fire and velvet ice against Zelda's flamethrower to fight back.

"Hope is good for one thing and one thing only!" The Gerudo viciously snarled, straining her magic to fight against Zelda's. Slowly but surely, the combination of fire and ice began to push back Zelda's inferno. "Hope is only used for leading others into despair, and that is what we shall do to your kingdom! We will give them hope, let them believe they stand a chance against my king's forces, and then stomp them out! Crush them! Obliterate them! Dominate them! I'm sorry, but you are the sun that can dispel my king's reign! Therefore, YOU MUST DIE!" Step by step, the Gerudo approached Zelda while sustaining her stream of fire and ice, subduing Zelda's diminishing flames. Soon, the pirate was standing over Zelda, pummeling her from above while Zelda was forced to her knees, raising her hands over her head while desperately trying to maintain her spell. "Tell me, little princess, where is _your _hope? What is the source of _your_ strengthen? The anguished cries of your people? Your desperate need to be the shepherd of your lost flock? You think you can sustain yourself with the petty need to protect your people? They will abandon you! They will leave you to die the moment you fail to meet their needs! Your strength is an illusion based upon the meager whims of your pathetic kingdom! Die now, and show me I am right!" The Gerudo's magic redoubled as the pirate pushed harder, using every ounce of her magic to erase Zelda from the face of Hyrule.

"No," Zelda growled, feeling the Gerudo's fire and ice slowly burn and freeze her skin as her own magic waned. "The people can abandon me, the kingdom can hate me, but I will never stop loving them! I will never stop believing in them! Your words cannot break me!" As she drew upon the final reserves stored within the crescent moon amulet, Zelda tenaciously got back on one foot, forcing the Gerudo to take a frightened step back.

"No! How?! Why?! How can you fight?! How can you stand?!"

_All of Hyrule can hate you, spite you, and curse you, but I never will. I trust you, Zelda, and I know you'll always try to do what's right, unlike me. No matter how many people hate you, I'll always believe in you. You can count on it._

"Because _he _believes in me! Because _he _trusts me! As long as he is with me, as long as I know he will always support me, I can do ANYTHING!" Zelda depleted the last of the magic in Zladimir's charm, forcing the remainder of the magic into her spell and letting it explode, tossing her and the Gerudo mage backwards. She couldn't tell how far she was thrown, nor how many times she rolled across the burnt greenery and frozen patches of earth, but when she stood up, her mind was clearer than ever.

She wanted to defeat this witch, for Link's sake and her own.

The pirate was several meters away, dazed and confused from the way she struggled to stagger back to her feet.

Hope.

The Gerudo said Zelda represented hope, and while she was usually averse to taking suggestions from the enemy (especially a Gerudo), she had to agree with the desert pirate. She was the light, and she could pierce Ganondorf's cloud of darkness.

Pierce the darkness.

Zelda dropped Zladimir's depleted amulet and raised her left hand, positioning herself as if she were holding an invisible bow. She directed what was left of her personal reserves of magic into her hand, casting aside her need for a Goddess Spell and letting her mind race, letting "hope" be her directive. Almost immediately, her magic understood her will, her desire, and her Original Spell took shape. Her power gushed from her hands and solidified into a golden bow in her left, along with a gilded arrow in her right, its tip encased in a crystallized gem of brilliant light. Though she'd never practiced any form of archery, Zelda moved with instinctual perfection, arming her weapon with the arrow and drawing back on the humming string.

"Light Arrow."

She fired, letting her arrow fly at the Gerudo. It penetrated the pirate's enchanted cloak with ease, entering the dark mage's chest and exploding with a shine so radiant it dispelled the black fire and dark ice casted by the wicked mage. The Gerudo couldn't even scream as her body was brutalized by the light, inflicting true torment upon the servant of evil. When the luminosity died, Zelda's conjured bow disintegrated, and she fell onto all fours in exhaustion. Invoking the bow nearly drained her entirely, but she left a sliver of magic for herself to make sure she didn't undergo another soul-tearing ordeal.

"Amazing."

Zelda jumped in horror to see the Gerudo was still standing, scraps of her cloak blown away to reveal her slim and grotesquely tanned muscular figure. Her face was still obscured due to a particular piece masking her features, but Zelda could make out wisps of pearl hair leaking from the disguise.

"This power … that ability … you are a threat … you must be eliminated." The Gerudo shuffled forward, moving with only her utter devotion towards her king. The pirate's two staffs were reduced to useless splinters after being exposed to Zelda's Original Spell, so the worn out mage threw aside the remaining pieces and drew a simple steel dagger from her belt. "You … must die."

Zelda tried to run, but all her remaining strength was directed towards standing. She took a step back, but her sluggish feet caught onto a tree root, causing her to fall onto her back. Struggling to get back up was futile, for the Gerudo placed one foot on Zelda's stomach, pinning her down before raising her knife high.

"Die … die for the sake of my king!"

The dagger descended, but a sword swung out from nowhere, clashing against the Gerudo's weapon and knocking it out of her hand, forcing the pirate to step off Zelda. After first, Zelda coughed in relief, thinking it was her friends who came to her aid, but when she saw her rescuers her breathing stopped.

It was a Stalfos, an undead skeleton standing between six and seven feet. Its body was fashioned from numerous human bones welded together, and it wielded a metal round shield and a single burgundy sword. It was dressed in the armor of fallen adventures that died wandering in the Lost Woods. The Stalfos that saved Zelda's life drove the Gerudo back with its blade, and when it craned its neck to look down at her, Zelda fully expected the monster to end her life with its sword. Instead, it indifferently ignored her and approached the Gerudo, followed by several of its boney brethren hiding within the shadows of the trees.

"Bah, the Curse of the Forest," the Gerudo spat, clasping at the sun-shaped burn scarring her chest. "Puppets that drive away those who mean the forest harm. I no longer have the strength to keep the curse at bay. Let us meet again. Remember my name, for you are one of the few I respect, one of the few I wish to kill with my own two hands. I am Twinrova, and I shall remember this day, Princess Zelda."

With that, the Gerudo turned tail and ran, leading the gathered Stalfos in a merry chase as she fled from the Lost Woods. Zelda groaned, relieved to be alive and disappointed to let such a prominent enemy escape.

"Zelda!" It was Link's voice, and in a matter of seconds he was by her side, supporting her head with one hand while holding her close to his chest. "We saw your magic from afar, but it took us a while to get here! Are you okay? Are you hurt?" She watched Suvica and Rail burst into the clearing as well; the two boys glared at their surroundings, as if expecting an enemy to burst out of the bushes.

"I'm fine," Zelda assured, breathing easy now that her friends were here. Still, she couldn't hide a twinge of guilt from Link.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I'm so sorry, Link. I caught up with the one who killed your friend, Saria. It was a Gerudo."  
"What?!" Rail shouted in disbelief while Suvica inhaled deeply through his nose, trying to catch a whiff of the long-gone foe. "Are you sure?"

"Quite. I wanted to catch her, Link, I really did, but her powers were great. I'm sorry I could not avenge your friend, I'm so sorry," Zelda mournfully squeezed her eyes shut, desperate to hold back tears of regret. That's when she noticed Link's kind and caring smile, not the expression one would use after losing a friend. "What is it? What's happened? Why are you smiling?"

"Saria's okay," Link said, his unmistakable gratitude warming his voice. "Soon after you pulled that dagger out of her and left, she suddenly came back to life. No one gets what happened, but Suvica, Rail, and I quickly chased after you as soon as we heard your spells tearing up the forest. I never knew your magic was that strong."  
"I had a little help," Zelda slowly replied, trying to come to terms with what Link had just said. Someone survived being cut by a Ceremonial Gerudo Dagger? Inconceivable! Perhaps the malevolent artifact's powers were negated by the Kokiri's unique physiology? It was impossible to tell.

"A little help? You mean this thing?"Suvica asked, picking up the crescent moon charm she'd dropped earlier. "Wait a sec … _sniff _… I know this scent! This thing belonged to No-Balls! Why do you have it?!"

"It contained a great deal of magic," Zelda explained, plucking the amulet from Suvica's hands before he could vengefully crush it between his fingers. "I used all the energy stored within it in my fight. It was an asset too valuable to leave behind, though it's rather useless now. But Link, you said Saria is still alive? How is that possible? I saw that dagger, I saw it hit her."

"So did I," Link agreed, grimacing at the memory. "But she's alive, and so are you. Right now, that's all I care about. Come on, let's get back to the village. A lot of my old friends want to meet the water nymph."

"Water-what?" Zelda demanded as Link picked her up in his arms and carried her away.

"That's what they're calling you, after watching you control the Little Riv to put out the fires," Link laughed, easily retracing his steps in the maze of trees filling the condensed forest. "I hope you're ready for a little popularity when we get back."  
"It can't be that bad, can it?"

* * *

"A little popularity" was a serious understatement. The moment Link carried her back into his village, he was practically fighting off the immortal children, all of whom were overjoyed to see her; their merry demeanor almost made Zelda forget the village was attacked less than an hour ago. There was even an on-going rumor saying a pluck strand of her hair could let others breathe underwater. While it was rather bothersome to have to wave off nearly a hundred children, all of whom were eager to put the unfounded rumor to the test, Zelda realized she was more amazed than annoyed. Now that the thugs pillaging the village were put to sleep (courtesy of Suvica's fists) and a modem of peace was returning to the naturally peaceful settlement, Zelda couldn't help but be fascinated by the Kokiri Village's society. In terms of appearance, none of these children appeared over ten, yet according to Link, many were already in their thirties of forties, and even more above the hundreds. The rest were so old they didn't bother to keep track of their years. Also, while common sense told Zelda it was impossible for a community comprised of nothing but children to survive on its own without any form of adult supervision or protection, this clearly wasn't the case for the Kokiri Village. Zelda would've loved to have studied the village and its inhabitants in depth, but her recent bout with Twinrova and her lack of sleep was already weighing down her eyelids.

Other than Zelda, her friends were also attracting a fair amount of attention. When the Kokiri saw Suvica, Link's twin in appearance, none of them knew what to say. Many poked the dragon with sticks to confirm he wasn't a figment of their imagination, a teasing gesture Zelda found entertaining while thoroughly annoying Suvica. The Kokiri were also fascinated by Malon and Rail's red hair, a hair color which did not exist amongst the timeless children, but while Malon was more than happy to let the Kokiri ogle at her scarlet coat, Rail was way outside his comfort zone. Natasha, the only grown-up among them, looked like she'd ascended to the Sacred Realm, her usually impassive face bent into awe and admiration; she preoccupied herself by playfully pinching the cheeks of the Kokiri dancing at her feet and ruffling their hair, becoming more and more overjoyed when she watched them giggle.

"So cute," she barely managed to breathe. "Link, may I keep one?"

"Definitely not!" He called back.

Though everyone had their personal spotlight of attention, the bulk of everyone's interest was directed towards Link. It was clear from their adoring eyes, overly-eager greetings, and plentiful and unending hugs, that he was sorely missed. Zelda could tell Link would've liked nothing more than to catch up with his old friends, but for him, getting his new friends settled in was his current priority.

"You guys can sleep wherever you like," Link told them while shifting Zelda's weight in his arms. "We all skipped a night of sleep, so if you want to rest your eyes, go ahead."

"What about you and Zelda?" Rail asked, standing on his tippy-toes in order to stand as tall as possible to keep his hair out of the curious reaches of the Kokiri surrounding him.

"I'll take her to my place," Link replied, spurring Zelda's heart to gallop away. Stay at Link's place? See Link's house? It seemed this day had an upside after all. "If you're not sleepy, you can do whatever you like. _However_, if you try to take any of the fairies _or_ the Kokiri from this village—" he directed his words at Suvica and Natasha, "—I will know."

The criminal pair did their best to look innocent.

"Suvica, those two over there are Dentri and Hapi, the Kokiri chefs who invented the pancake."

The dragon's tongue would've hit the grass if it were long enough. "Seriously?! You two! Get over here! We've got big things to discuss!" With that, Suvica was pushing aside the Kokiri crowded around him and barging towards the confused Kokiri cooks.

"Natasha? That's the Kokiri Library," Link jutted his head towards a particularly small hut in a reclusive corner of the village. "Go entertain yourself."

Natasha dropped to her knees, raising a trembling hand towards the Kokiri Library as if she worried it would fade out of existence if she didn't stare at it for long enough. "My dream … my childhood dream … it's coming true …" It took the guild leader a few more minutes to gather herself before putting on her stone mask and striding towards the library in a composed manner.

"That should keep those two out of trouble," Link noted in relief.

"Fairy Boy! Fairy Boy!" Malon eagerly bounced on her feet. "Remember the honey pears? Remember the honey pears? Where do they grow? Are there any in this village?"

"Right over there," Link indicated, and Malon was sprinting away.

"Is there a quiet place for me to stay? I've got a few problems with little kids touching my hair. Don't ask, it's a long story," Rail begged, doing his best to keep his adoring fan of Kokiri children at arm's length.

"Why don't you keep Natasha company? To the Kokiri, the library is a boring place, so they probably won't bother you for long if you stay there," Link suggested. Rail accepted the idea with gratitude and ran for it, ordering the Kokiri children to stay away from him at all costs. Instead, the immortal kids found Rail's reaction all the more hilarious and chased after him.

With their friends preoccupied with their personal fascinations, Link talked away his Kokiri friends gathered around him, saying he'd tell them everything he'd been up to after taking care of Zelda. While he did, Zelda tried to search for Saria, the Kokiri girl who'd mysteriously came back from the dead; she wasn't there. Zelda found this odd, because after all the stories she heard from Link, she knew he and Saria were the closest of friends. If that where the case, why wasn't the Kokiri girl sticking to his side like glue?

Zelda let her concerns drop when she saw Link's home. It was a tree house, a home of dreams (after all, how many children fantasized about living in a tree?). The front porch was several feet above the ground, with a sturdy ladder leading up to the door. With Link's strength, it was easy for him to hold Zelda in one arm while climbing the ladder with the other. From this height, she had an excellent view of the village, and it would've been breathtaking if it weren't for the forest's scars.

The inside of Link's home was simple yet fantastic. It was a cylindrical space decorated with a bed, window, sink, and closet. But what really caught Zelda's eyes were the numerous bouquets of flowers covering every inch of the floor and a pile of letters overflowing from the stump-table in the center of the room.

"Whoa, who died here?" Navi murmured morbid as she slipped out of Link's bloody hood.

"I … I never thought your room would be so … flowery," Zelda said, longingly gazing at flowers blooming with everlasting beauty.

"It usually isn't," Link confessed, vigilantly walking towards the bed while making sure he didn't step on any of the petals. He plopped Zelda on the mattress, which she found inexplicably comfortable despite being made of nothing but leafs, and picked up one of the folded letters on the table. Zelda took a peek at the parchment to see it was written in Kokiri, for it was a scripture she couldn't read, and she knew every language in the Hylian kingdom. Whatever it said, the words nearly brought tears of joy to Link's eyes.

"What do they say?"

"They're welcome back cards," Link laughed lightly, blinking to ensure he wouldn't cry. "I was so worried about everyone hating me that I never … I never considered the possibility that they'd want me back."

Zelda couldn't resist giving Link a warm smile to compliment his delight. "You've been trying your best to protect your village, right? Why would they hate you for that? I don't think there's a single Kokiri here who isn't glad to see you."

To that, Link chuckled humorously. "Actually, I'm pretty sure I can name one in particular. He's been giving me a dark look ever since I came back."

"Who?"

"Don't worry about it," Link assured, fondly stacking the letters into neat piles on his table. "For now, you rest. We didn't patch up your soul just for you to break it again."

"I assure you, I learned my lesson the first time," Zelda said, making a face at the vivid memories of her disability. "You want to talk to your old friends, don't you?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Like you're waving a sign above your head. Go, there's no need for you to watch over me while I sleep."

"Why not? You're rather cute when you drool."

Zelda's body heat retreated into her cheeks.

Link grinned at her reaction before motioning for Navi to follow him. "Let's go, Navi. We've got a lot of catching up to do."

"Hey, I was reborn the same day we left this village. I barely know anyone here," the fairy protested.

"Then it's time to get acquainted."

It was heartening to watch Link act like a proper child after everything they'd all gone through. Zelda knew no twelve-year-old should have to carry of the burden of Hyrule's fate, so to see Link shed his package, if only for today, was a sight she was grateful to see. As he and his partner brushed aside the tarp covering the front door, Zelda leaned back into the exquisitely soothing bed, letting her eyes wander to the carpet of flowers adorning the floor and the stack of letters towering on the table. Between these two symbols, it was easy to image how much this village loved Link.

There was so much more Zelda wished to know about the Kokiri Village, but all that could wait another day. Right now, she was tired from a lack of sleep and weary after a hard fought battle. She closed her eyes, gratefully letting her conscious slowly slip—

"Excuse me?"

Zelda sat straight up, startled by the sudden intrusion. When her frantic eyes failed to identify the disturbance, her astonishment grew when the closet doors opened on their own, and Saria sheepishly stepped out into view.

"Y-You … why …?" Zelda stammered, wondering if she was growing delirious or if hiding in someone else's wardrobe was a common tradition amongst the Kokiri.

"I-I-It's not what it looks like!" Saria profusely assured, tossing Link's spare clothing back into the closet. "I-I was here first! I mean, I was in the house first, and then I heard you and Link coming in! I thought it'd be weird if I was just standing here in his room so I hid in the closet! That's all!"

"It's true," a green fairy hovering beside Saria agreed, but then added, "But Saria has been coming to Link's room ever since he left, and she likes to hang out in his closet and smell his stuff because the scent reminds her of—" Saria suddenly grabbed the babbling fairy and chucked it out the window.

"S-She's was just making things up," Saria stuttered, panting heavily as her face reddened to the accusation. "B-By the way, that was my fairy partner, Tatl. I'm Saria. I-It's nice to meet you." The Kokiri girl leaned forward and gingerly extended a hand.

"I'm Z-Zelda, and it's nice to meet you two," Zelda whispered, cautiously reaching out and shaking two fingers with Saria.

After that, the two of them were tormented by a dreadfully awkward silent. Saria was suddenly directing her full attention to her shoes, and Zelda was likewise engrossed with the leafy stitches forming the bed's mattress. These two wanted to have a meaningful conversation with one another, yet neither knew how to start. After all, this was Link's best friend, someone he knew and cared for well before Zelda came into his life, and to meet her now (without Link around) was beyond weird. Sure, Zelda had saved up a tower of questions in case she ever got the chance to meet Link's closest friend, but now that the two of them were face to face, Zelda's lack of courage was doing nothing to better the situation. To make things worse, when Zelda finally mustered the nerve to speak, she did so the exact same time Saria opened her mouth.

"Can I ask—?/May I ask—?" The two of them said simultaneously.

"I'm sorry, please go ahead," Saria was quick to rectify.

"No, no! I insist that you begin!" Zelda countered.

"I'm fine, really! Go ahead, please!"

"That would be rude of me! I'm certain you'd like to go first!"

"No, I'm okay, really!"

"So am I!"

Another awkward silence.

Then from the window: "C'mon! Get on with the drama!"

Tatl the fairy was playfully buzzing near the aperture before Saria grabbed a mass of flowers and chucked them at her fairy partner. When Saria spoke again, her voice was feeble yet determined. "So … can I ask? W-What's your relationship with Link?"

Zelda nearly choked on her heart. "W-We're friends!"

"Really?"

"Yes!"  
"Definitely?"

"Yes!"

"So you absolutely, totally, and positively have no feelings for him?"

"I like him!" Zelda blurted before she had time to control herself.

Saria went as white as a Poe, but her pale complexion didn't stop her next vigorous statement: "I-I like him too!"

"I like Fairy Boy as well!" Malon cheered. Zelda felt like she'd been hit by one of Suvica's lightning bolts as Malon suddenly barged into the middle of the already messy predicament with a wide grin and oblivious attitude. This was one battle Zelda didn't know how to fight, and now it'd just become a three-way free for all. Could it get any worse?

"W-Who are you?" Saria asked weakly.

"I'm Malon, Malon of Lon Lon Ranch! Nice to meet you!"

"Malon! What're you doing here?" Zelda demanded.

"The paradise children said this was Fairy Boy's home, so I wanted to see what it looked like!"

"Malon … and Zelda. You're the Malon and Zelda Link told me about, aren't you?" Saria trembled so hard she was practically on the edge of a nervous breakdown.

"Let's all calm down, please!" Zelda stepped in before the matter could get further out of hand. As quickly and orderly as she could manage, Zelda got the three of them to sit in a loose circle so they could talk out their problems before something serious could arise. While Malon was cheerful and jolly, Zelda and Saria were acting like a mountain was placed on their shoulders. "Please, let's talk about this, slowly and carefully."  
"What're we talking about?" Malon asked, carelessly biting into a pear secreting honey.

"I'll begin!" Saria started before Zelda could answer Malon's question. "I might have met Link long before either of you two, but that's not the only reason I like him! He's kind, caring, does his best to make others happy, and always thinks about others! I … I … I lov … that is … I think I …"

"Aw, you love Fairy Boy? That's so cute," Malon cheered with a small applause. Saria's blush intensified in depth and color.

"W-What about you?" Saria countered, trying to divert the embarrassment onto Malon. "How do you feel about Link?"

"I really like Fairy Boy," Malon said without the slightest hint of discomfort; despite her ill-timed entrance, Zelda gave Malon props for confessing her feelings with such a straight face.

"H-How much?" Saria dared to ask.

"We're star-crossed lovers," Malon said with deep affection. "I remember it so clearly, the day Fairy Boy confessed his deepest feelings for me." Zelda almost fainted with disbelief, and Saria was so shocked her eyes glistened with unshed tears. "It was our first night at Lon Lon Ranch, under the full moon and shining stars. He held my hands then hugged me tight, whispering his love for me in my ear until all I could think about was him."

"H-H-He actually did that?" Zelda gasped, almost feeling betrayed.

"L-Link s-s-s-said that t-to you?" Saria choked, sniffing back her pain.

"Nah, he didn't! I'm just joking!"

Zelda and Saria glared at Malon with so much anger they could've burned a hole through the ranch girl's face.

"The two of you were talking like the world was freezing over, so I had to do something to break the ice," Malon explained herself apologetically. "Don't worry, I like Fairy Boy, but only as a friend."

As much as Zelda wanted to strangle Malon for getting her heart racing so painfully hard, she had to admit the intense relief which came with the revelation of the truth soothed the atmosphere nicely. Even the uptight Saria was starting to mildly relax.

"What'd I miss? What'd I miss?" Tatl demanded, flying in through the window. "Where's the cat fight? Who lost? Who gets to date Link first?" This time, Zelda assisted Saria with smothering the annoying fairy in Link's blanket and tossing it out the door.

"I'm impressed you put up with such a partner," Zelda noted as they all sat back down on the floor.

"She means well, sometimes," Saria sighed, rubbing her chest as if there was a form of lingering pain causing her discomfort.

"Are you okay?"

"Hmm?"

"You were stabbed," Zelda reluctantly reminded, "And with a very powerful artifact of dark magic. I don't mean to be rude, but frankly I think it's a miracle you're still alive."

"So do I," Saria admitted, "But truth be told, I feel much better than before. You might not believe me, but I've been having these … dreams for the past few weeks, and each time there's a man telling me to awaken. Even when I'm wide awake, I could always feel his presence hanging over me, like I'm always in his sights. But after … after I died, he suddenly disappeared. I don't really get what's going on, but somehow I feel … normal."

Saria's explanation only made things much more baffling. Either Zelda's mental index of potentially powerful and dangerous items was seriously out of date, or something else, something deeper, was going on.

"Either way, I'm alive, and there's something far more important I have to deal with," Saria continued. "You."

"Me?"

"You said … you said you liked Link? Does that mean … you're good friends with him … or …?" Saria let her sentence hang, waiting for Zelda to answer for herself.

"I-I think we're all a bit too young to be speaking of love at our age," Zelda replied, hoping to avoid the topic all together.

"Does that mean you could love someone other than Link?"

Zelda sighed. "No, I cannot imagine such a possibility."

"Then you're in love."

"Yes, I believe so."

"I'm glad."

Saria's confession astonished Zelda, and even more so when she could tell the Kokiri girl genuinely meant what she said. "What do you mean? You aren't … jealous?"

"I'm extremely jealous, but if you love Link, that means you'll do whatever you have to in order to keep him safe, right?"

"Of course."

Saria smiled sadly. "Then you can do something I can't. I want to help Link, I really do, but I'm a Kokiri and he's not. He can leave the village whenever he pleases, but I can't image stepping a foot outside the Kokiri Forest. That's why I'm glad, glad you're there to protect him."

"Me? Protect Link? Most of the time, it's the other way around and he's looking after me," Zelda joked nervously.

The corner of Saria's lips tugged upward. "Yes, he does that a lot, doesn't he? Do you ever get that feeling when you're around him, that you're perfectly safe, no matter what may come next?"

"All the time," Zelda agreed. "But he can be really persistent too! He never let's anyone keep a secret from him! It gets a little annoying sometimes!"

Saria clapped her hands in delight. "Great Deku Tree's name, I know that feeling! Anytime I want to surprise him, he keeps bugging me until the whole thing is ruined!"

Zelda muffled her laughter with a hand, perfectly picturing such a scenario. "But even when he's really pesky, you can't bring yourself to hate him. He's done so much for me, shown me so many fantastic things, it's hard to stay mad at him."

"I know what you mean," Saria agreed, her anxious tension drifting away from her shoulders as she started to speak more naturally. "I remember the time he forgot to meet me at the village center for lunch, so he made up for it by taking me to the Sacred Grove. It was beautiful."

"He showed me the world and helped me realize how much I can do to help my kingdom. I wouldn't be the person I am right now without Link," Zelda admitted.

"Me too," Saria added.

For a moment, Zelda locked eyes with Saria, and all disillusions fell apart. They had more in common than they realized, and there was no reason for either of them to be troubled about the other.

"Can you tell me about Link, about the stuff he's done after he left the village?" Saria asked, standing up and extending a hand to help Zelda to her feet.

"I'll do my best," Zelda promised happily, accepting the gesture. "In return, can you tell me about the Link you know? The one who lived in this very house, before I met him?"

Saria returned the smile. "Gladly."

* * *

EDIT: Hi everyone, and sorry for the late update! I took a vacation to Canada, Vancouver, and between eating good food, seeing lots of sights, and generally acting like a crazy tourist, I didn't leave myself much time for my story. But now I'm back, and I hope to write the rest of my story! (8/16/12)


	30. Chapter 30, The Next Course

**Chapter 30**

**The Next Course**

Malon took a step outside, breathing in a grateful breeze of afternoon air. Zelda and Saria had already spent several hours jubilantly exchanging stories with one another, first about Link, and then moving onto their personal lives, eager to share everything about one another. The two fashioned a pleasant atmosphere Malon would've loved to appreciate, but as she slowly lost her place in their conversation, she knew she wasn't needed and excused herself. She wasn't mad or hurt when Zelda and Saria accepted her departure with barely a nod; rather, she was a bit lonely. She missed the constant company of her friends, and now that all of them were spread throughout the paradise village, Malon felt like she had little to do.

Make no mistake, she wasn't bored at all. Now that paradise was no longer being threatened by outside forces, she had plenty of time to kick back and soak in the details. Watching the forever-young interact with one another, while mindlessly gazing at the village's splendor, always made her heart race, but after holding such needlessly high expectations of paradise, reality was a bit harsher. Endless meadows of vast fortunes? There wasn't a green rupee in sight. Waterfalls of syrup and honey? The river was refreshing, but it definitely wasn't honey. Eternally young children who grew golden lilies just by touching the ground? Sure, they were immortal, but none of the Kokiri knew what gold was. At least paradise was a sight to behold regardless of her crestfallen expectations. Already, the village was repairing the damage wrought to it, covering patches of burnt land with an overgrowth of grass and re-growing torn down homes from the bottom up. Malon was fascinated by how a sapling could suddenly design itself into the perfect living space in a matter of hours.

Since it was unbecoming to act so sullen in the middle of this sacred dwelling, Malon clambered down the tree house's ladder for a little exploration time. When her feet touched the ground, she promptly peeled off her shoes and left them at Fairy Boy's front lawn in order to savor the cool sensation of grass tickling her toes. While there was a slight tingle of sleep prodding at the back of her mind, it'd be a crime to close her eyes to the magnificence around her.

She strolled beside the trodden trail stretching throughout the village. As her prior delusions of ill-fitting grandeur slipped away, she appreciated the village for what it truly was: A welcoming place for children to forever live and stay. Though her focus was mainly directed towards the magical scenery (like the gentle shower of flower petals cascading from above), she couldn't help but notice how many of the Kokiri stopped what they were doing and stared at her as she walked by. Some tried to avoid eye contact, pretending like she wasn't there, but the others enthusiastically jumped up and down, desperate to catch her attention. Malon understood why some of the Kokiri would shy away; who wouldn't after having their homes ransacked by a bunch of greedy adults? It was the excited children who puzzled her; how could they be so animated after such a nightmare? Maybe an abundance of optimism came with eternal youth.

"I see her! There she is!"

"Grab her!"

The burst of commotion made Malon swivel her head left and right to see who the perpetrator was. A small mob of Kokiri was running towards her, pointing fingers with exciting eyes and zealous smiles. Malon glanced over her shoulders to see if their target was standing behind her, but there was no one there. A seed of uncertainty began to take root, so Malon stepped aside hoping these fervent kids would run past her. They didn't; instead, they readjusted their course so they were charging directly at her.

Her instincts kicked in, and she arbitrarily blurted out the first thing on the tip of her tongue: "I didn't take the cookies!"

_Bam!_ The collective mass of Kokiri rammed into her with the momentum of a raging pony starving for some sugar cubs, causing her eyes to spin and hallucinate fairies (or were those fairy partners?). As she struggled to make butter-up or butter-down of the situation, she felt the Kokiri pick up her winded body, hold it over their heads, and jog away while shouting: "We got her! We got her!"

Next thing she knew, she was paraded into one of the forest homes and seated on a plump chair, with a startled Fairy Boy sitting directly across from her. Admittedly, Malon's befuddled head sharpened into an instant of panic; it was hard to forget the bloodstained beast he'd become, lashing out against those who threatened his friends and home. Having anger issues was a serious understatement; Fairy Boy was a whole different person when enraged, someone you really didn't want to meet in a dark alley at night. Right now, he was neither the bloody beast nor the Fairy Boy she knew and cared for; it lasted only for a second, but Malon swore she saw the defeated expression of a depressed boy before he concealed it with an impartial glass mask.

"We found her!" The Kokiri who roughly transported her cheered, hastily sitting in their own chairs to form an anticipating circle with Malon and Fairy Boy.

"I know I told you to find one of my friends if you wanted to know more about the outside world, but I didn't think you'd bring her here," Fairy Boy laughed lightly, twisting his lips into a forced grin; something was totally wrong. When Malon tried to voice her concern, Fairy Boy shook his head, a wordless plea that said: _Ask me later._ "Sorry for the surprise, Malon."

"I'm okay … I'm okay," Malon said slowly, urging her brain to piece together a reason for Fairy Boy's despondent mood.

"Everyone," Fairy Boy spoke to his forest friends, "This is Malon of Lon Lon Ranch, my first friend outside the Kokiri Forest. Malon, these are a few of my pals, Fresta, Sally, Yally, Tref, Jaspin, Branda, and Cupin, along with their fairies Appi, Sani, Yani, Hani, Karl, Tish, and Balo."

"Hi?" Malon murmured, greeting them with a little wave. The Kokiri and their fairies responded with an onslaught of salutations. "Fairy Boy, where am I?"

"This is Fresta's place," he answered, motioning at the rectangular room. These magically-grown homes were impressive on the outside, and now she knew the same applied for the inside. The inner walls were draped with mint-scented branches, and while the odor was not overpowering, it was very relaxing. Valley lilies were thriving on the room's chandelier, growing from the center of the ceiling; the lantern-shaped lilies illuminated the house with a spellbinding light, requiring no fire or oil. When Malon checked to see what she was sitting on, she was delighted to find herself on a chair-shaped pumpkin, and saw the others were seated in their own fruity/vegetable stools. The bed was her favorite addition; it was a hammock hanging from the walls, sewn together by interlocking lengths of vine and looking royally comfortable. Malon would've done anything to have a room like this.

_Poke._

Something tapped her on the shoulder, and when she turned to see who it was, she jumped up in fright to spot a branch extending from the house's attic, moving as if it had a life of its own.

"Don't be scared, it doesn't bite," one of the Kokiri girls (Fresta) assured.

"W-Why is it moving?" Malon asked with an involuntary stutter of surprise. When she tried backing away, the wooden limb followed her movements.

"It's asking for your permission," Fresta's partner (What was it again? Snappy? No. Happy? That wasn't it either. Wait, it was—) Appi answered. "Doesn't the outside world have laundry?"

"Not like this," Fairy Boy said. "Malon, say '_Yes_' and then'_please_,' and you'll see."

"Y-Yes please?" Malon hesitantly spoke. The next instant, the branch grabbed her by the waist and dragged her into the attic and out of sight. Before her fear had time to kick in, the house dropped her back into her plushy pumpkin seat with a new makeover. Her clothes had been effectively changed; her favorite one-piece dress was replaced with a jade outfit consisting of short pants and a sleeveless turtle-neck shirt. Even her hair was freshly cleaned, groomed, and tied into a ponytail with a lime ribbon. Her feet were still bare, but there was a small rose wrapped around her pinky toe. A few seconds later, her white dress (which had been stained with sweat, dirt, and days without soap) dropped from the attic's porthole and onto her lap, fresher than the day her daddy had bought it. "That was … that was cool!"

"We call it lazy," Fairy Boy chuckled (Malon detected a hint of strain), glancing at Fresta. "Sure, no one in the Kokiri Village actually washes their own clothes, but some of us take the time to put them on ourselves."  
"You all know I'm not good with mornings!" Fresta pouted, strangely unaware of Fairy Boy's depression despite being his friend. "I need a house that can clean my used clothes, change my outfit, give me a bath, and brush my teeth!"

Malon ran her tongue against her teeth, then cupped her hand and breathed into it; Fresta was right, and Malon was surprised to find her breath smelled like cinnamon. Now she wanted a home like this even more than before, because it took room service to a whole new level.

"Can I keep these clothes?" Malon asked longingly, loving the pristine fabric the Kokiri clothes were fashioned from. Its quality effortlessly rivaled Zelda's old royal dress, and was the perfect souvenir to take home.

"Sure, Fresta's got way too many anyways," Appi teased.

"I do not!"

"You can keep them," Fairy Boy concluded. "But Fresta, you should really change that command. I remember that one time Jaspin and Karl came over to borrow one of your chairs."

"Seriously!" The Kokiri in question, Jaspin, fumed. "Do you know what happened? Fresta asks '_Do you want the watermelon chair?_' and I say '_Yes please_' and then—NO, NOT AGAIN!" The boy was snatched out of his chair by the magical house and dragged into the attic screaming. When he came back down, he was in an outfit almost identical to Malon's, but with a skirt instead of pants, his short copper hair tied into three stubby ponytails, and a set of flowers sticking out of his nostrils. "I hate your house, Fresta."

The Kokiri laughed, and their mirthful cries were dangerously contagious. Malon couldn't help herself; she laughed along, almost to the point of crying as jollity overtook her. There was something abnormal about the Kokiri's laughter; their innocent enjoyment made her belly warm, wishing for the joyful cries to never stop. Only Fairy Boy stayed unaffected, barely raising the corner of his lips as his friends amused themselves. When the Kokiri settled, Malon found she was surprisingly depressed, though the sadness left as quickly as it came.

"So," Sally (or Yally, since the two were identical twins and impossible to tell apart) asked, "If your house doesn't wash your clothes for you, how do you clean them?"

"By hand," Malon said simply.

Her answer brought about an unexpected gasp of pure horror from the Kokiri.

"By hand … you mean … you have to wash them _yourself_?"

"Oh Great Deku Tree, that must be terrible!"

"I feel so sorry for you!"

"I-It's not that bad," Malon tried to assure them. Using a metal washboard and a hard bar of soap wasn't the most luxurious way to remove a stain, but she didn't realize the Kokiri would be this aghast.

"What about the giants?" Yally (or Sally) whispered in a low, almost frightful, voice. "The giants who were hurting our homes were really bad people, and Link says there're even more of them outside the forest! What's it like, living with so many awful giants?"

"Normal, really." Again, a collective of gasps, like the Kokiri couldn't believe their ears; these kids were a bit too excitable. "Not all grown-ups are evil! There's Natasha, and she helped beat the bad guys!"

"The big lady in the library? That's true, but she's weird."

"Every time I see her, she's calling one of us '_adorable_'."

"But if she's Link's friend, she can't be a bad person, right?"

"Yeah, Link doesn't make bad people his friends."

"I know you were scared because of the other adults, but there's no reason to be afraid of Natasha," Malon said in the guild leader's defense. "She is a little strange, but she's super nice if you give her the chance!"

"We're not scared!" Jaspin protested. "It was kind of freaky to see them ruining our homes and stealing our fairies, but now that Link's back, there's nothing to be afraid of! He always knows what to do to keep us safe!" The Kokiri boy's statement was met with a round of approval, and Fairy Boy did his best to look humble.

"Speaking of which, where are the men who came to the Lost Woods?" Malon asked Fairy Boy. "I didn't see them anywhere. You didn't—" She swallowed her apprehension, "—do anything bad to them?"

"We moved them," Fairy Boy said, strangely expressionless while mentioning the men who were once the objects of his unadulterated rage. Malon was pretty sure the looters who died had been buried far away from the village thanks to Rail and Natasha's efforts, but those who were merely unconscious were bound and gagged, and Malon didn't know what had happened to them until now.

"Is it safe to keep them? Shouldn't we let them go?"

"No, not yet. I want to make sure they never come to my village again." For a moment, Fairy Boy's words were sharpened with a harsh edge, yet none of his forest friends seemed to notice; they were so secluded from violence that they couldn't see it emanating from their closest friend.

"Y-Y-Your hair's really p-pretty," Kokiri Cupin suddenly stammered; Malon fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat when the immortal boy started leaning towards her, stroking her hair with one finger. Out of all Fairy Boy's friends, Cupin was definitely the shyest (and perhaps the strangest). She could tell from the way he hugged himself to make his body as small as possible, trying his best to go unnoticed.

It must've taken him a substantial amount of courage to speak, so Malon put on her brightest smile and said, "Thank you, that's really nice of you."

She might've overdone it, because Cupin's face burst with an infusion of heat as he declared: "I like you! Please go out with me!"

"No thanks." Malon replied before she knew the words had left her mouth. She might've felt extremely guilty about her instant rejection if Cupin's friends hadn't start patting his back while chuckling in amusement.

"Don't worry about Cupin," Balo, the Kokiri's partner, said. "Cupin gets a crush on every girl he sees, and he's been rejected by everyone in the village; I think the last one who shot him down was Saria. Cheer up Cupin, you weren't actually expecting her to say '_Yes_' were you?"

"I … _hiccup _… was …"

"Do you really want to go out with me?" Malon asked, just to be sure.

"Yes please!" Cupin cried loudly, moments before the house threw him into the attic and dropped him back in his chair moments later. The poor kid ended up worse off than Jaspin, with an ankle-long dress, a T-Shirt with frilly ribbons attached to the collar and sleeves, and a wreath of flowers sewn into his hair. Thankfully, Cupin found his silly attire just as hilarious as the rest of them as he laughed along.

"See, you've got to change that phrase," Fairy Boy said.

"But it's so funny to watch what happens!" Fresta giggled, clapping her hands as she approved of Cupin's new attire.

"Let's get out of here, Cupin," Jaspin coughed after his fit of glee subsided. "I don't think either of us wants to stay like this for the rest of the day. We'll catch up with the rest of you later!" The two, along with their fairy partners, exited Fresta's house; Malon could hear the riot they were causing as they walked by.

"Let's get something to eat," Sally (or Yally) announced.

"We're kind of hungry," Yally (or Sally) continued, their stomachs growling in unison.

"Then we visit Dentri and Hapi," Fairy Boy confirmed, catching Malon's confused look and saying, "They're the chefs of the Kokiri Village, if you're willing to call them that. They're the ones who came up with the pancake."

"Then I bet Suvi's still there," Malon smiled at the thought.

Their little group picked themselves up, pushed aside their edible chairs, and made their way to their next destination (Malon left her cleaned dress on the pumpkin chair, a little unwilling to carry it around with her). The Kokiri scampered ahead, hungrily scrambling towards the prospect of a fulfilling meal, leaving Malon behind with Fairy Boy and Navi.

Knowing this was going to be one of the few chances she'd get, Malon wrapped her arms around Fairy Boy's to prevent him from escaping before asking: "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," came Fairy Boy's automated response; from the way Navi jingled in defeat, Malon knew it had to be something.

"Talk to me Fairy Boy, because I won't let go of you until you do," Malon said, trying to enunciate her words to sound threatening; unfortunately, Fairy Boy found it to be more humorous as he cracked a smile.

"Those clothes look good on you," Fairy Boy said, his out-of-the-blue praise catching Malon off guard as she pressed her hands against her cheeks to stop her blush; the moment her hands wandered away from Fairy Boy, he picked up his pace, almost power-walking out of Malon's reach. Almost.

"Not so fast!" Malon yelled, jumping onto his back and binding her arms around his neck and her legs on his waist to thwart anymore trickery. "You're a crafty one, Fairy Boy. But I've got you now!"

"I'm terrified," Fairy Boy chuckled, continuing to walk on unhindered. "Alright, what do you want?"

"I want to know what's bothering you," Malon pressed, squeezing her arms ever so slightly. "I thought you'd be happy to be back home, but you're not. Then I thought you were still angry with those bad men, but that's not it either. Something's really bothering you, and it's making you all gloomy."

"It's nothing much."

"It's about his promises to the Great Deku Tree," Navi answered.

"Navi!"  
"Hey, Malon's right," the fairy partner snapped. "You told me what you wanted to do, but even she can tell it's eating you up inside. If I can't change your mind, maybe she can. You've got friends for a reason, Link. Let them hear your dilemma."

Fairy Boy sighed, picking up where Navi left off. "I promised the Great Deku Tree I'd defeat Ganondorf, so I left the Kokiri Village to keep it, but that wasn't the only reason. Ganondorf wanted the Kokiri Emerald, and as long as it stayed within the forest, I knew he'd come back and threaten the lives of my friends."

"Oron City," Malon whispered, remembering how Fairy Boy taunted the intruding Gerudos by flashing the Spiritual Stone of the Forest in their faces. "You told them that Ganondorf better come at you to get it, but you also said all that to keep him away from the Lost Woods!"

"Yeah, and I was naïve. From all the stories you told me about Hyrule's perspective of the Lost Woods, I should've known the Gerudos weren't the only threat to my home, but since I only saw Ganondorf and his pirates as my enemies, I failed to consider other dangers. After the Great Deku Tree passed away, it was only a matter of time before his power, his magic protecting the forest, waned away. When he was still alive, it took someone of Ganondorf's caliber to break into the village. Now there were Hylian bandits and kidnappers walking in like they owned the place. Every day I'm away from my village is another day it's placed in danger. With all things considered … I don't know if I can leave."

Alarm rang in Malon's ears, (though she later realized it was Navi's ring of distress) at Fairy Boy's words. "What do you mean? Are you saying you won't leave the Lost Woods? You're not going to stop Ganondorf?"

"I've thought about it for a while, and between chasing revenge and keeping my friends safe, my friends are far more important. If I can keep the Kokiri Village out of harm's way by abandoning my quest to stop Ganondorf, I will."

"B-But what about the Spiritual Stones you have! If you say here, then won't Ganondorf end up coming to the Lost Woods again to look for them?"

"I'll give them to Zelda before she leaves."

"So … you're really giving up," Malon murmured, finally understanding Fairy Boy's brooding emotions.

"Revenge has been on my mind for so long it's a bit hard for me to accept as well, but if I will if I have to."

"A-Are you sure? Zelda still needs your help! Rail too! Maybe Suvi … well, not really … but we need you!" Malon gently shook Fairy Boy's shoulders. "We only got this far because of you! Zelda trusts you more than anyone! Rail admires and always follows your lead! Suvi will never admit it, but he respects you! If you go, everything will fall apart! They can't get along without you! You're the only reason we're all still together!"

"Malon, I watched my best friend die right in front of my eyes. Zelda couldn't stop, and neither could I. I know she's okay now, but only thanks to some strange twist of luck. It might all be in the past, but I keep thinking _what if_, _what if_. What if I'd been here before those kidnappers arrived? What if I'd faced them in the forest, outside the village, using the terrain to my advantage? I could've prevented the village from burning, stopped Saria from dying. I know I can't go back in time and change things, but if I could, I would."

"If you could, you'd have never met any of us," Malon whispered, pained by the trouble Fairy Boy was tormenting himself with. "Would you still be okay?"

"Of course not," Fairy Boy growled, his steps adopting on a more frantic pace. "You're all important to me, you, Zelda, Rail, and even Suvica. Thanks to all of you, I got to meet my mom, my cousin, and learn about my family. These are things I'll cherish, and I'd willing die to protect it all, but I seems I can't have everything go my way. Malon?"

"Yes?"  
"Thanks for listening, and don't tell anyone else what I just said to you. When the time comes, I'd rather tell them myself, tell them that this is it for me."

Unable to muster her voice, Malon solemnly nodded as she rest her head against Fairy Boy's; the whole idea of him forfeiting his pursuit to save Hyrule was too much to swallow. How many times had they escaped certain death and defeat thanks to his ingenuity? He was their center, the keystone supporting them all. He may not know it, but he was a natural leader; how else could he get a princess, a child of lost royalty, a farm girl, and a dragon to boot, to co-operate with each other to work towards a single goal? Having Link leave would be catastrophic, something that had to be avoid at all costs, but how? He was already burdening himself by placing his desires and responsibilities on opposite sides of a scale, and Malon didn't want to pressure him into changing his mind, breaking his balance.

She mulled for an answer until someone's screams snapped her concentration. There was a loose semicircle a wide distance away from the commotion, so Fairy Boy put Malon down and walked towards the source. Malon incorporated herself into the crowd of Kokiri to see what was going on; the moment she saw who the troublemaker was, she sighed.

"What do you mean you've never heard of bacon?!" Suvi roared, grabbing a terrified Kokiri by his tunic's collar while keeping the forest kid's partner caged in his other hand. "How can you be alive and _not_ know what bacon is?! You two disgust me!"

Fairy Boy came to his friend's rescue in a heartbeat, smacking Suvi's head and releasing Dentri and Hapi; the two almost cried in relief at his arrival.

"It's evil Link," Fresta murmured, keeping her distance as Fairy Boy and Suvi started arguing with one another. "I never knew Link had a twin!"

"They're not twins, so to say," Malon spoke in "Suvi is … different."

"So he's not a Kokiri like Link?"

_Fairy Boy isn't a Kokiri either_, Malon thought woefully, though she refused to say so out loud. "Nope, he's not a Kokiri."

"Then he's like you, a … a …?"

"Hylian?"

"Yeah! A Hylian?"

"Nope."

Fresta frowned at the lack of answers. "But … so then … what is he?"

Unable to come up with a suitable fib, Malon shrugged and said, "A dragon." Naturally, she expected the Kokiri to react in terror, maybe walk away slowly or run in the opposite direction. What she did not expect was for them to break out with wide smiles and charge towards Suvi, screaming, "Dragon!" Suvi was still squabbling, and never saw the Kokiri coming as they jumped on him. They hung from his arms like monkey bars and wrapped themselves around his legs, begging to see his wings or to watch him breathe fire.

The sight was so entertaining Malon sat down to enjoy the show, finding it funny to see the big bad dragon helpless against a group of immortal children. When his annoyance peaked, he started grabbing the Kokiri mobbing him before hurling them across the village. His reaction horrified Malon, who was worried the Kokiri would splat against the ground with bone-cracking impact, but her qualms were swept aside when she saw how the village would not permit any harm to come to the Kokiri. Each time a thrown Kokiri was about to hit the ground, a massive fern exploded beneath them, softening their landing and causing them no hurt. Instead of instilling fear, all Suvi got was delight as the Kokiri ran back to him begging to be thrown again. It was heartwarming; the Kokiri no longer had a parent, yet they still did their best to be happy, and from the way they interacted, they were all an inseparable family.

Family.

First Fairy Boy's shocking decision, and now this. Out of the blue, a tear wet the corner of Malon's eyes as she thought about her dad; she missed him. It was painfully easy for her to recall her moment of defiance, when she commandeered the family wagon and helped Fairy Boy kidnap Zelda from Hyrule Castle. During the rush of excitement, she'd completely forgotten the face her dad made when she left him: Terror. To know she was the one who brought about that fear made her stomach tight with remorse. She didn't need to think to know what her dad was doing now: Drinking, drowning his grief at the bottom of an ale barrel. Her absence was making her only living relative suffer, and the unconscious guilt was making her tears act up. Remembering Fairy Boy's selfless decision to stay made her guilty conscious worse. How could she have been so selfish? She knew how susceptible to misery her dad was after her mom died, yet she'd forgotten all about it due to the prospect of an adventure. Malon pulled her legs close and rest her head on her knees, resolving to make things up to her dad when she got back. If Link was going to stay in the Lost Woods, then it was only a matter of time before the rest of their group broke apart without their center; she'd be able to hitch a ride home within the week. Maybe a self imposed curfew and a year of chores without an allowance would do it. No, it had to be something more. Simple errands could hardly compensate for the pain she was causing her dad after leaving with barely a goodbye. What would her mom do? As far as she could remember, her mom was a champion at cheering others up, possessing a friendly and vibrant aura that could bring a smile to a crying baby's face. Mom always knew what to do, what to say, to resolve problems such as these.

Her mom.

Mom.

_"Mom!"_

_ "Run Malon, run! It's okay, mommy will be right behind you! Go to daddy!"_

_ "But—!"  
"Run!"_

_ Fire. Rain. The inn was collapsing. Mom was making sure the others escaped. Malon didn't want to go. She wanted to stay. The ceiling collapsed. Mom pushed her out of the way. Blood. So much blood._

_ "Mommy? Mom?"_

_ "MOM!"_

"Malon!"

"Whoozere?!" Malon jerked her head up so fast it smacked into Suvi's nose, causing him to recoil in a pang of pain.

"Ow! What was that for?" Suvi scowled, rubbing his bruising snout. "I come over to see if you're okay, and _this _is how you respond?"

"You're a dragon, I've seen you take worse. And I'm fine, thank you."

"Then why are you crying?"

"Me? I'm not crying."

"Then what's that coming from your eyes?"

Malon brushed her fingers against her cheeks, startled to find Suvi was right. As quickly as she could, she gathered the broken fragments of her memories and buried them in a lonely corner of her mind. Today was really starting to loosen her tear ducts. "It was just a nightmare, nothing to worry about!"

"What kind of nightmare is so bad that you start crying?" Suvi mumbled, gruffly taking a seat next to Malon; the Kokiri had shifted their interest away from him and towards their next meal.

"The really bad kind. Don't you have nightmares? Like really big monsters coming after you in your dreams?"

"Psh, if something tries to pick a fight with me, even if it's in my head, I'll rip its head off and eat it for dinner."

"Sounds like you."

"And speaking of dinner, can you believe this place? There's _no_ meat! Not even bacon! How can this be paradise and _not _have bacon?!"

Malon felt a smile return thanks to Suvi's ludicrous complaints. "There's no meat _because _it's paradise. You know, a place where even animals can live without worrying about being chopped up for a meal. And since when have you liked bacon?"

"Since I was a baby, long before I became like this," Suvi cackled, drooling to whatever fond memory was playing in his head.

"But you hated cooking before you met Fairy Boy. Doesn't bacon come from cooking?"

Suvi smirked. "Cooking? Ha. Just find a pig, gut it, make it roasty-toasty, and then you've got bacon. What's there to cook?"

An unrestrained giggle squeezed past Malon's lips. "So why were you harassing that poor little Kokiri from before?"

"Poor? Don't let his appearance fool you. That kid as old as my old man, maybe older. I was bugging him because he's the one who taught Link how to make pancakes. I wanted him to make me a bacon pancake, but when he said he didn't know what bacon was, I was ready to cut him up and show him _exactly_ what it looked like!"

"You weren't actually going to eat him, were you?"

"Of course not! He smells like spinach! I wouldn't eat that stuff even if I was starving in the middle of the Gerudo Desert!"

Malon laughed freely, always amazed at how Suvi's crude humor improved her mood considerably. "Suvi, vegetables are good for you, you know?"

"Spinach gives a dragon serious constipation."

"I can't imagine you having constipation."

"It's easy, just picture me having the same face as Forest Boy when he was slaughtering the bugs messing with his home. That would be my constipated face."

This, Malon did not find funny. "I know you're playing around, but that's still not very nice. Fairy Boy was really angry, and now he's … he's going through some hard stuff!"

"Then tell him to suck it up. Homes burn all the time. I don't even want to count the number of times glory-mongering humans raided my family's dens in the middle of the night."

"That's because you don't know how to count."

"Besides the point. All I'm saying is that it's pathetic for Forest Boy to get so moody. It's not like anyone died."

"Saria died."

"And she came back to life. Problem solved."

"Mr. No-Fairy!" The two of them were interrupted by a high-pitched and squeaky voice whose hostility was directly aimed at Suvica; the shrill voice also attracted the attention of Fairy Boy and his Kokiri friends, who were a few yards away at Dentri's place. Approaching them was a Kokiri trying to walk like he was a figure of importance, with his chest puffed out, his shoulders square, and his tiny hands squeezed into little balls. At his side was a musky blue-green fairy; even without a face, Malon could tell the fairy did not want to be here. "So! You came back, Mr. No-Fairy! I don't see your fairy partner with you anymore, which probably means she abandoned you, just like how you abandoned us!"

"And what are you?" Suvi asked, eyebrows crossed.

"Hmph! Trying to act tough?" The Kokiri boy sneered, stopping once he was leering down at Suvi. "You can stop pretending you're strong! Just because you rescued the village before I could doesn't mean anything! I know the real you! You're a coward! You ran away the moment I told the village the truth about how you killed the Great Deku Tree!"

Malon slowly leaned over to Suvi and whispered in his ear, "I think he's confusing you with Fairy Boy."

"Bah."

"You can change your clothes, dye your hair, and throw away your fairy partner, but I can spot your gutless face from the other side of the forest!" The Kokiri boy rambled on.

"Mido?" His fairy partner spoke up. "I don't think Link can change the color of his eyes. Are you sure this is him?"

"Shut up, Varl!" Rude Mido snapped, furiously waving off his partner. "I know Mr. No-Fairy when I see him, and this is him. I'm right, aren't I, No-Fairy! You were afraid of facing me when you came back, so you tried to change your appearance to fool me! It doesn't work! You're too stupid to trick me!"

Suvi got up so abruptly Rude Mido almost jumped out of his shoes. "Listen here, chump. I came here because I wanted to try some bacon pancakes, but then I learn you squirrels don't eat meat! I was hoping Link was the only vegetarian, but _no_, it's the whole dang village! I'm in a bit of a bad mood right now, so walk away so I don't hurt you!"

Rude Mido gulped twice before he could stop the knocking in his knees. "Say w-whatever you want, Mr. No-Fairy! I know you! I know how your stupid brain works! I know what kind of coward you are! I know—!"

"Um, Mido?" Varl butted in.

"Not now! I'm talking!"

"Mido!"

"What?!"

"Over there! Look!" The fairy pushed at Mido's cheek to make the Kokiri turn around. Fairy Boy and his friends had been watching the entire affair, and when Mido's mistake finally dawned on him, his body was petrified by incomprehension.

"T-That's Mr. No-Fairy …"

"Yeah, that's Link," Varl sighed, sounding extremely tired.

"Then …" Mido gawked at Suvi, who letting out a small burst of static from behind his teeth. "Who … who are you?"

Suvi's hands clasped around the front of Rude Mido's tunic, lifting him so the Kokiri's feet dangled inches off the grass.

"Suvi! What're you doing?" Malon yelped in alarm, afraid the dragon was about to do something rash.

"I'm answering his question," Suvi growled, pulling Rude Mido close so the two of them were nose to nose. "You want to know who I am? I'm a gutless, stupid coward who just wants his FRIGGIN PANCAKES!" The dragon drew back his free hand and squeezed it into a fist, but before he could land the first sure-to-be-lethal blow, Fairy Boy ran up and grabbed Suvi's arm before he could strike.

"That's enough. He just confused you with me, so there's no reason to hit him," Fairy Boy said; Malon saw his fingers strain to hold back Suvi's trembling fist.

"Forest Boy, there are a lot of things in this world which piss me off, and this _thing _did two of them; he insulted me, and then mistook me for you. I really want to hit him, really, _really_ badly."

"Be nice and calm down. There's nothing to get angry over."

Suvi voluntarily dropped Scared Mido, holding Fairy Boy with a curious glance. "What's up with you? This is usually the part where you smack me and I try to bit your throat out."

"Suvica … there's something I have to say."

"Then spit it out."

Fairy Boy breathed deep. "I can't leave my village, not after what it's been through, and what could possibly happen again. I need to stay and protect it, meaning I can't chase after the Spiritual Stones anymore."

"Did you bust something in your head when you were having your hissy fit? Stop messing around, because it's pissing me off."

"I'm serious," Fairy Boy said with an ounce of determination. "I want to kill Ganondorf just as badly as ever, but I can't leave the Kokiri Village knowing it could be attacked again!"

"Don't screw with me, Forest Boy!" Suvi roared, his bloodlust generating a storm of electric crackles from his clenched teeth. "You expect me to buy that piss-weak excuse?!"

"Sorry."

Suvi spat in disgust, leering with barely controlled rage. Malon knew he was going to start throwing punches, but then he did what she would've never expected; he calmed down. Their dragon breathed so hard he was blowing sparks from his mouth with each gust, and when he was certain his will was his own, he said, "Then I'll protect your village!"

The answer was so unlike him that Malon was stunned off her feet; even Fairy Boy was visibly shaken as he barely managed to mutter, "You … what?"

"I'll protect your pathetic village!" Suvi howled, bashing his knuckles together to make the air shudder. "If some brat-snatching punk comes along, I'll break them! If a fame-chasing idiot waltzes in here, I'll smash them! I'll keep doing this until all of Hyrule knows that the Lost Woods is now _my_ turf! I carve the message in their bones so that no one will ever dream of setting a toe in these woods!"

"But _why_? Why would you do that? I said _I'll_ protect my village! There's no reason for you to!"

"Yes there is! You know what your goal is, Forest Boy? It's to beat the snot out of the Gerudo's precious king! My goal is to kill you once it's over, to break every bone in your body before smashing your head into a pulp! I'll do anything, _anything_, to make sure I get my death match with you, even if it means looking after your trash! You remember what we are to each other? I'm not your friend, I'm your bloody enemy, the worst rival you've ever met! Screw Sheba, screw Glen, screw Zladimir, screw Ganondorf, screw them ALL! You're the only human in this world I've wanted to slaughter this badly, and I'll _never _let you get away from me with such a weak reason! I'll make sure you become the strongest, even if it means defending you, fighting for you, or _forcing_ you! So yeah, I'll make sure a scratch doesn't come to a single leaf in this pitiable forest! The moment you've got Ganondorf's head on a platter, the two of us are going to fight, and one of us is going to die!"

Utter silence.

Not a word was spoken as Suvi's unpredictable reasons for following Fairy Boy settled in. Suvi wanted to kill Fairy Boy? Malon had known their relationship was a strange one, but never on this level. Plus, his final words left an acidic taste on her tongue: _One of us is going to die!_ It was the crude, selfish, and ultimately plausible logic of a pride-fueled dragon who had his hearts devoted to a single goal.

Someone laughed.

It was Fairy Boy, throwing back his head and shaking with so much hilarity he fell onto his knees while clutching his sides. His wild chortling even had him rolling in the grass and shaking his head in gratification before he stood back up with a perfectly serene face.

"I wish I was as stupid and simple as you," Fairy Boy smirked. "You'd really do all that for me? You'd protect my friends and village?"

"I'll be killing you anyways, and when I do, I want you free from distractions," Suvi smiled widely, flashing his incisors.

"I suppose I should say thank you," Fairy Boy continued, abruptly discarding his sword and shield, tossing them aside. "But there's one thing I've got to do first."

"And what's that?"  
"This!" Fairy Boy's left fist slammed across Suvi's face, sending the dragon back three steps, with blood trickling from the corner of his lips. "That's for calling my village trash, and there's a whole bunch more I want to pay you back for!"

"Works for me!" Suvi shouted in restless rapture. "My arms were starting to get a little rusty! Bring it!"

The two literally met each other head-on, smashing their skulls together before savagely exchanging a tempest of blows, using every ounce of strength, skill, or pride to crush the other. Usually, such a violent display of conflict would send Malon running for Zelda so the princess could end the squabble with a few fireballs. Instead, she preferred to let these two work out their differences; after all, there wasn't much to worry about, not when those two were wearing such ridiculously joyful grins.

"Uh, is this a bad time?" Rail asked, startling Malon as if he'd appeared from thin air; he must've approached her while everyone was focused on Fairy Boy and Suvi clobbering each other.

"Not at all," Malon said, patting the grass beside her as a gesture for Rail to take a seat. "What's the matter?"

"We've got a situation in the library, and we kind of need Link's help."

"Then you've got perfect timing!"

Rail glanced at the struggling duo. "Are you sure about that?"

* * *

Whenever Malon heard the word "library," she immediately thought of a musky old room filled with infinite columns and rows of boredom. The Kokiri Library was nothing like that. Instead, it was a spacious underground meadow spanning beneath the entirely of the village above. There were ample levels of light, provided by the flowers which produced sunlight instead of pollen. Greenery thrived in the subterranean grove, yet instead of leaves, these plants grew scrolls, documents, and scriptures from their stems and branches. The trees, bushes, and even flowers, were blossoming with rolls of parchment filled with endless lines of information.

Malon quickly fetched Zelda and Saria as Fairy Boy (who was being tended to by Navi) Suvi (whose bruises disappeared within minutes), and Rail waited at the library's entrance. Zelda and Saria were worried when they saw Fairy Boy and Suvi's condition, but the two boys stubbornly insisted that they'd "tripped." After taking the staircase down, the newcomers entered the library with popping eyes and dropped mouths.

"T-This is a library?" Zelda stuttered as she hungrily took in the endless grove of information; the princess was shivering so badly she almost looked sickly instead of excited.

"What's wrong?" Saria asked her newest friend. "Don't all libraries look like this?" She turned to Fairy Boy, hoping the boy who'd explored the world outside the forest could answer her question.

He shrugged in response. "I haven't been to any of Hyrule's libraries before, so I can't tell."

"Of course they don't look like this!" Malon gasped, mainly due to the magnificent sight before them. "Our libraries are just long aisles of books and books and books! But this … this is so cool!"

"That was my reaction when I first saw it," Rail agreed as he led them deeper into the treasure trove of knowledge.

"This place is huge," Suvi mumbled, craning his neck to judge how far the ceiling was. "How come you forest brats didn't hide in here when your village was getting renovated?"

"We couldn't do that!" Saria strongly argued. "The Kokiri Library is—" She swallowed her lingering grief, "—was—the Great Deku Tree's most prized treasure, second only to us, his children. Everyone in the village knows how much our father loved the library, and when we realized the intruding men were only after us, we stayed far from the library to keep it from getting destroyed. Our father's treasure is our treasure, and with him gone, it became all the more important to us."

"That's stupid," Suvi scoffed. "You value a bunch of letters on paper than your own lives? Yeah, I bet your dead old man would be real proud if you all died but his precious collection of paper stayed intact."

"Please feel free to ignore the lizard," Zelda said pleasant, stomping on Suvi's toes with her heel, causing the dragon to spit out a naughty word. However, the moment he did, a thorny vine sprung out from the grass and whipped Suvi in the rear, inciting a vicious roar.

"What was THAT?!" He howled, grabbing the assaulting rope of greenery and yanking it out of the ground.

"Words like that are forbidden in the village," Fairy Boy answered rather smugly, obviously enjoying Suvi's irritation. "Good to see some of the Great Deku Tree's magic lives on."

"Talk about parent supervision," Rail mumbled; Malon watched his hand protectively hover over his behind.

"Is that so," Suvi growled, glaring at the ceiling as if it had ears. "Well why don't you take your stupid rules and shove them up your—!" A rock dropped down and corked Suvi's mouth; he gagged and spat out the obstruction, continuing with: "Is that all you got you piece of—!" The library retaliated by slapping Suvi across the face with bushel of paper-flowers.

"I know the lightning newt can take the pain," Rail said as Suvi hung back to curse at the library while it retaliated, "But if one of you Kokiri got hit by something like that—" He pointed as one of the trees came to life and stepped on the dragon, "—you wouldn't get away with just a few scratches. These punishments all seem a little too severe, don't you think?"

"I can't really say," Saria frowned, appearing fascinated by the library's reaction towards Suvi's foul mouth. "The Great Deku Tree has always warned us about using bad words and how he'd punish us every time we did, but I never even knew words like that existed until a few minutes ago."

"Suvica the Thunder Dragon, spreading corruption wherever he goes," Navi sighed, darting between the scrolls growing from trees. "But tell me this: If the magic forbidding you from cursing is still around, where's the magic that protects you all from intruders? They might've busted the Wall, but there has to be more than that, right? I can't imagine the Great Deku Tree wouldn't take such precautions into consideration."

Saria fiddled with her shirt's sleeves, troubled. "There are plenty of spells that protect our village. The Great Deku Tree never talked about them, but I know they were there. I could always feel it, our father's magic channeled throughout the forest to keep us safe. But then something … something dark began to suppress the Great Deku Tree's magic. Soon after that, the outsiders came. I don't know what happened."

"It was the Gerudo mage," Zelda answered. "I heard her talk about keeping the Curse of the Forest at bay with her dark powers. She was the one who disabled your protector's magic, allowing those crude villains to invade your village. If it were not for her, the Stalfos roaming the forest would've torn those men asunder the moment they set foot in the lost woods."

"So it's still there? The magic protecting the Kokiri Village is still there?" Fairy Boy demanded.

"It is," Zelda confirmed. "It is only because of the Gerudo mage that these men managed to intrude upon your home. Your village is not as defenseless as you think."

Saria wasn't as animated as Fairy Boy by the knowledge. "The Great Deku Tree's magic might keep us safe for now, but not for much longer. Now that he's gone, his magic's influence is slowly starting to wane. In a few weeks, it may disappear all together, and then there'll be nothing to protect us from outsiders."

"Don't worry, I know someone who'll take care of that. But what about this Gerudo mage?" Fairy Boy repeated. "I remember Suvica saying something about Gerudos and magic back at Hyrule Castle, when we first met you. He said there are only two Gerudos in the world that can use magic."

"And as far as I know, he's correct," Zelda confirmed. "Those two are Ganondorf and Twinrova."

Rail jumped in wonder, though Malon was thoroughly perplexed at his surprise. "Twinrova?! I know that name! She's the Gerudo who initiated the Great War against Hyrule so many years ago, and one who wanted to use Link's dad as a bargaining chip during the war! You mean she's still alive? No, wait, wait. Twinrova is pretty much the Gerudo's second-in-command, like Ganondorf's right hand man, or woman, or whatever! So what was someone of her importance doing in the Lost Woods?"

Malon noticed Zelda's eye linger on Saria, trying poorly to conceal her concerns and doubts. "I … I do not know. Yes, Twinrova is a prominent figure amongst the Gerudos, and she only acts on Ganondorf's orders. If she was here, it means Ganondorf sent her, although I do not know why. Regardless, no one was harmed in the end, thus we can safely assume Twinrova failed to achieve her objective. Now let us move to the matter at hand. Rail, you asked us here because you said there was a problem. What is it?"

"A problem? Ah, right. Here, take a look," Rail approached the nearest tree, which was easily over twenty feet in height, and strained himself to reach for the lowest hanging scroll dangling from the branches.

"What're you doing?" Fairy Boy asked, sounding amused as he watched Rail struggle.

"What does it look like? I need one of these scrolls to show you what's wrong," Rail grumbled as he tried and failed to climb the trunk of the tree.

"Which one do you need?"

"Any of them!"

Fairy Boy nodded, then clapped his hands and called in a clear voice: " '_Early Days of the Demon King_,' chapter seven please." The tree obeyed, tossing the specified scroll from its branch, where it neatly landed in Fairy Boy's open hands.

Rail's jaw hung open as his hard work was proved fruitless, sliding back down the tree to glare at Fairy Boy. "How'd you do that?"

"Do what?" Fairy Boy asked innocently.

"Get the scroll so easily?"

"How else would I get it?" He said as-a-matter-of-factly. "You ask nicely and the library responds. Isn't that how it always works?"  
Rail buried his face in his hands, mumbling, "That's it, I hate magic."

Zelda cleared her throat to reclaim the humiliated boy's attention. "Rail, you were saying there was a problem?"

"Right, right. Link, open that scroll."

Fairy Boy obliged, unrolling the parchment and holding it up for everyone to see. The moment Malon tried to read the story, she spotted the problem: It was written in Kokiri.

"Indeed, this is a problem," Zelda agreed, taking the scroll from Fairy Boy and scrutinizing the words. "Still, it is an obstacle I should've foreseen. Because this is a library belonging to the Kokiri, it would be obvious that everything here would be written in Kokiri."

"Wait a sec," Malon spoke up. "You and Natasha have been in here for hours, haven't you? Why tell us now that there's a problem?"

Rail's head sunk even further as he pointed to the reason rather than verbally explain himself. He was referring to the small gathering of Kokiri in the center of the library, where a round and wide tree stump was serving as a stage, surrounded by comfortably seated Kokiri. Malon hadn't noticed it before, but there was someone on top of the elevated platform, and she was dynamically speaking to the Kokiri audience, who went "Ooh" and "Aah" at her tale.

As they approached, Malon saw that it was Natasha, displaying more emotions in these few seconds than she had in the last few days; she was portraying whatever sentiment necessary in order to embody the characters in her tale, shifting from face from bliss, sorrow, grief, or rage. The light-producing flowers surrounding the base of the forest-amphitheatre glimmered with different colors each time the tone of Natasha's story changed.

"That's when the evil monster bared its wrenched fangs, its tongue salivating as it lusted for its next kill," Natasha whispered menacingly as the flowers cast her in a scarlet glow; many of the Kokiri leaned back in fright. "But before the big bad beast could devour the young princess, in came the dashing prince, galloping to her rescue on his noble steed!" The petals flashed with a pearl sheen to further dramatize Natasha's story, and the Kokiri passionately cheered.

"How long has she been doing this?" Fairy Boy asked as Natasha continued to narrate.

"Too long," Rail groaned. "The moment we entered the library and found out nothing was written in Hylian, Natasha asked for me to fetch you, since you could help us translate some of it. That's when a bunch of the Kokiri came to us and started asking Natasha a bunch of strange questions. In the end, they managed to convince her to tell them a story, and she's been up there ever since. I will admit, Natasha is scary good at this; my granddad could learn a thing or two from her. She had me, along with the rest of the Kokiri, captivated for hours before I remembered we were in a hurry."

"Story time is over, we have much to do." Zelda cupped her hands around her mouth and called out Natasha's name, but her shout was easily drowned by the collective cheers of the forest children when Natasha ended her tale with a bow. Navi stepped up, warning them to cover their ears as she released a ear-splitting screech from her body, causing everyone within the library to bury their heads in their arms.

Natasha, finally noticing her presence was needed, apologized to the forest children (who were begging for one more story) and jumped off the stage; her face returned to its naturally emotionless mask. "What's the matter?"

"I'm sorry to end your enjoyment, but we are here for a reason," Zelda explained after expressing her apologies to the dissatisfied Kokiri. "We wish to locate the hidden entrance to the Zora's Domain."

"I know, but I was sidetracked," Natasha replied, turning to her Kokiri audience and smiling fondly before looking back at Zelda with zero emotions. "Their pleads were too adorable to ignore."

"You've got a weakness for cute things, don't you?" Malon deduced.

"And if you value your life, you won't breathe a word about it to anyone."

"Actually, this could be a good thing," Fairy Boy added. "Not Natasha's obsessions, but the Kokiri she's gathered. None of you can read Kokiri, so let's ask for their help instead."

Zelda readily agreed to the suggestion. "A brilliant idea. Having the Kokiri aid us in our endeavor will greatly reduce the time needed to locate the information we seek."

"Then let me ask them." Fairy Boy quickly leapt onto the stage, and when he made his appearance, the Kokiri were suddenly screaming their applause, probably expecting another story from their favorite friend. It was near-painful for Malon to see their communal disappointment when Fairy Boy told them otherwise. "My friends and I came to the village searching for information that might be in our library. However, none of them know how to read Kokiri, and I could use your help."

At first, Malon expected Link's old friends to volunteer their services without a second of pause. Thus, she was shocked when none of the Kokiri responded. In fact, most of them seemed strongly opposed to the idea.

"Link?" One of the forest children stood up to speak. "Can you tell us what you're looking for?"

"A backdoor, or secret entrance, into the Zora's Domain. My friends and I need to know where it is, which is why I came back."

The speaking Kokiri uncomfortably squeezed his hands together. "And once you know where it is … are you going to leave again?"

This question was obviously excruciating for Fairy Boy to answer, probably because his answer would've been different a few minutes ago. "Yes."

"Then we don't want to help!" Another Kokiri cried.

"You can't leave us again, Link! We need you!"

"The Great Deku Tree always trusted you, and you always know what to do!"

"We need you here! We don't want you to go again!"

"You're always doing everything to keep us safe! We don't know what to do without you!"

The outburst of protests was so loud another batch of unaware Kokiri flooded into the underground orchard, attracted by the loud commotion. When they understood what the others were arguing about, they added their own voices to the collective scream of complaints.

A burst of magic silenced them; Link drew his sword and used his Spin Attack to release his expanding ring of blue magic. It harmlessly passed over the heads of the Kokiri gathered around the stage, but ceased all speaking. The Kokiri were wide-eyed, stunned by the display of power.

"Thank you," Fairy Boy said, soundlessly sheathing his sword. He breathed in deep, then spoke with renewed confidence. "Thank you for wanting me to stay so much. It means … it means a lot. You've all trust me this much, then maybe it's time I trust all of you. You all know I left the village without saying goodbye, and it's time you knew why."

"Mido … Mido said you left because you killed the Great Deku Tree," one of the Kokiri said, guiltily staring into the ground. "I-It's not like we believed him! You'd never do such a thing!"

Fairy Boy smiled humorlessly. "Yet in a way, it's true. When the Great Deku Tree died, guilt was part of the reason I left. However, my main reason was, and still is, revenge. Our father was cursed, condemned to die because of a man who came from the desert. The Great Deku Tree had something the man from the desert wanted, and when our father refused, the evil man put a killing curse on the Great Deku Tree. I couldn't break the curse in time, and as a result, the Great Deku Tree died. I left the village in order to track down this man and claim revenge for the Great Deku Tree. Learning the secret entrance to the Zora's Domain can help me do just that. If you don't want to help because you're afraid I'll leave again, then at least help me so I can defeat the man who killed our father. That's all I ask. Please"

Fairy Boy finished with such heartfelt emotions Malon was ready to slap the first person who refused. Thankfully her intervention was not required, as a forest child asked, "When you're done … and the bad man is gone, you're coming back, right? You'll come back, and everything will go back to normal?"

"I'll come back, and I'll do everything I can to make things better. It's a promise."

"Then we've got your back!"

"We'll do everything you ask! Leave it to us!"

"Let's do this!"

As Fairy Boy tried to settle down the overly enthusiastic Kokiri from atop of the tree-stump-podium, Malon asked the others, "So where do we start? Even with the Kokiri helping, there's got to be millions of scrolls in here."

"It shouldn't be too hard," Zelda replied. "Link was able to receive the scroll of his choice by calling out its title, and the magic within this library did the rest. Perhaps we can do the same. We may not know the individual labels of each and every scroll here, but I think there's a fair chance this library responses to general topics as well."

"Let me try," Rail offered before shouting, "We need a scroll telling us the secret entrance of the Zora's Domain, please!"

Nothing happened.

"I think you were too specific," Saria explained. "After all, the Great Deku Tree wrote everything in the library, and to him, the secret entrance you seek might not have been labeled as a '_secret_' to the Great Deku Tree."

"Good point. All pathways into the Zora's Domain, please!" Rail tried again.

Yet again, nothing.

"Still too specific?" Malon wondered.

"Then we go general," Zelda declared; for whatever reason, the princess's words horrified Saria, yet before she could stop her, Zelda shouted, "All information on the Zora's Domain, please!" A result: A scroll popped off from a nearby tree and landed squarely in Zelda's delighted hands. "There, that was not so difficult, though I honestly expected there to be more."

"Oh no, oh no," Saria gasped, her skin paling by the second. "I'm so sorry, Zelda. I should've stopped you, but I couldn't. I'm so sorry."

"What is the—?" A baffled Zelda began to ask, but was cut off when another rolled up parchment was thrown at her, lightly smacking the back of her head. "Ow, how crude."

Saria backed up slowly, like she was afraid any sudden movement might trigger a catastrophe. Then she sprinted away, screaming, "TAKE COVER! TOO GENERAL!"

Immediately, as if acting upon prior experience, the Kokiri scattered, fleeing to farthest corners of the library to escape from Zelda. Even Fairy Boy was urgently ordering everyone to take cover; he sounded so frantic that Malon was compelled to do as he said, dragging Rail and Natasha with her, though she had no idea why.

Another scroll was tossed at Zelda, hitting her back when she bent over to pick up the second roll. As she tried to grab the third, in came a fourth, fifth, and sixth. Soon, the library was lobbing thousands of years worth of information on the Zora's Domain directly at Zelda, who didn't have enough time to gather her wits and run. Malon watched in a mixture of interest and terror as the air was filled with flying paper, all of which was dive-bombing the helpless princess. After minute long downpour of parchment, a gargantuan mound of information was piled onto the very spot where Zelda once stood.

"A … little … help," a meek voice pleaded from within the heap.

* * *

"King … Zora … the … fourth … ordered … the … proposal … of … the …" Malon tediously translated, taxing her brain to the limit as she strained to read Kokiri. When she couldn't translate the following letters, she leaned back to stretch out the numerous cramps encompassing the back of her neck and shoulders.

Her strict teacher, Navi, rudely bopped her on the side of the head. "The word is '_aquatic_'. Let's move onto the next sentence."

"Aw, do I have to?" Malon whined, rolling around in the verdant soil; it was more comfortable than the softest of beds. That, combined with the late night, threatened to drop her to sleep at a moment's notice.

"You're the one who said she wanted to learn how to read Kokiri," Navi countered, spinning in dizzying circles in front of Malon's eyes until she sat back up. "If you don't want to learn, then don't push yourself."

As if Malon could do that. She grumpily glanced around at the Kokiri library, where all of the village's denizens were scattered throughout the room. Each Kokiri had a separate scroll filled with extensive details about the Zora's Domain, scanning through each line at an impressive pace. Zelda and Saria were sitting with Link, along with a large group of his other forest friends, while Natasha playfully read unrelated bedtime stories to her own group of admirers. Zelda and Natasha had been a part of Navi's tutoring session along with Malon and Rail, but they mastered the Kokiri language in a matter of hours, and Malon didn't want to get left behind; sometimes she envied geniuses. Right now, she was stuck with Navi and Rail. Suvi was the only unproductive one amongst them all; he grew bored of the library's documents within the first two seconds, and was now testing out the strictness of the Great Deku Tree's magic.

"Mother … funky donkey! Dang it. You soggy piece of … shitake mushrooms! Still nothing? Rotten egg of a … bitter hag! Stupid, stupid magic! I'd kick your ass if I—!" _Wham_ "—OW!"

Rail, Malon's fellow student, had a very scattered understanding of Hylian text, so to move on to Kokiri was a challenge he refused to turn down. He acted like he was in a life-or-death battle against the language, dedicating each symbol he translated to memory as if his life depended on it. Despite his admirable commitment, his progress was worse than Malon's.

"Hey, hey, don't let your mind wander," Navi snapped, rudely tackling the center of Malon's forehead; none of the little fairy's impacts hurt the slightest, but they sure were annoying.

"I'm not!" Malon protested, locking her tired eyes onto the scroll on her lap. She'd been at this for hours, and was fairly certain it was past midnight, even though the shining flowers never dimmed. A good night's sleep was definitely on the top of her "To-Do List," but with everyone working so studiously, she knew her conscious wouldn't let her get a wink of peaceful sleep. At the very least, she wanted to concentrate without the drill sergeant floating above her head, so she asked Navi, "Are you sure you don't want to play and talk with the other fairies? Fairy Boy is catching up with his old friends, so why don't you?"

"Because I don't know any of them," Navi replied curtly; Malon could tell this was a topic the fairy would like to avoid, but since Malon was feeling a little agitated with Navi's strict coaching, she pressed on.

"Why not? You're a fairy, just like the rest of them. Since you're all the same, it should be easy for you to make new friends."

There was a slight gloom to Navi's glow, and Malon knew the fairy was dealing with some conflicting emotions. "If I were just like the rest of them? I guess that'd be nice."

"What's wrong?"

"Quite a few things, but they're none of your concern."

"Bad Navi, you should never use the words, '_none of your concern_.' "

"Why not?"

"Because now I want to know even more! You can tell me what's wrong!"

"Shh! I'm studying here!" Rail growled, his bloodshot eyes furiously scanning across his roll of parchment.

"Sorry!" Malon and Navi said in unison. To continue their conversation without causing any disruptions, they crawled over to a secluded spot under the nearest literature tree, labeled "The Coup of Roup" (or "Scoop that Poop," Malon really couldn't tell).

"Alright, since you're obviously not going to drop it, I'll talk," Navi said, resting in Malon's hair. "Now this is a perfectly hypothetical question, and it's in no way related to me or anyone I know."

_Which pretty much means it's about Navi_, Malon deduced, but said aloud, "Sure! So what's it about?"

"Let's say there's a … girl, of sorts. She lived a long time ago, and was created to be the perfect companion. Now this girl is impassive, lacking all the feelings that humans have. Yet overtime, she grows to appreciate her companion, and in the end, considers him her one and only friend."

"I still don't get what the question is."

"Look, I'm getting there, okay? Now let's say this girl is reborn in a different form, and meets the reincarnation of her only friend. Is it wrong for her to … to miss the person he used to be?"

"You don't like Fairy Boy?"

"Wha—no, no! I never said that! And this isn't about me, remember?"

"Of course," Malon agreed. "So what's wrong with Fairy Boy? Is there something about him you don't like?"  
Navi groaned, resigning herself to Malon's perception. "There's nothing wrong with Link. Out of all the people in his old life, I'm glad I was one of the few chosen to return to his new life. Still, he's not the Link is used to know. I thought I knew everything about him, yet when he rushed into the Kokiri Village screaming for blood, I didn't recognize the thing he'd become. Worse yet, when he needed help, it was Suvica of all people who came through. I am getting to know Link better, but in my mind, it's hard not to compare him to the person he used to be. Because of that, I keep holding expectations that may never come to pass."

"You lost me at the very beginning," Malon said, thoroughly confused as to where Navi was headed with her argument. "Can you repeat all that, maybe talk a little slower?"

"Never. Now if you really want to learn Kokiri, get back to your studies, because Zelda's making you look bad."  
"How so?" The princess asked, surprising Malon and Navi; she'd snuck up behind the both of them and was smiling pleasantly over their shoulders.

Navi recovered before Malon could. "I taught you and Natasha, and while you mastered Kokiri in one hour, it took Natasha two. On the other hand, I'm still tutoring Malon, and I don't think Rail's been making any progress at all."

"You don't need to push yourself," Zelda said, taking a seat beside Malon. "We've gone through about half the scrolls already, and while your help would be a great appreciation, you need not worry."

Malon took a quick peek at the paper grave Zelda had previously been buried beneath; half the scrolls were returned to their trees, while the remaining stack was being thoroughly dissected by almost all the Kokiri in the village (she noticed a few absences, like Rude Mido and his partner).

"Something wrong?" Navi asked, probably noticing Malon's scrunched eyebrows.

"Nothing. Okay, there's something. How long have we been at this for?"

"Six hours," Fairy Boy called out from over twenty feet away; honestly, Malon _hated _those super ears.

"We've been at this for six hours," Malon continued, "And we're only half way there? Are we going to go at this for another six? Can't we all take a nap and start again in the morning?"

"Personally? I do not think we have time to waste," Zelda replied, doing her best to appear calm and resolute without much success. "We departed from Koon several days ago, the same time we learned demons are threatening to invade Lake Hylia to eradicate the Zoras. By now, I suspect the demons and Zoras have already engaged in their first battle, meaning we have precious little time to assist the Zoras and secure the Spiritual Stone of Water. Every day we waste is another day hundreds of Zoras die in combat."

"You don't think the Zoras can defeat the demons, do you." Navi said; it was more of a statement than a question.

"Who knows? Perhaps the demons are overconfident and are letting their lesser comrades, the monsters, wage the war without them. Perhaps my father succeeded in sending more reinforcements to Lake Hylia before the battle began. Perhaps the King Zora is without restrictions and is using his tactical prowess to the fullest. There are too many variables, but I will do my best to remain optimistic."

With Zelda's words put into consideration, Malon knew they were all going to be pulling another all nighter. There was no way anyone was going to sleep with such dire tidings looming over their heads. "I guess that means no napping?"

"Here it is! I found the info you're looking for!"  
"Wake me up in the morning," Malon yawned happily, throwing herself onto the plush grass and dozing off instantly.

* * *

Malon had a weirdest dream (or nightmare). Cows were sprouting like daisies all across the lush vegetation of the Lost Woods, and when each animal reached maturity, they barfed out so many Spiritual Stones that the plentiful relics flooded Hyrule. To make things creepier, she spotted Ganondorf prancing across the Spiritual Stones, singing, "It's a beautiful day!" When the Gerudo King noticed her, he suddenly crowned her to be Queen of Hyrule, where she accidentally ordered the disposal of all of Hyrule's candy. She was more than relieved when the sound of Zelda's anxious voice spurred her awake, driving her barely conscious body to its feet.

"Believe me," Malon mumbled before the princess could ask the obvious question. "I don't need five more minutes. I'm ready to go right now." She rolled out of bed and crawled out of the home she was sleeping in (with no idea about how she got there). Ignoring the nearby "Good mornings" of her friends, Malon made her way to the crystal river and dunked her head into the water. The crisp cold slapped the sleep right off her face, and she resurfaced with a revived gasp. With her senses sharpened, she could see Zelda, Fairy Boy, Navi, and Saria standing next to her, while the rest of the village was dining at the Kokiri chef's house. Suvi, Rail, and Natasha were nowhere to be seen.

"Are … you alright?" Saria asked hesitantly as Malon's Kokiri clothes squeezed the water from the fabric; the tickling sensation almost made her giggle, but she was dry in a matter of seconds. "I've never seen someone wake themselves like that before."

"I'm okay, I just had the weirdest dream," Malon replied. "So where's breakfast and when are we leaving?"

"Breakfast is everywhere," Navi replied as Fairy Boy plucked an orange from a tree and tossing it to Malon; she gaped in awe as the fruit peeled itself in midair and the naked fruit softly plop into her hands. The discarded skin was consumed by the patch of grass it landed it, leaving no waste behind.

"Amazing isn't it?" Zelda said with wonder. "A self sustaining village. Look at that." She pointed at the tree Link secured Malon's breakfast from; already, another orange was taking its place. In less than half a minute (the time it took for Malon to finish her appetizer), the newly grown fruit was ripe and ready for the pickings. "The magic here continues to astound me. Oh, if only I had a chance to speak to the Great Deku Tree myself! I would've relished the opportunity! His magic could solve almost all of Hyrule's food shortages, making starvation an inconceivable notion of the past!"

"But his magic is dying," Saria said in a low, somber, tone. "I wish you could've seen our village in its prime. When the Great Deku Tree was still alive, our food would re-grow in the blink of an eye. Now … it takes so much longer. And look at the grass."

Malon did, and though she tried really hard, she didn't see or feel anything wrong with nature's mattress..

"I see nothing wrong," Zelda said, just as unaware as Malon.

"There's a tint of brown, meaning it's starting to wilt," Fairy Boy replied. "That never happens, not in this village. And it's not just the grass; everything the Great Deku Tree made for us, everything grown by his magic, is starting to die. After we kill Ganondorf (Malon shuddered at the notion) I have to find a way to fix my home next."

Malon tried to understand why Fairy Boy and Saria were giving the Kokiri Village such a hard look. This place was beautiful, with autumn-aged leaves dancing down from above, strong trees with only the slightest hint of chipped bark, and the occasional breeze with only the faintest chill in the air. This place was close to perfection in Malon's opinion, yet the two of them acted like it was only a shadow of its former self.

"It's time to go," Fairy Boy decided. Malon felt his revulsion at his decision to leave, but knew him well enough to know he wouldn't be deterred.

"Wait, what about the bad guys?" Malon pointed out. "We've still got a bunch of them tied up somewhere, right? What'll happened to them?"

"Honestly? We don't know," Navi answered. "The funny thing is, for someone who barely expresses herself, Natasha is creepy good at reading other people. She, like you, found out Link was troubled and asked if she could do anything to help. When he told her about Suvica protecting the Kokiri Village, Natasha said she had the perfect idea. We don't know what she's plotting, but she enlisted the dragon's help, along with half the village, and took all the kidnappers into the library."

Right on cue, a petrified scream echoed from the Kokiri library, followed by a group of men stripped down to their dirty undergarments. Several of them appeared to be bleeding, but the color of their blood was a little wrong. Malon and the others observed their actions in bewilderment as the adults tripped over each other racing for the exit.

Malon asked the question that was on everyone's mind. "What was that about?"

"I think they can explain," Fairy Boy pointed as a cluster of Kokiri, each drenched in the same reddish liquid, emerged from the library cheering. He identified one of the Kokiri and called out, "Jaspin!"

The summoned Kokiri and his fairy heard Fairy Boy's voice, and they excitedly skipped towards them while wiping the scarlet water off their clothes and bodies; while the adults had been splattered in the stuff, the Kokiri looked like they'd taken a bath in it. "Did you see that, Link? We totally scared off the giants! Us! We did!"

"What happened?" Fairy Boy asked.

"The story teller was asking for our help," Karl, Jaspin's fairy, explained. "She said there was a way for us to protect the village on our own, even when you're not here!"

"But what did you do?"

"Nothing much, really," Jaspin shrugged, still elated with their results. "The lady giant gave each of us one of these—," he held up his hand to reveal a dagger in his babyish fingers, "—and told us to cover ourselves in tomato juice! That's when she brought the sleeping giants into the library and told us what to do! She said when the giants woke up, we were supposed make a circle around them and put on our best scary faces while saying the words, '_Time to eat, time to eat_,' over and over again! I don't get what happened, but those giants ran away screaming! You should've been there!"

As Jaspin carelessly threw aside his borrow weapon and took a dive into the village's river to clean himself, Malon, Fairy Boy, Navi, and Zelda all glanced at one another as they understood Natasha's devious ploy.

"Wait, I'm confused," Saria moaned, rubbing her head. "Why were those men scared? Is there something scary about the words '_Time to eat_'? What's going on?"

"All you need to know is that you never want Natasha as your enemy," Navi said with a cold shudder. "Those men are about to spread a new rumor throughout Hyrule, about how the Lost Woods is populated by immortal cannibal children who eat all who venture into these woods. That'll keep them away for sure."

"But how does Suvi fit into all this?" Malon wondered.

Her answer came with the sound of thunder in the distance, accompanied by the revived screams of the fleeing would-be villains.

"A cannibal village protected by a dragon child," Zelda concluded with a hint of awe. "Natasha is a devious one."

"I will accept that as a compliment," Natasha said as she stealthily materialized behind Malon, scaring five years off her life line; why was everyone sneaking up on her like that? "Sometimes the greatest shield is not one of magic and steel, but lies and misconception."

"Thank you," Fairy Boy with heartfelt words. "But did you have to give my friends those blades? They could've hurt themselves on accident."

Natasha picked up Jaspin's discarded dagger and ran her fingers down the edge. "Extremely dull. Only good for decoration and intimidation. And your thanks is not required, for you've fulfilled a longtime wish of mine, and I am merely repaying you one bit at a time. Now, I believe it's time for you all to depart, am I correct?"

"Yes," Zelda nodded, holding a borrowed scroll from the Kokiri library in her arms. "We've retrieved what we came here for, and the Zoras need our help. We should go."

"Without saying goodbye?" Malon asked, looking around to see the excited and satisfied faces of the Kokiri, still celebrating their accomplishment.

"Not likely," Fairy Boy said, taking in the sight of his precious home. "I left them once without warning, and I don't want to do that again. This time, I'll do things properly. What about you, Natasha?"

"I will stay. While Suvica is scaring those men to make a point, he is also making sure they successfully escape to tell the horrid tales of the Lost Woods. Still, it will take time for the rumors to spread, so I will keep your village safe until then."

Fairy Boy extended a hand for a farewell shake with Natasha, but the guild leader chose a different parting; she bend down and kissed Fairy Boy on the forehead, whispering, "Maybe your sword stay sharp, son of Cross." As Natasha stood up to return to the library, Malon noticed how Zelda and Saria's faces were tingling with a rosy color.

"Fair and square," Saria whispered, almost menacingly, to Zelda.

"We let him decide, as we promised," Zelda agreed.

Reacting at the same time, Saria grabbed Fairy Boy's left hand while Zelda latched onto his right.

"What's wrong?" Fairy Boy, the ignorant, asked the two of them.

"L-Link! I h-h-have something I w-want you to do for me before you go!" Saria said with such a serious stutter Malon was amazed she didn't bite off her tongue. "B-B-Because we might not s-see each other for a while, can you do something for me before you l-l-leave? Perhaps a … a … k … k … k!"

"Keaton Mask!" Zelda blurted before Saria could finish. "Saria told me she really likes your Keaton Mask and wishes to keep it!"

"Really? Wait a second, I never wore my Keaton Mask in the Kokiri Village, so how does Saria know about it?"

"That's unfair!" Saria hushed at the princess. "I thought we were friends!"

"Falsifying the enemy's reports is a tactic used in war!" Zelda muttered back. "Plus, you broke our promise first! Link! I have an urgent request for you to heed!"

"W-What is it?" Fairy Boy asked with uncertainty.

"Please close your eyes and count to ten!"

"That's it?"

"T-That's it!"

"Sure, that's easy enough," Fairy Boy said as he obliged, unaware of Zelda's burning-red face as she leaned towards him, their lips inches apart. Then: "Ack!" His eyes were snapped open as Saria sharply yanked on his arm. "Seriously, what's with you two?"

"They each want a kiss," Saria's fairy partner willing divulged, turning the pair of arguing girls into guilty statues.

"A kiss? Why?"

"Because you've kissed them both before," Tatl continued, thoroughly savoring this moment (what a naughty fairy). "Now they want to know who gets to keep the second kiss. Time to choose! Who will it be?"

"Choose? I can't kiss them both?"

"NO!"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

Zelda and Saria stared deep into Fairy Boy's eyes; he was now feeling the voluminous tension of his situation as his brow collected sweat.

"It's either me or her," Saria said as she and Zelda tightened their grip on him to annihilate any chance he had of escape.

"Please decide," Zelda added, trying to curry things to her favor by giving Fairy Boy a teary-plea with her eyes.

"B-But why do _I_ have to choose?"

"Because these two don't have the guts to pucker up and smooch you," Tatl cackled, enjoying the three-way deadlock a bit too much. "After all, they both kissed you without meaning to, right?"

"Stay quiet/Be silent—Tatl!" The love-struck girls ordered.

"Zelda's a good friend."

"And Saria is a wonderful person."

"But we can't stay friends because of you, not like this!"

"So we need you to choose who you want. Please, Link."

Judging from the way Fairy Boy teetered on his feet, his eyes nervously darting towards the village's exit, he was estimating his chances of successfully making a break for it. Since he evidently wasn't about to decide any time soon (and Malon was a little tired being on the outside of the fun circle), she stepped up to rescue Fairy Boy from his predicament. "You both kissed Fairy Boy before? Aw, don't leave me out!" Before either of the two girls could figure out what Malon was plotting, she leaned forward and gave Fairy Boy a quick peck on his lips. "Now we've all kissed Fairy Boy! I'll go get Rail and tell him we're leaving! It was nice to meet you Saria!"

With that, she ran before either Zelda or Saria could get their hands on her.


End file.
